Migrate Off Legacy Servers Before They Crash (and Take Your Data with Them)
You've heard the term “End of Life,” right? It refers to the point where a piece of IT hardware no longer has software support, and its hardware has become unreliable.
When you have a server approaching its End of Life, you have two options:
- Buy a new server, and migrate your data over to it.
- Migrate that server’s data & functions to the cloud.
Which solution works best? It depends on your network infrastructure, budget, and remote access requirements. To figure it out, talk to your IT consultant.
They may recommend you buy a new server. If your network contains many large files/databases, or has strict data privacy needs, this is the better way to go. Some data does not belong in the cloud!
However, the cloud offers many secure, viable services that are appropriate for other server needs. Moving from your legacy server to the cloud saves money in two ways:
- No costs to buy & develop a new physical server
- No server maintenance costs, beyond the cloud service's monthly fee
Whichever option makes more sense, don’t sit on an old server (or network hardware) until you start running into issues.
On average, a server lasts 3-5 years, and network hardware lasts 5-6 years. After that, the hardware can fail at any time, triggering a painful & expensive repair.
When did you buy your hardware? From there, estimate the rough “End of Life” point in the future. Then go 1 year back from that date, and mark your calendar to ask your IT consultant about replacing it.
This is one of the cost-saving tips you can get from our white paper, "7 Ways You Can Save On Your IT Costs Right Now." The download's free—just head to PlanetMagpie.com/downloads.