From the desk of the President:
Most hospitals consider ECG management systems to be mission critical. If your system is running on a Microsoft Server 2008 operating system, that operating system will be at the end of life (EOL) on 14 January 2020. What happens when a Microsoft operating system goes end of life?
- Microsoft will not provide patches or updates
- There will be no technical assistance available
- Newly identified vulnerabilities will not be addressed
- Microsoft will not offer any types of support for EOL systems
Possibly worse than the problems outlined above, after an operating system goes EOL, those systems are often targeted and exploited by cyberattacks. Anyone facing this EOL should begin planning the upgrade of their ECG management system.
A few warnings from the internet regarding EOL software:
Staying on EOL Software Renders Your System Vulnerable, “Hackers exist to prey on vulnerabilities, and end of life software provides them with ample opportunities.” Read more >Can I still use my current system?
Yes, you will be able to continue using your computer with Windows 7 or Server 2008, but they will have a major security vulnerability and may not meet required standards for governing entities like HIPAA, FINRA, etc.
Read more >
Depending on the circumstances, one recommendation is to move the on-premise Microsoft SQL 2008 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 workloads into the Microsoft Azure cloud. Read more >
Note: Epiphany Cloud Services offers ECG Management in the Microsoft Azure cloud.
I write this message to strongly encourage you to begin planning an upgrade as soon as possible. Please share this communication with people in your organization who can accelerate a system upgrade. 
