The extended support for Microsoft SQL 2005 is closing in fast. The April 12, 2016 deadline will be your cut off date for making the shift to the Azure SQL Cloud Database or upgrade to the new SQL Server 2014 version. This means that there will be no security updates or upgrades after that date resulting in higher maintenance costs and a less secure and stable business infrastructure.
With just 3 months to go, the alternatives are SQL Server 2014 on-premises or Microsoft Azure SQL Database in the cloud. Upgrade your database today to see dramatic performance gains and new high availability features. Easily scale and onramp to the cloud while maintaining security, support, and compliance.
Why Sysfore matters
Sysfore as a Microsoft Gold partner has proven expertise in database and cloud migration to smoothen your upgrade plans to SQL server 2014 or flawlessly migrate to the Microsoft Azure SQL Database with ease.
Sysfore’s detailed and complete assessment process of your existing infrastructure follows a three pronged step of Discover, Target and Upgrade.
Discover – Indentifying the mission critical, business critical and other applications which are relevant to our business. It includes those databases which impact the normal functioning and usage. Review your current IT infrastructure with the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit.
Target – Target the infrastructure for your upgrade by reviewing your cloud strategy and the infrastructure impacts of key SQL Server enhancements. Also consider the feature comparison that follows.
Upgrade – Depending on the your business application’s importance, you can upgrade either to the SQL Server 2014 or the Azure SQL Database.
Why Plan for the end of support before it’s too late?
The SQL Server 2005 has been running on extended support. This means that you will no longer have any security upgrades and protection for your databases beyond this deadline. You can still avail Microsoft’s support only if there is a custom support contract, which does not include any hand holding.
Security isn’t the only reason to think about upgrading. Here are six benefits to upgrading and migrating your SQL Server 2005 databases before the end of extended support:
Improved Performance – As per industry benchmarks, SQL Server 2014 delivers 13x performance gains relative to SQL Server 2005. Business-critical applications with a new in-memory OLTP engine can deliver on average 10 times and up to 30 times transactional performance gains.
Platform for hybrid cloud – Designed to work in a hybrid environment that spans on-premises and cloud solutions with Microsoft Azure. Azure SQL Database offers SQL Server 2014 support for features, providing high compatibility with existing applications and tools.
Reduce TCO and increase availability with Microsoft Azure – Azure Virtual Machines can help you reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of deployment, management, and maintenance of your enterprise database applications. Plus, it’s easier to upgrade your applications and achieve high availability in the cloud using pre-configured templates in Azure. You experience greater uptime, faster failover, improved manageability, and better use of hardware resource.
Optimized Data Infrastructure – The vast amount of data that is generated by today’s businesses, needs to be stored, managed, utilized in an optimal manner. SQL Server 2014 or Microsoft Azure SQL Database, allows you to have a more flexible data infrastructure that can help your business run more efficiently.
Disaster Recovery – System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) with off-site storage provides backup and restore services. Azure cloud geo restore facilities with disaster recovery facilities with optimal RPO and RTO to enable business continuity.
Scalable pricing plans for multiple needs and budget – Both offer pricing plans which are scalable and competitive.
Additional benefits include saving in the administrative and operational costs. Now is the right time to transform your business and move ahead in the competition.
Sysfore can guide in this transformation, by helping with the migration to Azure cloud or upgrading to the latest SQL Server Database. Mail us on info@sysfore.com or call us at +91-80-4110-5555 and our cloud experts will contact you.