The solution is primarily used to deploy applications into the cloud and as remote information storage. Additionally, it is useful for test purposes.
Software Test Engineer at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Overall great performance, flexible, and straightforward installation
Pros and Cons
- "I find the solution to be easy to use, flexible with overall great performance."
- "The solution would be better by implementing more security and integration."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I find the solution to be easy to use, flexible with overall great performance.
What needs improvement?
The solution would be better by implementing more security and integration.
Among some of the additional features, I would like to see in the next release are more integration and security.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution for a few years.
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Windows Server
December 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. We have approximately 20 people using the solution.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was straightforward and took approximately one hour.
What about the implementation team?
I have deployed the solution by myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution requires licencing.
What other advice do I have?
I will continue using and recommend the solution.
I rate Windows Server an eight 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.
Vice President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Robust features, maintenance free, easy install, and excellent support
Pros and Cons
- "Nothing is required for the maintenance of the solution, Microsoft does everything. It is very good and robust."
- "The solution could be cheaper."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is a general server, It can be used for any of the products that you want to create or use. For example, it can be used for application server deployment and web applications. It can be used for everything.
What is most valuable?
Nothing is required for the maintenance of the solution, Microsoft does everything. It is very good and robust.
What needs improvement?
The solution could be cheaper.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution for 20 years
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In my experience the solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is extremely scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support for this solution is excellent.
How was the initial setup?
When comparing the installation to Linux and others, it is probably the best one.
What about the implementation team?
The whole deployment with everything installed takes approximately one week. I have done the implementation of the solution for 10 years but now I use my team to do it. It normally only takes one person to do the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay yearly for a license. If you ask any vendor they will tell you that it could be cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
I am going to continue to use this solution in the future.
I 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.
Buyer's Guide
Windows Server
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about Windows Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,310 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Data Analytics and Business Intelligence Manager at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Continuous updates, always increasing stability, some features difficult
Pros and Cons
- "I would say Microsoft operating systems are more stable correctly than they were before, they have made some improvements over the years."
- "The solution is easy to use mostly but some features can be hard to understand for customers."
What is our primary use case?
We hosted servers on the solution. We installed programs and services on it such as Azure, an ERP product.
What needs improvement?
The solution is easy to use mostly but some features can be hard to understand for customers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for some time now and I have done so in the past year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would say Microsoft operating systems are more stable now than they were before, they have made some improvements over the years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 2000 users using the solution.
How was the initial setup?
Windows server installation can be easy but it depends on what your needs are. If you built a huge platform, you can have some difficulties. On the other hand, if you use some simple build with, for example, services like IAS, it can be easily installed and you might be fine with the standard edition of Microsoft Server.
What other advice do I have?
Microsoft has done a great job with Windows. Nothing is perfect, there is always going to be some issues with software at some point but when there are problems they are normally fixed easily.
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Windows Server a seven 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.
Solution Director at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Reliable, easy to use and maintain, but the licensing could be better
Pros and Cons
- "We chose Windows Server because it is easy to use, and easy to maintain."
- "It would be better if the license had a longer lifetime."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Windows Server locally for our DNS.
We are implementers, and we perform this service for our clients.
How has it helped my organization?
Our company is an ISP (Internet Service Provider). Windows Server is not directly used for internal purposes, but as our product for our external customers.
What is most valuable?
We chose Windows Server because it is easy to use, and easy to maintain.
What needs improvement?
The license model needs improvement. It would be better if the license had a longer lifetime.
This may be a feature that is already in place, but I like to see a monitoring feature for the desktop.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Windows Server for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution. Its stability is one of the reasons we decided to adopt Windows Server.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have not yet experienced the scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is pretty good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.
I would rate Windows Server a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT strategist at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Supports all kinds of applications but needs better stability
Pros and Cons
- "Windows Server can be used for any kind of application. It is an operating system that supports enterprise applications. There is no application that doesn't go with Windows."
- "It could be more stable. Windows has certain problems that Unix platforms don't have. It requires more administrative effort as compared to Unix. I don't know why Microsoft has not changed that. It generates a lot of trash data, so slowly and steadily, you find more and more space being utilized. There is some kind of administrative load, which doesn't happen with Unix."
What is most valuable?
Windows Server can be used for any kind of application. It is an operating system that supports enterprise applications. There is no application that doesn't go with Windows.
What needs improvement?
It could be more stable. Windows has certain problems that Unix platforms don't have. It requires more administrative effort as compared to Unix. I don't know why Microsoft has not changed that. It generates a lot of trash data, so slowly and steadily, you find more and more space being utilized. There is some kind of administrative load, which doesn't happen with Unix.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for many years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable, but its stability can be better.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have a maximum of 50 or 60 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We didn't use their support much.
How was the initial setup?
It was very easy to install. The time period for installation depends on the complexity. If we want to simply install with the default option, it doesn't take much time. If you want to enable all of the service options that Windows provides, such as SNMP, it will take longer. If you have to install IAS and all such things, it will take time.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. We plan to keep using it.
I would rate Windows Server a seven 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.
organizator informatike at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Straightforward to set up and stable, but the administration is complicated
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of this solution is the ESRP that is used with the Windows Platform."
- "In the next release, I would like to see the administration simplified."
What is our primary use case?
We use these servers for databases and applications.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this solution is the ESRP that is used with the Windows Platform.
What needs improvement?
Windows Platforms become rather complicated. We started with the Windows Platform because they simplified it, but now, it has become quite complicated.
The administration has become quite heavy and also the specialization.
We are a rather small factory, not a big system. We are small with a thousand employees, and we need a simplified environment.
In the next release, I would like to see the administration simplified.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Windows Server for more than 20 years.
The version we are using is quite new, 2020.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Windows Server is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable, but the administration becomes quite complicated.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not used the technical support, we have had contact with the third-party partners.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Windows Server is straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
In our country, the Windows platform is widespread, which means there is a high amount of usage. We primarily use Windows Solutions. Some also use Linux, but Linux is the minority.
I would rate Windows Server a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical Director at a security firm with 51-200 employees
Stable and easy to set up, but it could be more secure
Pros and Cons
- "This is quite a stable product."
- "Windows Server could be more secure."
What is our primary use case?
We are in the waste logistics industry and we are using this product as the central server for our file systems. The SQL server is running on top of this.
What needs improvement?
Windows Server could be more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Windows Server for six or seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is quite a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Windows Server is scalable and we have six users in the company. We plan to increase our usage in the future.
How are customer service and technical support?
I don't have any experience with technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not use another similar product before this one.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is quite straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We completed the deployment ourselves.
I was responsible for the deployment and also handle maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This is not an expensive product.
What other advice do I have?
I can recommend Windows Server.
I would rate this solution a seven 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.
IT Engineer at a printing company with 201-500 employees
A stable communication tool for a company of any size
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup was straightforward. We had it fully installed within one or two hours."
- "The user interface could be simplified."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for common management and group policy management. Within our organization, there are between 300 to 400 people using this solution and we intend to expand and continue using Windows Server in the future.
What needs improvement?
The user interface could be simplified. Sometimes I feel like there are too many things going on at once. It should be easier to navigate and find the functions that I am trying to implement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for roughly 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Windows Server is reasonably stable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is okay. Sometimes Microsoft cannot answer our questions quickly or precisely. There are times when we need to trouble-shoot on our own.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. We had it fully installed within one or two hours.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of eight.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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