May not be able to easily replatform the application running on top of the 5-10yr server or VM.
LTS also only covers core OS components with security updates, not the 30k+ packages available in the repo...
LTS also only covers core OS components with security updates, not the 30k+ packages available in the repo...
And this, among other things, is why I like the agency that small companies should be able to offer you.
IT guy: We must upgrade our shockingly ancient [database|OS|whatever]. The long term support patching costs are $X thousand and we are out of compliance with corporate security policy and they are threatening to deny our exception.
Exec: How much does the new license cost?
IT guy: $Xk + $1.
Exec: Is corporate security going to pay for it?
IT guy: They don't usually do tha...
Exec: No.
IT guy: Bu...but...
Exec: One more word out of you. Just one more word. Fucking try me.
Critical industries are slow to make changes due to risk and regulatory requirements. Spend any time at non-tech Fortune 500 or similar and you'll run into this all the time.
All applications need maintenance. Either you do it at application level to keep on top of its dependencies or you do it at OS/3rd party level. Either way, someone wants to get paid.
Yes, that is the entire point of what I said.
> most stuff these days could probably be shoved into a container and thus extremely distro/version agnostic
It depends on if it's an in-house app or managed and built by a 3rd party (may void contract). Also depends on the risk of life/monetary loss if something goes sideways.