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Microsoft plans to stop supportingan older version of Windows, NT Server 4.0, at the end of 2004 - a decisionthat affects thousands of enterprises, with more than two million serversstill running the network operating system, who have not developed andexecuted plans for migrating to a different enterprise networking environment.

Maha Mahadevan, president and CEO of Norcross, Ga.-based BOSS, whichoffers network asset management software and services to all size enterprises,says that those who do not make a change to either an upgraded Microsoftnetwork platform or one offered by another vendor will have to play virtually”without a net” in today’s high-risk enterprise networking environment.

“Since Microsoft will not be providing patches, security fixes and evenpremier pay-per-incident support for the Windows NT Server any longer, youwill have to address security problems and other technology issues on yourown,” said Mahadevan.

“Your enterprise will become more vulnerable to hackers. Your networkavailability will be subject to inordinate downtime. Your users will loseproductivity. New software applications, such as accounting, backup, firewall,mail server or anti-virus protection may not be backwardly compatible with NTServer. And even when you buy replacement hardware there may not be driversavailable to make the components work on your network.”

As a Microsoft Gold Software Development Partner, the BOSS product suite,which includes the DiagWin network management and software deployment utility,and the U-Win software and operating system migration aid, plus BOSS’sexpertise and track record in successful enterprise migrations, would be ofgreat benefit to any organization contemplating upgrading to the recommendedMicrosoft path.

In addition, Mahadevan said, BOSS’s custom development and deploymentskills would be of great value to those seeking to migrate instead to anentirely different networking environment, like open source Linux or UNIX.

A successful migration takes a number of weeks of proper planning andexecution, addressing server and workstation configurations, domainconfigurations, mail, corporate practices and policies, and otherconsiderations, said Mahadevan. “Most enterprises already feel the pinch ofconstrained IT resources just in supporting and maintaining resourceavailability for their users,” he said. “BOSS can give those IT managers theextra muscle they need to make any migration path smooth and painless.” Microsoft stopped supporting client versions of NT on June 30, 2004, andthe Dec. 31 end of support for NT Server signals a total discontinuation ofthe product. Its upgrade strategy is to prepare a smoother migration path toits 64-bit operating environment that’s expected to hit the market in 2005 and2006.

Microsoft recommends that NT customers migrate to Windows 2003 Server,which in many cases involves upgrades to Microsoft Exchange Server and Webserver applications. BOSS has experience and creative expertise in assistingenterprises with all aspects of that deployment, including migrations toActive Directory, the Microsoft schema for tracking all network resources andusers, and SharePoint Portal Server, which enables enterprises to seamlesslyconnect users, teams and knowledge so people can take advantage of relevantinformation across multiple business processes.

All of that will provide solid foundations for the enterprise toaccommodate the 64-bit architecture that is making its way into enterprisestoday.

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