Hóka-héy! Today is a good day to die(*).

With all the media attention for Windows XP support coming to an end today, one might forget that today also marks the official death of Exchange Server 2003 as the extended support phase ends for one of the products many of us developed a love-hate relationship with over the years. In addition, extended support for Office 2003 also ends today.

Reaching the end of extended support means that as of today, those products are no longer supported and will no longer receive security patches. Therefor, organization running Exchange Server 2003 or using Outlook 2003 might be exposed to security risks.

Of course there is an exception to this rule, depending on how deep your pockets are. Organization neglecting or ignoring the upcoming demise of products for some period can continue to receive support for a hefty price. For example, the UK government paid $9m for an additional year of Windows XP, Office 2003 and Exchange 2003 support, and the Dutch government paid an undisclosed amount for an additional year of Windows XP support for around 40,000 systems. Ironically, the Dutch National Cyber Security Center NCSC, part of the department of justice, warned citizens to stop using Windows XP and upgrade.

For organizations still running Exchange Server 2003, there is nothing to be ashamed of as there are occasional sightings of Exchange 5.5 out there. When you think about upgrading, be advised that there is no direct upgrade path to Exchange Server 2013 and you either need to perform a double hop migration through Exchange Server 2007 or Exchange Server 2010 (recommended) or migrate to Office 365 as an alternative.

*) A battle cry attributed to Crazy Horse