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Your office server stops getting security updates on January 12, 2027
2026-10-26
If your business has a server in a back room or a closet, there is a good chance it runs Windows Server 2016. Microsoft stops making security updates for it on January 12, 2027.
Here is what that means, what your choices are, and how to replace it in time.
Is this you?
- Your team saves files to a shared drive in the office.
- Your accounting, practice or client software runs on a computer in the office, not in a web browser.
- Someone set the server up years ago, and nobody has looked at it closely since.
- You are not sure which version of Windows it runs.
If any of these sound familiar, it is worth a check. Whoever looks after your computers can tell you the version in a minute.
What changes on January 12, 2027
Before the date
After the date
Microsoft sends security fixes every month
No more security fixes, unless you pay for them
Microsoft offers technical help
No technical help from Microsoft
New programs and devices support it
Software makers may stop supporting it, one by one
The server works
The server still works; it just stops being updated
Nothing switches off on the day. The server keeps running. What stops is the stream of fixes that keeps it safe to use.
Your choices
Replace the server
A new system, set up properly, that your business owns. The rest of this page is about this choice.
Pay Microsoft for more security fixes
Microsoft sells Extended Security Updates for a limited time, paid year by year, through certain licensing programs. They include no technical help.
Move to the cloud
Your programs run in a data centre instead of your office, usually billed every month.
Upgrade Windows on the same server
Possible if the hardware is new enough. A server bought to run Windows Server 2016 is now several years old, so you would be putting new software on an ageing machine.
Microsoft describes its paid security fixes as “a last resort paid option” and “a temporary bridge”. They buy time; they do not replace the server.
Replace it with a system your business owns
Rackmason replaces the old server with one system that runs your files, your programs and your backups together.
One system instead of a pile of boxes.
Your files, your programs and your backups run in one place. Backup is built in.
Yours, in your own office.
Your business owns the hardware, the software, the documentation and every password. Your client and patient records stay on your own servers, under your control. There is no licence for you to renew.
One company stands behind all of it.
Rackmason, based in Vancouver, designs it, supplies it, sets it up and stands behind the hardware and the software. We deal with every other vendor for you. We work on site across BC and Alberta.
Keeps running when a server fails.
It is designed and tested before it goes live.
If you would rather not look after it yourself, Rackmason can also operate it for you under a managed service contract.
How it works
- 01
A short call, at no cost. You tell us what the server does today.
- 02
We check the fit. We tell you plainly whether Rackmason suits your business.
- 03
We look at what you have, at no cost. Your files, programs and backups, and what the new system needs to do.
- 04
You get a quote.
- 05
We build and test the new system.
- 06
Your files and programs come across, at a time that suits you. The old server keeps running until you sign off.
- 07
We hand it over, with a written handover plan.
Ordering hardware and setting up a new system takes weeks, not days. Starting in November or December leaves room to do it calmly, before January 12.
Book a short call
Tell us what your server does today, and we will tell you plainly what replacing it involves.
or email sales@rackmason.com