End of Exchange Server 2003 Support

May 23, 2014DeborahBlog, Uncategorized

On April 8th, 2014 Microsoft’s Exchange Server 2003 extended support ended.

Exchange Server 2003 certainly has had a good run over the last 10 years since it was released back in back in October 2003. It made ActiveSync available to the mainstream (Mobile Information Server was not required), implemented anti-spam measures and also introduced RPC/HTTPS which was later renamed to be Outlook Anywhere. Do you still remember the “fun” of manually configuring the OA settings, prior to SP1, manually in the registry?

Exchange had certainly reached a point during the Exchange Server 2003 lifecycle which meant radical changes were required to let Exchange grow and overcome certain limitations. Moving to x64 based architecture allowed Exchange to leverage more memory and move beyond the painful limitation of only being able to work with 4GB of memory. PowerShell simplified the administrator’s life compared to writing vbscript, and the Exchange System Manager with options buried at numerous levels was also replaced.

While we can now look back on those halcyon days, it’s almost time to say goodbye to this old friend….

Exchange 2003 reached the end of it’s extended support window on the 8th of April 2014. Additionally other products also ceased to be supported.

Outlook 2003 transitioned out of extended support on 8th of April 2014

Exchange Server 2003 transitioned out of extended support on 8th of April 2014

Windows XP transitioned out of extended support on 8th of April 2014

Exchange 2010 SP2 transitioned out of support on 8th April 2014

And as a non Exchange specific item, please also note Windows 2003:

Windows Server 2003 will transition out of extended support on 14th of July 2015

Unfortunately, most of the businesses have waited until the very last minute to make that inevitable migration, thus putting companies in greater jeopardy as an end result. At OC Cloud 9, we understand the reluctance towards network migrations as they often mean a huge software investment in which the required financial investment might not be available. This is the opportunity to evaluate moving to The Cloud. Our Cloud Migration Experts are opening doors to new clients where other Cloud Solution Providers lack the skillset to properly virtualize and migrate all aspects of a company network. It’s not just about Hosted Exchange or Office 365. Your biggest obstacle might be your mission critical Proprietary Software Applications. OC Cloud 9 can help. Give us a call today at 949-699-6619.

Written by Deborah

Deborah is the Director of Network Operations at OC Cloud 9. She oversees the daily Operations of the company. She has been working with Orange County Computer, Inc., the parent company of OC Cloud9, Inc., since 2003. Prior to working in the IT Industry, her area of expertise was in regulatory compliance in the Healthcare Industry working with state and federal regulatory agencies. She acts as our interpreter regarding all HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Deborah's office mantra is "Keep the client happy" and she will act as the liaison between a client request and a technical barrier to resolving as issue. She is happy to help. In her spare time, you might find her paddle boarding in the ocean or skiing in the mountains.

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End of Exchange Server 2003 Support