Even more urgent than the end of support (EOS) for Windows 7 and Server 2008 is the EOS for SQL Server 2008 R2.

The last date for Standard support is July 9, 2019. As with its productivity apps and Windows Server offerings, Microsoft is promoting Azure services as the ideal migration destination for upgrades. However, it’s not a requirement. As with Win7/Server 2008, you have two options: cloud or on-premises.

You can migrate to Azure OR you can upgrade on premises to SQL Server 2017 running on Server 2016. In either scenario, Microsoft is offering Extended Security Updates (ESU) for up to three years after EOS – so you could conceivably stay on SQL 2008 R2 until July 2022.

Scantron recommends scheduling critical operating system and database migrations as soon as feasible, because all of these platforms are essentially ten years old with hundreds or thousands of patches. Also, while the pricing is not yet available as of this date, Microsoft has said that it will raise the ESU prices to support the legacy platforms each year. We can support customers in either scenario.

This document discusses what to do when you can’t migrate right away off SQL 2008: ws sql extended security updates datasheet

This document covers the highlights of SQL Server 2017 as well as European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance-oriented features baked into the database software: SQL Server 2008 EOS Datasheet EN US