Data centres all around the world
Cloud service providers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS have data centres all around the world. All the services that run on them are just a few clicks away and cost only a few pennies.
Imagine you're a small business owner with 3 servers. If you wanted to duplicate them in multiple locations, consider the costs and effort involved in establishing them in two separate data centres. You'd have to arrange server housing, deliver, mount and install hardware, set up routers and VPNs, handle hardware failures, and so on.
In the cloud? Log in to the portal, select from a range of data centres located around the world, and everything can be set up in minutes (by us, on your behalf). By sharing resources among many users in the cloud, cloud providers can offer these services at a fraction of the cost.
The cloud offers the most advanced hardware
In the cloud, you can access, for instance, flagship processor series from both Intel and AMD, as well as latest server licenses. Procuring and operating these on your own servers can be quite costly.
But with the cloud, these resources become affordable for everyone. Moreover, if a newer version of a processor or license is released, you can easily upgrade to it.
We believe nearly everything belongs in the cloud, with a few exceptions
From our experience, we recognize that there are exceptional cases where migrating to the cloud may not be the most suitable option. Thus, we evaluate each scenario individually. We analyze both alternatives: maintaining on-premises servers or renting in the cloud. Our assessment includes the costs of hardware, licenses, labour, and maintenance. Additionally, we factor in expenses associated with downtime and business interruptions. The cash flow implications of both options are also considered. Lastly, we compare the performance and reliability of each solution.
We collaborate with the customer to discuss all these factors and jointly arrive at a decision.
The less users see, the better job we have done
A migration project typically requires extensive preparation, coordination, communication, and hands-on work. However, our objective is to ensure that the entire process remains virtually invisible to the users. We aim to cause minimal distraction and limit the impact of changes on their workflow.
It might seem paradoxical, but the less users notice our work, the better we've done our job. However, this doesn't apply to communication. Clear communication is pivotal to a project's success. Everyone involved should know precisely what will happen, when it will occur, and what's expected of them.
We explore the systems you use, how they're utilized, and your expectations from them.
Following our discussions, we'll provide a vision of your future environment in the modern cloud: detailing the services you'll require, the location of your servers, and their replication strategy for ensuring continuity during failures. We'll outline our backup strategy, the disaster recovery plan (DRP), associated costs, and what components you can decommission in your current server room.
We'll also acquaint you with the novel features the cloud offers and guide you on leveraging them. We'll highlight areas to streamline your tasks, opportunities for collaboration, and potential automation processes.
Successful migration depends on good preparation and communication
Every migration is distinct and unique, ruling out a one-size-fits-all approach. At this stage, our comprehensive design and implementation team converges to formulate a detailed action plan, covering every intricate step. This encompasses our communication protocol: determining who will liaise with the users, the timing, and the content of communication. The actual execution of the migration involves a series of steps that must be communicated and coordinated with precision. During this phase, there's no room for improvisation.
In this phase, we delve deeper into mapping the structure and configurations of your current systems, simultaneously setting up preliminary configurations in the new environment. All these undertakings remain invisible to the users, ensuring no disruptions or limitations to their operations.
Crucially, this phase includes communication with users. They must be informed about upcoming changes, what those changes entail, the timeline, and the extent of their required cooperation.
Migration is a complex project involving many steps
During this phase, we execute the plan formulated in Phase 2: migrating mailboxes, transferring data, configuring servers, reconfiguring computers, and performing other essential tasks.
Every user is informed about their specific migration window and any associated restrictions they might encounter.
Through meticulous preparation in the previous phase, we aim for a seamless process with minimal setbacks. However, given the complexity of such projects, unexpected issues can arise. Our specialists are equipped and ready to address these challenges promptly.
A successful project? It's when most of the work occurs behind the scenes, making it seem as though little has changed. It's when users don't have lingering questions because we've preemptively provided all the information. And it's when they acknowledge improvements post-migration.
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I help companies switch off their server room lights for good. I’d be delighted to do the same for you.
But you may have a few questions first.
