Charities urged to transfer valuable data from ageing Windows Server 2003
Howard Lake | 5 June 2015 | News
Charity sector software specialists Advanced NFP is encouraging not-for-profit organisations to migrate from Windows Server 2003 to an alternative platform to protect the security of their donor, volunteer and membership data.
Windows Server 2003 is approaching the end of its effective life: Microsoft will officially withdraw support for the server operating system next month.
The company warned that organisations that continue to use unsupported hardware and software supported on such platforms could be susceptible to online attacks that might compromise personal information on supporters, members and their giving or volunteering histories.
Simon Fowler, Managing Director, Advanced NFP, explained why the company had issued the warning to charities. He said:
“Windows Server 2003 is still widely used by fundraising and membership organisations and many have yet to formulate alternative migration plans. Failure to upgrade to a modern server infrastructure could place confidential data at greater risk from hackers and malware attacks, potentially with major implications.”
Any unpatched weakness on the server could impact applications such as fundraising and membership management, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and back office applications such as financial management, HR and payroll, and email services.
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14 July 2015
The key date is 14 July 2015. From then on Microsoft will no longer be issuing security patches or updates for Windows Server 2003.
Fowler advises:
“Now is a good opportunity to evaluate existing IT platforms and take advantage of cost savings through better value support options. Upgrading your infrastructure, taking advantage of virtualisation technology or even migrating solutions to the cloud, can all offer flexible and scalable ways to improve operational efficiencies and reduce data security risks to ensure business continuity”.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.