The complete guide to Azure migration

Do you wish to migrate from AWS to Azure? Perhaps you’re migrating an SQL server to Azure? Whatever your current setup, Microsoft Azure is the world’s most widely chosen cloud platform, so it’s vital to understand what switching will involve, before deciding on the next stage of your IT journey.

Perhaps you’re apprehensive. Can you migrate your on-premise server to Azure without disruption and expense? The answer is yes. As a vastly experienced Microsoft Gold Partner, Fabric IT has implemented Azure migration for companies of all types and sizes. We’re well qualified to explain how the move to Azure is accomplished with minimal disruption and maximum benefit. Read on, and you’ll have a plan for your Azure future.

 

What is Microsoft Azure?

Microsoft Azure is the world’s leading cloud computing platform. Globally, 95 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Azure to keep their business running smoothly and their data secure.

It also puts a vast range of cloud services at your fingertips. Microsoft builds the platform to integrate seamlessly with more than 200 applications. As you grow and develop, Azure makes it simple to add new functions as and when you need them.

 

Why migrate to a cloud platform, and why Azure?

Move to a cloud platform like Azure, and there’s no need to host expensive, cumbersome IT infrastructure on your premises. By freeing up resources, you can become an agile and adaptable business.

We have entered the age of hybrid working, so your team will have the same Azure solutions from wherever they happen to work—at home, in the office, or on the other side of the globe. You can also minimise maintenance costs and protect your data with Microsoft’s world-class security.

 

What are the business benefits of Azure?

Here’s a summary of the benefits Microsoft Azure migration can bring to your business:

• No upfront costs

  You pay as you go, paying only for the resources you use. Costs are highly competitive, as well as more controllable, thanks to Microsoft’s economies of scale. In-house IT requires considerable capital expenditure. Move to Azure and it becomes a pay-as-you-go utility like electricity or water.

• Agility

  There’s no need to invest in surplus capacity “just in case” you might need it in the future. Scale up or down at any time as required.

• High availability and reliability

  The global Microsoft Azure network has datacentres across the globe. This assures you of high availability and more reliable hardware—there’s less risk of downtime and better protection against fraud.

• Disaster recovery

  If the worst happens (whether it’s an outage, a security breach or the roof falling in), your data is protected by Fabric IT Azure Backup. We’ll get your business back up and running before your customers notice.

• Compliance

  Azure offers over 90 compliance certifications and over 35 industry-specific certifications across sectors, ranging from healthcare to finance to government.

• Security

  Microsoft leads the world in cybersecurity with an extensive library of security tools, equipped to spot and respond to threats before they damage your business.

• Seamless integration with other Microsoft products

  Your business probably already uses Office applications, such as Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams. So, expect continuity, as Azure seamlessly integrates with your existing tools.

• Productivity

  Migrate to Azure with a trusted partner like Fabric IT, and move to an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solution. That means you can focus entirely on improving your business while we look after the IT.

There’s more to discover. Read all about the complete list of Azure features and benefits.

 

Stages of an Azure migration

Microsoft designed Azure with built-in migration tools. They make switching quick and easy, so your organisation achieves long-term value as soon as possible.

Here’s a quick summary of Fabric IT’s Azure migration process.

 

1. Assessing and planning

Listening is a big part of the Fabric IT service. We’ll begin by determining what you want to achieve by migrating to Azure, what your IT currently does, and what you want it to do. We’ll assess your infrastructure and set targets, ensuring that nothing vital gets missed. That’s the key to delivering an integrated, future-proof solution.

At this stage, we can also audit your existing infrastructure and evaluate the cost of migration.

2. Choose the optimum migration strategy

There are four alternative approaches to consider, and we’ll implement the one that works best for your organisation:

• Rehost. This means moving your applications to Azure as they are—sometimes known as “lift-shift” migration.
• Refactor: This is the right option if minor changes are needed to the application design, so it can use the IaaS and PaaS benefits Azure offers.
• Rearchitect. This strategy involves making changes to the application codebase to make it work optimally in the cloud.
• Rebuild. A complete rebuilding of an application using cloud-native applications offered by the Azure PaaS.

3. Manage Azure to maximise its benefits

Once you’ve completed the Azure cloud migration, the Fabric IT team will carefully assess its performance and make any required adjustments. We won’t stop at monitoring usage—our team will pre-empt possible faults and double-check that data and applications are secure. We’ll also recommend advantageous ways of reinvesting the money and resources you’re saving after a successful Azure migration.

 

Why migrate to Azure with Fabric IT?

As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Fabric IT bring unrivalled knowledge to building and implementing your Microsoft Azure environment. Every Azure migration we implement is bespoke. We’ll identify your specific cloud requirements and create the right Azure-based solution for your business. With Fabric’s Microsoft Gold Partner expertise, you can depend on:

• Dedicated account manager. Providing a single point of contact at all times.
• 24/7 monitoring. Spot potential problems before they become real ones.
• We grow with your business, adapting our IT support as your organisation becomes more complex.
• Minimised downtime. Applications are hosted on a network of servers, so maintenance happens remotely, with no need to visit your premises.

Ready to find out more about your Azure future? Contact the Fabric team at any time.