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LuisSilva6 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Information Technology at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Jun 9, 2021
Good performance, simple, and works with all kinds of software
Pros and Cons
  • "It is pretty simple and flexible. It works with all kinds of software. That's why we are using it. We avoid using Linux and other platforms."
  • "It can have more integration with different platforms."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for our servers. We have Windows 2012 and Windows 2016. We are not on the latest version, but we are almost there. 

What is most valuable?

It is pretty simple and flexible. It works with all kinds of software. That's why we are using it. We avoid using Linux and other platforms.

Its performance is also good.

What needs improvement?

It can have more integration with different platforms. Its installation could also be easier.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for six years.

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Windows Server
May 2026
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Currently, we have around 150 users. We don't have any plans to increase its usage.

How are customer service and support?

I don't have experience with their technical support.

How was the initial setup?

Its installation is of medium complexity. It can be tricky.

Normally, the installation takes half an hour to one hour. The updates take more time than the installation.

What about the implementation team?

Normally, I do it myself. Only when I have issues, I use a consultant.

We have a technical team of two engineers for deployment and maintenance.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Its price is fine. Its licensing is on a yearly basis.

What other advice do I have?

I would surely recommend this solution to others who want to start using it.

I would rate Windows Server an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Girish Kumar. - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at Botmantra
MSP
Jun 5, 2021
Stable and user-friendly with good performance
Pros and Cons
  • "The performance of the solution is good; it's very easy and user-friendly compared to any other operating system."
  • "The scalability could be better."
  • "The scalability is limited. They could make it easier to expand."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is basically an operating system for business. We use it for business purposes. that's it.

What is most valuable?

The performance of the solution is good.

It's very easy and user-friendly compared to any other operating system.

The stability has been good.

What needs improvement?

The scalability could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for the last five years or so. It's been a while at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. Even if we ran into trouble, we know we can rely on Microsoft to help us very quickly.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is limited. They could make it easier to expand.

I'm working with a startup and I would say there are about 50 people or so on the solution at this time. We don't have a big setup.

Likely, we plan to increase it in the future. By how much, I can't say.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is responsive. We know if we run into issues, they will respond quickly in order to help us resolve the issue. We are quite satisfied with their level of attentiveness. They are helpful.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not use a different solution before setting up this product.

How was the initial setup?

I can't speak to the installation procedures. I've never participated in an initial setup and therefore cannot speak to the process or how easy or hard it was.

I can't speak to the maintenance requirements or how many people on staff look after the solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I'm not involved in the licensing aspect of the solution, I can't speak to the company's arrangement with Microsoft. I'm not sure how often we pay licensing fees or how much.

What other advice do I have?

We are end-users and customers. 

We use multiple deployment models, including cloud and on-premises. 

I'm using the latest version of the solution.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten overall.

I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies. It's worked well for us so far.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Windows Server
May 2026
Learn what your peers think about Windows Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2026.
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Global Head ICT (CITP & MIE) at The Aga Khan Academies
Real User
Jun 3, 2021
Good performance, easy to use, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "It is easy to use, and its performance is good."
  • "When it comes to virtualization, VMware is a bit more advanced in terms of security. Hyper-V does provide facilities, but it probably has to do a bit more work in terms of encryption. People will normally go for VMware because of the features that it has as a server, particularly the virtualization feature."

What is our primary use case?

We are using this solution for all of our on-premise application servers. The latest version is Windows Server 2019, but we are using Windows Server 2016. We haven't felt the need to upgrade it.

What is most valuable?

It is easy to use, and its performance is good. 

What needs improvement?

When it comes to virtualization, VMware is a bit more advanced in terms of security. Hyper-V does provide facilities, but it probably has to do a bit more work in terms of encryption. People will normally go for VMware because of the features that it has as a server, particularly the virtualization feature.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. In terms of its usage, the license that we currently have is good enough for us. We will increase its usage, but we don't need to purchase anything in the foreseeable future. We have enough. 

We are also doing a PoC for moving the server that we have at each location to the cloud. After that is done, we will look at the cost and think about migrating to the cloud.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup is very straightforward. The duration depends on how big the installation is in terms of the database and the domain you want to use. It can vary from about an hour to a couple of hours with updates, etc. It could be anywhere from 60 minutes to 3 hours.

What about the implementation team?

