Need Help Upgrading Your Legacy Microsoft^® SQL Server^® Deployments?

If you’re like most IT professionals, you have a lot on your plate. You’re often asked to do more with less, meet seemingly impossible deadlines, and run your company’s technology on the thinnest of budgets. Reaching the end of support for critical software can put you in a bind because the software becomes unsupported and no longer receives security updates.

This is especially true for database management systems (DBMSs), which are the foundation for key business applications. For organizations running older versions of Microsoft^® SQL Server^®, Microsoft ended support for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 in July 2019, and it will be ending support for SQL Server 2012 in 2022.1 Yet many organizations are still relying on these legacy SQL Server versions. Even worse, vended solutions—like that shiny customer-relationship management (CRM) application your sales team relies on every day—present a more pressing challenge. Once Microsoft ends support for specific versions of SQL Server, application vendors usually follow
right behind.

Running outdated database software presents many risks because technical support and frequent security updates are typically discontinued. Even worse, running legacy versions of SQL Server on old hardware can lead to downtime from equipment failures. And chances are you’ve also been held back by concerns about the cost and difficulties a major upgrade can present.

So what’s the best way forward?