SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 have had a tremendous run. But all good things come to an end, right? On July 9, 2019, Microsoft will end Extended Support, which means no more updates or support of any kind, potentially leaving you vulnerable to security and compliance issues.
The good news is, you still have plenty of time and options to avoid any heartburn caused by the technology “circle of life.” And we’ll lay out all of those options for you in a webinar on July 12.
Non-contrarian opinion: get those old SQL Server instances updated. Life is so much better on the 2012 and later branch.
Contrarian opinion: core-based licensing had such a major impact on businesses that five years from now, we’ll still see more SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 in the wild than we see 2005 today.