All of our people are adept at handling its installation.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others. I would rate Windows Server an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1488372 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Manager at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
May 31, 2021
Reliable, easy to use, and simple installation
Pros and Cons
  • "The main feature of the solution is the ease of use."
  • "The solution is stable; we created virtual machines with huge configurations and based on our volume of data or jobs it is running, it has been performing very well."
  • "There should be the ability to add other databases to be installed and configured instead of going to other virtual machines. They should be better integrated so they are all in one place."
  • "It is not scalable because we are dealing with virtual machines."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution as a server OS. Due to security reasons, we have created some virtual machines instead of on-premise deployments and we are writing SQL queries.

What is most valuable?

The main feature of the solution is the ease of use.

What needs improvement?

There should be the ability to add other databases to be installed and configured instead of going to other virtual machines. They should be better integrated so they are all in one place.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution since I started my career, which is a long time ago.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. We created virtual machines with huge configurations and based on our volume of data or jobs it is running it has been performing very well.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is not scalable because we are dealing with virtual machines. You just log in to the system and you can run the queries. It is not like a database, where you can integrate and process. You can only use it and let the query control the system.

We have five people using this solution in my organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

If we have an issue we write a ticket to Microsoft and they are able to help us with a solution.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is straightforward, it takes approximately 30 minutes.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There is an annual license required for this solution.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Windows Server a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user1577142 - PeerSpot reviewer
Responsable TUIC at MISSION LAIQUE FRANCAISE
Real User
May 27, 2021
Easy to configure and offers good pricing to educational institutions, but needs to be more stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is very easy to configure."
  • "The product has helped our company as it offers us a domain controller and the use of the domain service."
  • "The solution does not offer very good stability."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for the domain controller.

How has it helped my organization?

The product has helped our company as it offers us a domain controller and the use of the domain service.

What is most valuable?

The solution is very easy to configure.

The solution has a lot of features.

The pricing is good. They offer special pricing to educational institutions that is less than what a typical organization might pay.

What needs improvement?

The solution is not easy to use.

The solution could be more stable. It's an aspect they could improve on in future versions.

The solution could be more scalable and flexible.

The solution needs to offer better documentation and more training to its users. This would help customers better understand how to use the product effectively.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution since 2015. It's been just over five years now. It's been a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution does not offer very good stability. It's something they need to improve upon.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is moderately flexible. I'd rate it at a 3 out of five. It could be better.

We have 100 users on the solution currently. We do have plans to increase the number of users to 200 in the future.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support could be a bit better. they do have a lot of features and sometimes we need assistance with everything.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have some experience with Linux, however, I find it a bit more difficult to implement.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is not too difficult or complex to set up. It's easier to implement than other servers. For example, Linux is much more difficult.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing, for us, is reasonable. We are an educational institution and therefore we get special rates. Therefore, our pricing isn't too bad. However, an enterprise version of the solution is quite expensive.

What other advice do I have?

We are just a customer and an end-user of the solution. We don't have a business relationship with Microsoft.

We are currently using the 2016 version and have plans to upgrade to the 2019 version.

I would recommend the solution to other users and organizations.

I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. It's an okay product, however, there are many areas that could be improved.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1465254 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
May 18, 2021
Easy to use, simple to set up, and scales well
Pros and Cons
  • "The scalability it offers is great."
  • "The stability is good, it's extremely reliable, we are using it in both the development phase and in production whenever we have a release for a client, it doesn't crash or freeze, there are no bugs or glitches, and it also provides multiple metrics that help us supervise the overall performance of the server based on data collected over the lifetime."
  • "Sometimes we face some overload on the server."

What is our primary use case?

We have the product that my team works on and we need to, for example, deploy the solution on running servers. That way, the client can access it and the QAs in our team could test it.

Also, we have some database servers other than the Windows Server. We use it for servers - indicators for better pages for better performance. We create the databases actually. 

What is most valuable?

The remote session is really helpful due to the fact that we are using Windows on our machines. You can access the remote session easily on that server. There's also the database management tool that we use to run queries and show a relational database check. If there is some problem with the data we can see it. 

It's good for performance testing on the actual app.

The scalability it offers is great. We can upgrade for the internal services. If we want to increase storage, or our clients do, the solution can accommodate that.

Overall it's really easy to use. It's like using Windows, yet with many other features.

The initial setup is very easy.

What needs improvement?

Sometimes we face some overload on servers. You need to request one of the IT to assist as there is no way that you can do a remote session on it. They need to intervene directly on the server. It has to be done manually. We also can't intervene ourselves as there is no way to log in remotely to the servers. That's why IT needs to get involved. It's a pain point for us as all you can really do is wait.

