[one_full last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”#f5f5f5″ background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Romeo and Juliet, Titanic, Ghost, SQL Server 2005 – all heart-breaking stories that remind us how hard it is to say goodbye to something you love. As Microsoft’s page states, on April 12, 2016 support for SQL 2005 will end, and we all know how much everyone loved SQL 2005. This means any instances of SQL 2005 will be hanging around from beyond the grave just like Patrick Swayze in Ghost to the Demi Moore of your IT infrastructure, and any security vulnerabilities will not be patched, so as time goes on your server will be more and more exposed to weaknesses. How sad.

If I were you, I would double check that you are not running SQL 2005 anywhere in your infrastructure (or call us and we’ll do it for you) as we have had multiple occasions where a customer has asked us to upgrade one instance of SQL 2005 and found five or more still up and running, so it’s best to be sure no part of your IT environment is going to become a weak link in the system.

Now, if you are considering upgrading you have a variety of options – but the main thing to remember is this is not just a maintenance task, use the opportunity to get the most value out of your investment. You can look at simply moving up to SQL 2014, which will definitely keep you up to date and has significant security and efficient upgrades, or take the opportunity to look at the possibility of migrating into the cloud.

Windows 10 will become a subscription based service, Microsoft wants to become a service company rather than a product company. Moving to Microsoft Azure guarantees constant support and an optimised data platform infrastructure. Even if you partially migrate into a private or public cloud, you can get all the benefits of cloud computing and finally look forward to avoiding any more emotional goodbyes to end of life database servers in future.

risual are experts in cloud computing and SQL, and we are running a technical webcast with Microsoft showcasing the best upgrade routes in detail and the benefits of Azure, please fill in the form below for more information or sign up here.

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