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Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. launched its long-delayed Windows Server 2003 operating system last week, but some users couldn't wait.
Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. jumped from Windows 2000 Server to the Windows 2003 beta to gain a performance edge and pursue server consolidation.
Meanwhile, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Intrawest Corp. took the plunge in hopes that Active Directory would help rein in the many domain controllers they had with Windows NT 4.0.
Windows Server 2003 promises improvements in performance, scalability, reliability, security, manageability, networking and its integrated .Net development framework. But migrating to a new server operating system is no snap for any IT shop, once the planning, testing and potential disruption to end users are factored into the equation.

Matthew Dunn, CIO at Intrawest Corp.

All four of these early adopters said they realized benefits from migrating to Windows Server 2003, but they also expended months of effort to make sure they did. Plus, as participants in Microsoft's joint development or rapid adoption programs, they received special assistance to ensure that their projects went smoothly.
Careful assessment and planning will be crucial for any company migrating to Windows Server 2003, in order to realize the full business benefits and justify the expense in a tough economy, analysts and consultants say.
IT managers need to step back and envision the future, advises Chris Burry, a technology infrastructure practice director at consultancy Avanade Inc., a Seattle-based joint venture between Accenture Ltd. and Microsoft. Burry says IT shops should weigh questions such as what role directory services will play in their business and how those services can enable provisioning, security and management. "If you look at what you need the infrastructure to do," Burry says, "that's the best way to organize your migration."
Directory Drives Migration

	Steve Randich, CIO at Nasdaq

For organizations using NT 4, such as the KDE, Active Directory is often the first step of the migration. KDE had over 300 Windows NT 4.0 domains and more than 2,000 domain controllers dotting the state's 176 school districts and 1,400 schools, and the distributed systems had become tough to manage and patch, particularly from a security standpoint.
Chuck Austin, project manager of the Kentucky Education Technology System, says both IT staffers and school superintendents saw the benefits of using Active Directory to centrally manage critical network resources and deliver services. Their goal is to improve security, reduce recurring costs and complexity, stabilize backbone services and lay a foundation for better collaboration among the state's 600,000 students and 100,000