Microsoft’s Next End of Service: SQL Server 2005

Microsoft (MSFT) will end all support for SQL Server 2005 on April 12, 2016, giving current users one year to migrate their servers.

After the EOS date, customers will still be able to run instances of SQL Server 2005 but will no longer receive hotfixes or security updates, potentially exposing them to malicious attacks.

The announcement came via a recent blog post from T.K. Rengarajan, corporate vice president of Data Platform at Microsoft.

“In its time SQL Server 2005 was a great choice for your departmental and midmarket IT needs,” said Rengarajan. “Over the last decade, Microsoft has continued to invest and SQL Server has evolved to be an enterprise-class solution to support your growing business needs. If you haven’t yet moved on to take advantage of these capabilities, now is the time to start planning.”

While some users may balk at the thought of switching to a newer version of SQL Server and migrating all of their information, Rengarajan stressed that the EOS date is an opportunity for enterprises to provide new value to their businesses. According to Microsoft, SQL Server 2014 offers 13 times the speed of SQL Server 2005, with additional tools for migrating to the cloud and integration with Windows Server 2012 R2 for scaling purposes. Customers also can migrate to Azure SQL Database if they want to store information via the cloud.

Microsoft said it will continue to post a series of blogs around SQL Server 2005 end of support throughout the year, in addition to tools and resources to help customers migrate. Prospective buyers can also demo SQL Server 2014 or Microsoft Azure with a free trial.

Finally, the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit is available for customers who want to assess their current IT infrastructure ahead of migration.

The announcement comes just two two months before Microsoft pulls all support for Windows Server 2003 on July 14. For more on the impending Windows Server 2003 EOS, check out our Migration Madness package.