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.
Global Head ICT (CITP & MIE) at The Aga Khan Academies
Good performance, easy to use, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to use, and its performance is good."
- "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."
- "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."
What is our primary use case?
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.
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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.
Responsable TUIC at MISSION LAIQUE FRANCAISE
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 is not easy to use."
- "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.
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March 2026
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Software Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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."
- "Sometimes we face some overload on servers."
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.
Solution Architect at KIAN company
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."
- "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.
Enterprise API Architect at Al-Futtaim Group
Beneficial application compatibility, highly scalable, and good support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Windows Server is the ease of use and the applications that are available."
- "The most valuable feature of Windows Server is the ease of use and the applications that are available."
- "Windows Server could improve by improving technology modernization."
- "Windows Server could improve by improving technology modernization."
What is our primary use case?
For the server-side deployment, we use Windows Server to run applications.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Windows Server is the ease of use and the applications that are available.
What needs improvement?
Windows Server could improve by improving technology modernization.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Windows Server for a very long time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Windows Server is an important feature.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 200 users using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Microsoft is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Windows Server was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation requires a full team to accomplish the task.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license required to use Windows Server.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Windows Server a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Associate Consultant at Infosys Compaz
Operating system with a good interface, but updates take longer and need to be faster
Pros and Cons
- "Operating system with a good interface that can run applications."
- "Windows Server is stable."
- "Its updates need to be faster, so that's an area for improvement."
- "What I'd like to see in the next release of Windows Server is for it to have faster updates."
What is our primary use case?
We're using Windows Server for its basic function. We use it to run applications, but there's a team who manages that, and they are certified. I'm not the one managing. I'm just a user.
What is most valuable?
The Windows Server interface is okay, though it would still depend on the usage perfective. The interface is what I like about this solution.
What needs improvement?
What I'd like to see in the next release of Windows Server is for it to have faster updates.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been dealing with Windows Server for five years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Windows Server is stable. I've had no issues or problems with it.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I've evaluated Linux.
What other advice do I have?
I'm using both Windows and Linux operating systems.
We have a team who does the installation of Windows Server, so I'm unable to give information on whether it's easy or complicated to install. For deployment and maintenance, we have five to eight people in charge.
We have 30 to 50 end users of Windows Server within our company, and currently we don't have plans of increasing usage.
Whether the technical support for Windows Server is fast or is knowledgeable, it would depend. It's a case to case basis, but I'm not the one who's creating the tickets, so whenever we have any issues, we send it to our team who's in charge of creating the tickets for the Windows support team.
Windows Server is a solution I can recommend to others, if we're basing my recommendation on my satisfaction with it.
I'm rating Windows Server a five out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Solutions Development Manager at Kyocera International
Straightforward solution used to manage multiple servers for our business
Pros and Cons
- "This solution is easy to use."
- "This solution is easy to use."
- "The upgrade process for this solution could be simplified and made more straightforward."
- "The upgrade process for this solution could be simplified and made more straightforward."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for our exchange, database and SQL servers.
What is most valuable?
This solution is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The upgrade process for this solution could be simplified and made more straightforward.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward and took two to three hours.
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.
AVP at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
User-friendly, reliable, and good premium support
Pros and Cons
- "Windows Server is user-friendly and it is simply to support."
- "We have approximately 3,000 users using the solution."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Windows Server for running our applications. One of our use cases is in a financial institution.
What is most valuable?
Windows Server is user-friendly and it is simply to support.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Windows Server for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Windows Server has been stable in my usage.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Windows Server is good.
We have approximately 3,000 users using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
We have premium support with Microsoft, and it is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Windows 10.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is simple, and it takes approximately one hour.
We have a golden copy of Windows Server, and we only need to apply it to the systems. This does not take much time for us, approximately seven minutes and Windows Server will be ready. We do the maintenance, such as patching, antivirus, and all the security that we have been approved in the bank. However, it's virtual now. All our environment is virtual, we only need to apply the golden copy.
Depending on the application or use case, we might use Windows 19, 16, or 12.
What about the implementation team?
I can do the implementation of the solution.
We have 10 engineers and managers that support Windows Server.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft and the price for the license is bundled together. The solution is expensive but for the bank that is using it, the price is fine. We pay for a license every three years.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Windows Server a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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