In a future release, it would be helpful if there were more tools to help us do some performance testing. The last time we needed to look for tools online and choose some third-party tools to analyze how the application is performing. If they could instead provide us with pre-installed tools, that would be better. There are some but they don't really give you the information that we are looking for. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for the last 12 months. We use it pretty much daily.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. It's extremely reliable. We are using it in both the development phase and in production whenever we have a release for a client. It doesn't crash or freeze. There are no bugs or glitches.
It also provides multiple metrics that help us supervise the overall performance of the server based on data collected over the lifetime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For my own team, from our own premise, there are more than a hundred users at any given time on the solution. Sometimes there could be multiple deployments on one server. 

We do have plans to increase usage. It comes with a variety of good features and it's quite useful to us. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't personally worked with technical support in any capacity. However, I have colleagues that have opened tickets and they don't have any complaints. They are helpful and reliable when dealing with our team.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. There are some requests from the clients to use HTTPS and therefore we needed to test some certificates. The documentation thing for Amazon or Microsoft is really detailed at the center. It's easy to find the details you need.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We do have a license from Microsoft.

I can't speak to how the subscription works however it's my understanding that it's paid yearly due to the fact that it's a large-scale scheme.

What other advice do I have?

We are just a customer and an end-user.

We have servers deployed within the company's headquarters right here in Tunis which we use for internal purposes. For other clients, it's deployed in other data centers, and they have access to them from our company.

I'd recommend this solution to other companies and users. There are some clients that require this particular server and there are some older solutions that require deployment on a Windows Server. That said, we've moved to .net code to support both Microsoft and Linux.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Solution Architect at KIAN company
Real User
Apr 27, 2021
Can be used to implement and configure Active Directory environments for organizations
Pros and Cons
  • "Integration with other Microsoft solutions like Exchange and System Center Configuration Manager has the great ability to manage all of the different features on system support, like upgrading, securing, and troubleshooting different Windows systems for clients."
  • "The biggest and the most important services used in most of the organizations in the world is the Active Directory."
  • "Microsoft needs to expand to integrate the Windows Server with Azure and Linux distribution to provide a simple container environment for running dockerized applications."

What is our primary use case?

We use it to implement and configure Active Directory environments for organizations. Projects can be related to running WS systems as well as implementing and performing System Center Configuration Manager, assisting the OM, Operation Manager, and monitoring.

What is most valuable?

The biggest and the most important services used in most of the organizations in the world is the Active Directory. The policy management feature is a great option for managing different policies in the domain environment. 

Also, integration with other Microsoft solutions like Exchange and System Center Configuration Manager has the great ability to manage all of the different features on system support, like upgrading, securing, and troubleshooting different Windows systems for clients.

What needs improvement?

I think integration with Linux operating systems would be a great idea, as well as focusing on the simplicity of running containers in the Linux environments. I think this would be a requirement for the next generation of applications running in .NET and Microsoft programming languages.

Microsoft should expand to integrate the Windows Server with Azure and Linux distribution to provide a simple container environment for running dockerized applications.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using it for around 10 years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. We currently have around 30 engineers using the Windows Server, but we hope to increase this number.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very simple.

What about the implementation team?

I implemented it myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

One of the problems with Microsoft is the price of licensing, and volume licensing for educational systems is a great option to bequeath licensing for small businesses.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate it at nine.

For authentication and identity management, without a doubt, I would suggest using the Active Directory with Microsoft Windows Servers.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Nadeem Abdulla - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager IT Infrastructure at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Apr 21, 2021
Easy to install and use but stability and scalability need improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to use."
  • "Most of our computers have the Windows Server operating system, and all of our applications are running on it."
  • "The stability could be improved."
  • "The scalability could be better, it's not very good."

What is our primary use case?

Most of our computers have the Windows Server operating system, and all of our applications are running on it.

What is most valuable?

It's easy to use.

What needs improvement?

The stability could be improved.

The scalability could also be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Windows Server for a couple of years.

For the most part, we are using version 2015.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's stable but could be better.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability could be better, it's not very good.

We have approximately 1,000 users in our organization.

We have plans to continuing using this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have not contacted technical support for Windows Server.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are also using Red Hat Linux.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

It took one to two hours to deploy.

We have one or two people for the deployment.

What about the implementation team?

