Microsoft Corp. launched its long-delayed Windows Server 2003 operating system last week, but some users couldn't wait.

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. jumped from Windows 2000 Server to the Windows 2003 beta to gain a performance edge and pursue server consolidation.

Meanwhile, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Intrawest Corp. took the plunge in hopes that Active Directory would help rein in the many domain controllers they had with Windows NT 4.0.

Windows Server 2003 promises improvements in performance, scalability, reliability, security, manageability, networking and its integrated .Net development framework. But migrating to a new server operating system is no snap for any IT shop, once the planning, testing and potential disruption to end users are factored into the equation.

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