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1.4. Assessing the ReleaseTwo camps of people and their organizations will find compelling reasons to upgrade to Windows Server 2003:
If you are not a member of either group, the value of upgrading to Windows Server 2003 is less clear. Traditionally, Microsoft operating system upgrades offered at least somewhat compelling reasons to move to the newest edition: improved user interfaces, performance improvements, the migration from 16- to 32-bit, and so on. That's not as much the case anymore, at least until the next paradigm shift at Microsoft, which won't be for a few years. For most corporations, it's a question of timing. Consider that the next radically different revision of Windows, codenamed Longhorn, is three years away on the desktop and four to five years away on the server. So, whatever you choose, you have a while to live with it. For others, it's a question of finances: if you can't afford to upgrade to Windows Server 2003, you are not missing much. If you are satisfied with Windows 2000, nothing in Windows Server 2003 is absolutely mandatory. If you're on NT, however, it's time to move to Windows Server 2003. (Although I am familiar with several IT shops that have done so, it doesn't make practical sense to go to Windows 2000 from NT at this point.) |
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