We completed the installation ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We purchase licenses.

It's expensive, but we have a need for it and have to purchase it.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I would rate Windows Server a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
GirdharMishra - PeerSpot reviewer
Program Manager at iONE IT Solutions
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Mar 31, 2021
Good technical support, a straightforward installation, and very easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very easy to use for the end-user."
  • "The solution is very easy to use due to the fact that it has a broad base."
  • "The licensing for the solution is expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We are primarily using the solution for implementing some of our applications.

The applications that are running are very easy to handle. Most of the applications are on the Linux environment, as well.

What is most valuable?

The solution is very easy to use due to the fact that it has a broad base. It is very easy to use for the end-user. 

The installation is straightforward.

Technical support has been very good overall.

What needs improvement?

A lot of attacks are monitored however, there are a lot of things coming into it. This is why we need to provide more security with respect to the Linux platform. There's more security on Windows and not enough on Linux.

The licensing for the solution is expensive.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for a very long time. I can't recall the exact number of years, however. I just know it's been a long while. I've definitely used it over the last 12 months.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have around ten technicians and they are all using the product. However, the server itself is used across the organization.

We do plan to continue to use the server going forward. We have no plans to change just now.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is very helpful and supportive. They have been knowledgeable and responsive. We're satisfied with the level of support we get.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite straightforward It's not too complex. It's easy to execute on both Windows and Linux.

The deployment was pretty quick and only took about one and a half hours.

What about the implementation team?

We handled the implementation ourselves. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

You do have to pay for licenses to use the solution. It's quite expensive in general. However, that's just for Windows. Linux is not supported right now.

What other advice do I have?

We are using the latest version of the solution. I'm not sure what the version number is.

We have it deployed both on-cloud and on-premises.

I'd recommend the solution to others.

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
SCADA/EMS System Programmer at GCCIA
Real User
Mar 15, 2021
User friendly and it's compatible with the scalar product applications
Pros and Cons
  • "User friendly and compatible with the scalar product applications."
  • "The advantage of the product is that it's user friendly, it's compatible with the scalar product applications, it's well known to our own users as well as to our end-user clients."
  • "Could use more features and more functionality."
  • "I'd like to see more features and more functionality to the Microsoft operating system."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is for the SCADA system, for the ITS system, and for the station system. I'm a system programmer and we are customers of Microsoft.

What is most valuable?

The advantage of the product is that it's user friendly, it's compatible with the scalar product applications, it's well known to our own users as well as to our end-user clients. 

What needs improvement?

I'd like to see more features and more functionality to the Microsoft operating system. The solution should be able to connect remotely and create a safer channel between the user and cloud assets, or through the internet. It's one of the biggest challenges we've had this past year. There are a lot of companies competing with each other to apply these features due to the pandemic. 

For additional features, I'd like to see something like third-party applications that would create a hub to receive a connection from outside. It would handle all types of servers to enable remote access for the user from home, so they can safely connect to the system and check in if there is an emergency. You know that the SCADA system is a critical system and you can be considered on-call and notified at any time. It would enable a remote connection rather than the need for long procedures to connect to my network. It could have a third-party authentication so we could connect to the server safely.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've used this product since 2008. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable with the current application we are using for SCADA but I'm not sure of the impact if you were to use another application or another technology. For the appliances using the firewall, using switches, it's very stable, especially, the critical system which you configure once, and forget about until you need to make another vulnerability scan. For the critical asset, or for the entire system, you'll configure it once, and it's stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sometimes you need a huge number of firewalls to manage all the assets, so scalability depends on the assets you have in your network. In our case we sometimes only connect seven substations, that's three or four firewalls to manage everything. That includes interconnection with the member states, meaning six countries in the Gulf area that will receive information or data from them. The total number of data is very manageable requiring only three or four firewalls. In general, it is scalable and manageable. We have just under 100 users. We have around 10 technical teams in our control center and 10 engineers monitoring the system who deal with admin, modifications and monitoring the system.

How are customer service and technical support?

Any patching is tested in Dubai before applying it to the production system. We have minimal contact with the IT technical team. Given that the system is very stable, we rarely talk to the Microsoft technical team. 

How was the initial setup?

There is usually a factory acceptance test, but because of the pandemic we have an agreement with our vendor for the latest project that we will carry out the merger in Saudi Arabia.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We're engaged with a reseller who deals with licensing for us. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution a nine out of 10. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Windows Server Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Windows Server Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.