We use Windows for its Single-Instance Storage, SIS, capabilities. The solution has deduplication default features. In respect of Windows security, the solution offers a GUI, graphical user interface, that is very convenient for the user. Linux, for its part, does not offer a graphical user interface.
IT manager at a agriculture with 10,001+ employees
A stable and easily installable deduplication solution
Pros and Cons
- "The installation is not difficult. I found it to be very straightforward."
- "In respect of Windows security, the solution offers a GUI, graphical user interface, that is very convenient for the user."
- "The solution's licensing price is on the expensive side."
- "The price of the solution's license is expensive and this an issue which demands Window's immediate attention."
What is our primary use case?
What needs improvement?
The solution's licensing price is on the expensive side. This is an issue which Microsoft should address right away.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have much experience with Windows Server, having used it my entire career, in excess of 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We do not have plans to increase usage for at least the coming two years.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not use a different solution for our desktop prior to Windows Server, although for our server we used Linux.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is not difficult. I found it to be very straightforward.
It lasted 35 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
The installation can be done on one's own. Only one person is needed for the deployment. However, as we have a large scale data center, we have a team, consisting of five members, who are responsible for maintaining the entire infrastructure.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution's license is expensive and this an issue which demands Window's immediate attention.
Our licensing fee is perpetual.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Windows Server as 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.
Control Systems Supervisor at a renewables & environment company with 201-500 employees
Stable, reliable, and is able to run many applications
Pros and Cons
- "The only thing that is extremely valuable about the solution is that most applications run on it. That's where it brings the value in as we have the server to run our applications."
- "The solution seems to be quite stable, with no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze, making it very reliable."
- "There's always room for improvement. However, I'm not in the main IT department, and therefore, I'm not as close to the product as others on my team."
- "There's always room for improvement. However, I'm not in the main IT department, and therefore, I'm not as close to the product as others on my team."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution as our general operating system.
What is most valuable?
The only thing that is extremely valuable about the solution is that most applications run on it. That's where it brings the value in as we have the server to run our applications.
The product is stable.
What needs improvement?
I can't think of any improvements off the top of my head.
There's always room for improvement. However, I'm not in the main IT department, and therefore, I'm not as close to the product as others on my team.
For how long have I used the solution?
The company has used the solution for quite a while. They were using it well before I arrived at the organization.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution seems to be quite stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
How are customer service and support?
To my knowledge, we have not dealt directly with Microsoft support. We haven't really had a need.
How was the initial setup?
For the most part, we didn't do the initial setup on it. We either buy the product with Microsoft already installed or the system integrator will install it.
We have systems administrators that can maintain the solution. We have a few people on our team that can handle any tasks.
What about the implementation team?
Occasionally, we have a systems integrator that assists in the installation or it comes pre-installed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't deal with pricing or licensing. I can't speak to how much the licensing costs.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten overall. We've been overall very pleased with the product.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Windows Server
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Windows Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
885,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Co-Founder and Director of Services at Continuous Software at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Pretty stable and not too hard to deploy
Pros and Cons
- "Setting up Windows Server is pretty straightforward. It takes anywhere from a few hours to a day. One person can do it if it's not a complex environment."
- "Setting up Windows Server is pretty straightforward."
- "Windows Server could always be more secure."
- "Windows Server could always be more secure."
What is our primary use case?
We deploy our solution in Windows Server when our customers are working in Windows. So it depends on the customer's requirements.
What needs improvement?
Windows Server could always be more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with Windows Server off and on for many years. I'm not an end-user, but my company deploys our product from time to time on Windows Server when our customers are using that environment.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In my experience, Windows Server is pretty stable. Then again, I don't have much experience administrating that environment, so I can't really say. But, so far we haven't had any significant issues with Windows Server.
How are customer service and support?
I think Microsoft support is probably pretty standard, but we haven't had any issues with the operating system that would require a ticket. Most of the time we use basic stuff for the operating system, so we're not facing any significant issues on that side.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Windows Server is pretty straightforward. It takes anywhere from a few hours to a day. One person can do it if it's not a complex environment. At our organization, it would only take a couple of technical experts. We have 100 plus specialists, consultants, and some field teams as well.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have a partnership, so we get all of the licensing through that.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Windows Server eight out of 10, but that's not an expert opinion. I don't specialize in that operating system.
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.
Engineer at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
A robust, scalable, and low-maintenance solution
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Windows Server is its scalability and robustness."
- "Windows Server provides a robust operating system that keeps our processes running 24 hours a day without any downtime."
- "Windows could add more tools to monitor the health of the server."
- "Windows could add more tools to monitor the health of the server."
What is our primary use case?
We use Windows Server for process control in process control systems. Right now, the operations team is the only one using the solution. They conduct day collection for our process control system.
How has it helped my organization?
Windows Server provides a robust operating system that keeps our processes running 24 hours a day without any downtime.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Windows Server is its scalability and robustness.
What needs improvement?
Windows could add more tools to monitor the health of the server.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Windows Server for 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Windows Server is highly robust. We only have to do maintenance on the system once yearly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Windows Server is very scalable, but we don't have any plans to increase our usage in the near term.
