Your Old SQL Version Isn’t Supported by Microsoft

It’s tempting to hold off SQL server upgrades as long as possible especially if everything is working fine. This approach leads to major problems down the road, especially as you get further from the end date for support. Here are the biggest challenges you could run into if you avoid upgrading.

IT Staff Gets More Expensive

Think about how hard it is to recruit quality IT talent right now. Now imagine how bad it’s going to be in a few years when the pool of specialists for your SQL version is down to a handful of people. Even if you go with a managed service provider, you’re still paying far more than you would due to the niche nature of these services.

You’re One Bug Away From Losing Your Databases

Are you willing to risk your organization’s data when an unfixable bug comes up? As IT professionals move away from your version of SQL and become proficient in the latest versions, you have fewer people able to deal with new and unexpected bugs. All it takes is one unfixable bug to ruin one of your most important assets.

New Security Loopholes and Exploits Go Unpatched

Cybersecurity should be one of your organization’s biggest IT concerns. Ransomware, trojans, keyloggers and other malware can make it impossible to function. You run the risk of having all of your data encrypted, losing control of your business network or having critical accounts get compromised.

When companies large and small are running into devastating cyber attacks, you’re going against best practices by using a SQL Server version that’s unable to get patches for zero-day exploits and new attack methods.

Unplanned Downtime Is the Elephant in the Room

All of these problems can also result in unplanned downtime. If you feel like you don’t have the time to execute a server migration, how can you have the time to recover from unplanned downtime?

Need more reasons to upgrade from your outdated version of SQL? Download our white paper “Top 9 Reasons to Upgrade Your SQL Environment” and get in touch to start your migration planning.