Still on the fence about Windows Server 2008 R2? We understand completely: Migrating to a new OS--particularly a server OS--can be complicated, time-consuming, and expensive.

And in this case, totally worth it. That's according to IT veteran Jeffrey Hicks, who cites "a host of new features" among the reasons you need Windows Server 2008 R2. He starts with one of our own favorites, server and desktop virtualization:

The new Hyper-V bits offer some compelling reasons to deploy Hyper-V. One of the biggest is new support for Live Migration. Now you can move a running VM between Hyper-V hosts without any interruption. Combine this with failover clustering, and you no longer have to worry about unplanned downtime or service outages. Many companies use virtualization to run legacy -- but still critical -- applications, often on older Windows OSes. With Windows Server 2008 R2 virtualization technologies, these applications can have very high availability.

Hicks also delves into R2's management improvements, such as PowerShell 2.0 and Windows Reliability and Performance monitoring, and the many benefits of DirectAccess (which we've discussed here before).

Obviously you'll want to take any such rah-rah-Windows-Server-2008-R2 discourse with a grain of salt, but Hicks delivers more than enough solid real-world arguments to make his case.

Have you found any compelling reasons not to adopt R2? If so, let's hear from you in the comments.

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