How are customer service and support?
So far, we've only had good experiences with Windows support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were previously running Unix, but the manufacturer of our control system forced us to switch to Windows Server. We didn't have a choice.
How was the initial setup?
We set up the servers ourselves. The time needed to deploy varies from server to server.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Windows could always lower the cost.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Windows Server about a nine out of 10. It's very robust, but there is always room for improvement in monitoring and other features.
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.
Group DWH and BI Senior Manager at Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa
Plenty of support, flexible, and easy to maintain
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are the ease of access and maintaining the solution."
- "The most valuable features are the ease of access and maintaining the solution."
- "The security could improve. If you are comparing the Linux operating systems and Windows Server, Windows Server is still way behind in terms of security. Microsoft can enhance security instead of having customers rely on third-party security tools."
- "The security could improve. If you are comparing the Linux operating systems and Windows Server, Windows Server is still way behind in terms of security."
What is our primary use case?
We use Windows Server mainly for deploying high-end applications and databases.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the ease of access and maintaining the solution.
What needs improvement?
The security could improve. If you are comparing the Linux operating systems and Windows Server, Windows Server is still way behind in terms of security. Microsoft can enhance security instead of having customers rely on third-party security tools.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Windows Server for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Windows Server is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable and flexible to expend.
We have approximately 25 users using this solution in my organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support and local support from Microsoft are good and there is a large online community that can support us. If we ever have any problems or bugs with the solution we can reach out to those supports to help us. However, we have not encountered any issues at this time.
How was the initial setup?
If it is a basic installation then it is pretty straightforward. However, if you need to do a lot of configurations you will need some technical knowledge.
What about the implementation team?
We can do the implementation ourselves, but mostly we distribute the task to consultants because they know the timeliness and the amount of work that needs to be done.
We have our IT support team of administrators and technicians that needs to manage the resources and in some cases do patch management and maintenance. For server maintenance, we need an expert that understands how to scale up or scale down the server.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a one-time purchase for the license of Windows Server.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Technically we only have two options to choose from for a solution to our use case. One is red Hat Linux and the other is Windows Server. Some of the applications that the team needs to develop only work on Windows Server. Based on the use case and the ease of access we went for Windows Server.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
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.
Senior Cloud Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Scalable, highly stable, and easy installation
Pros and Cons
- "We have been using this solution for a long time and it has been stable."
- "We have been using this solution for a long time and it has been stable."
- "The solution could improve by being more secure."
- "The solution could improve by being more secure."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Windows Server to run applications.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by being more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Windows Server for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have been using this solution for a long time and it has been stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We are using virtualization servers, and on average we have installed approximately 200 servers.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not needed to contact the support.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We have two managers doing the maintenance of the solution and a team of five that handles the operations.
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 would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Windows Server an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Digital Services Engineer at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
User-friendly with good scalability and offers multiple deployment methods
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very user-friendly."
- "The solution is very user-friendly, and the scalability is very good; you can deploy the solution either on the cloud or on-premises."
- "The solution needs more integration capabilities."
- "The solution needs more integration capabilities."
What is our primary use case?
The product is primarily used for applications, data storage, and communications. We also use it for the directory.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very user-friendly.
The scalability is very good.
You can deploy the solution either on the cloud or on-premises.
What needs improvement?
The solution needs more integration capabilities.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for 15 years at this point. It's been well over a decade. I've used it for a long time.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution is good. It's not a problem to expand it.
Likely the entire company is using the solution, however, I cannot speak to exact numbers that are on the solution right now.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've never been in touch with technical support in the past. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not previously use a different operating system.
How was the initial setup?
I wasn't a part of the installation process. I can't speak to how straightforward or complex it was.
We have 12 to 15 team members that can handle deployment and maintenance tasks. There are a manager, an admin, and engineers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't handle the licensing costs. I don't have any visibility as to how much the company pays for licenses.
What other advice do I have?
We use multiple deployment models, including on-premises and cloud.
I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using.
I'd recommend using the solution to other companies.
I'd rate the solution at 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.
Quadria Rouen Agency Director at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Integrates well, stable, but could be more secure
Pros and Cons
- "The installation of the solution is becoming easier every year after new releases. The first installation can take an hour but you can use templates to make the installation very quick."
- "The installation of the solution is becoming easier every year after new releases, and while the first installation can take an hour, you can use templates to make the installation very quick."
- "The solution could improve by making it more secure."
- "The solution could improve by making it more secure."
What is most valuable?
The solution integrates well with other platforms.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by making it more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Windows Server for approximately 30 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability has been good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 100,000 customers.
How was the initial setup?
The installation of the solution is becoming easier every year after new releases. The first installation can take an hour but you can use templates to make the installation very quick.
What about the implementation team?
We have six to eight engineers that do the implementation and maintenance of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are with Microsoft's Cloud Solution Provider Program and we pay for a monthly license for this use of this solution and we support our customer subscriptions. The overall price of the solution is good.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Windows Server a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Distributor
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