Salt Lake City, April 3, 2008 – Burton Group, a research firm focused on in-depth analysis of enterprise technologies released a report and podcast series recommending when and if enterprise IT organizations should upgrade to Windows Server 2008.

 

In the report, “Windows Server 2008: To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade?” Vice President and Service Director, Richard Jones, says it’s a given that Microsoft Windows Server customers will be pushed into upgrading to Windows Server 2008 by mid-2010 before extended-support costs begin for Windows Server 2003. Customers who cannot complete the upgrade in that timeframe should negotiate and plan for proper extended-support from Microsoft.

 

Jones recommends IT organizations wait until 2009 to begin to move critical workloads to Windows Server 2008. This allows time for third-party application vendors to release and certify their products for Windows Server 2008, IT staffs to be trained on the features of the new OS, and Windows Server 2008 to prove itself over time in live-deployment environments. Jones recommends Windows customers migrate selected non-critical workloads to Windows Server 2008 during 2008 as a training and proving ground.

 

However, Jones says competitive migrations are an exception. Customers considering moving in either direction, from Linux to Windows or Windows to Linux, must judge based on the applications and services required. In the report, Jones evaluates Microsoft’s attempts to attract IT organizations running UNIX and Linux and whether or not they merit a migration to Windows Server 2008.

 

In a two-part podcast series, Jones, Chris Howard, VP and executive strategist, and Drue Reeves, VP and research director, explore the major features of Windows Server 2008, providing clarification on when upgrades for specific classes of workload should be performed compared with those that can wait. Additionally, Burton Group has made the report, “Windows Server 2008: To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade?” available for free.

 

Access Links:

Podcast part 2: Windows Server 2008 Roundtable

Podcast part 1: Windows Server 2008

Windows Server 2008: To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade? http://www.burtongroup.com/Guest/Dcs/WindowsServer2008.aspx

 

Burton Group (http://www.burtongroup.com/) helps technologists make smart enterprise architecture decisions in increasingly complex environments. Burton Group’s research and advisory services focus on in-depth analysis of technologies related to security, identity management, application platforms, service-oriented architecture, collaboration, content management, networks and telecom, and the data center.

 

Contact:

Collin Searle

Burton Group PR Specialist

801-304-8102