Many companies continue to rely on Windows Server 2003

It seems that the constant expert warnings that legacy software should be avoided aren’t really resonating with businesses across the world. According to a new report by Spiceworks, more than half (53 percent) of companies all over the world have at least one instance of Windows Server 2003.

That wouldn’t be much of an issue if the operating system’s EOL (end of life) date wasn’t a year ago (July 14, 2015). After that date, Microsoft has officially ceased supporting the product, stopped releasing patches and new updates, which means that companies still using Windows Server 2003 are actually putting themselves at a lot of cyber risk.

When asked why they decided not to migrate to a newer version, IT pros said there was no "immediate need". Not having enough time or the proper budget were also reasons behind the decision.

Just above three quarters (76 percent) of companies take advantage of virtualization, Spiceworks says, adding that Vmware vSpehere ESXi is used by 71 percent of companies, while Microsoft Hyper-V holds 23 percent of the market share. Just six per cent of organizations are using other hypervisors such as Citrix XenServer.

Windows Server 2008 is still the most popular one, holding 45 percent of the market. It is followed by Windows Server 2013 with 24 percent. Microsoft, in total, holds 88 percent market share.

"Going forward, virtualization will continue to venture into the last 25 percent or so of unexplored territory, and we expect the OS install base to start trending newer as Windows Server 2016 launches and Windows Server 2008 gets closer to its 2020 EOL date", the report concludes.

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