Azure Cloud Migration not only set new trends in the cloud deployment market in recent years but has also witnessed tremendous growth in its usage for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
In the cloud, the infrastructure is hosted, while the operating system, software, and middleware running on your local server are billed. Aside from being fully secured, it comes with a range of enterprise options and is backed by Microsoft.
Businesses that use Microsoft-backed frameworks and software find moving to the cloud easily.
From security and how compliance problems become outdated, to the benefits of cross-compatibility and mobility, we'll cover it all.
Security
The threat landscape is constantly evolving, which means stringent security measures become increasingly necessary in order to protect your network.
However, solving complex security issues isn't as easy as it seems. There is no doubt that your network security is only as strong as its weakest link, and every company has budget constraints that make prioritizing network requirements difficult.
Cloud services provided by Microsoft Azure provide enhanced security. We can protect your servers from ever-exposed endpoints and secure your VMs, too.
Azure can protect Linux and Windows servers, cloud-native applications, data, and IoT environments.
Compliance simplified
Compliance is a concern for many organizations. When it comes to the cloud, the promise of a more flexible and cost-effective solution is very enticing, but also hard to swallow.
There are always compliance concerns and answers are not always readily available. Among the most pressing questions are:
A system stores what type of information?
How will our information be physically stored?
Does anyone have access to our system?
How much access is provided?
What is the security of access?
Azure Cloud Services has been certified to meet relevant privacy requirements, such as ISO/IEC 27018 for the protection of personal information in the cloud, as well as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.
Additionally, you have visibility across your environment to verify compliance with regulatory requirements, such as CIS, PCI DSS, SOC, and ISO.
A cost-effective solution
Cloud computing offers the promise of relocating your IT infrastructure and saving on hardware and all overhead costs.
A more specific requirement is to save money on the cost of hardware for your servers. A full server can easily cost hundreds of thousands of Rands, from buying new components that reach the end of their lifespans to purchasing new components that reach the end of their lives.
In addition to the hardware cost, you have the benefit of flexible licensing options for the software.
Last but not least, the overhead associated with maintenance (think additional IT staff) is reduced.
It's cross-compatible
When migrating to the cloud, questions are raised about legacy applications being compatible. Often, these applications are mission-critical. Keeping them online or neglecting them simply isn't an option.
Transfer of Windows Server or SQL Server 2008/R2 apps to Microsoft Azure Cloud Services accounts. A three-year extension of security patches (for free) is also included.
With the cloud's flexibility, and legacy applications already in place and fully functional, your organisation will be able to begin developing a plan to update applications over the three-year extension period.
Mobility Enhancement
Enterprise mobility is a necessity. As a result, businesses have a competitive advantage as team members are able to access applications at any time and from anywhere.
Azure Cloud Services provides organisations with the security necessary for enabling remote access. In addition, critical business applications must be supported while offering all the computing power businesses need to remain operationally efficient.
Providing reliable redundancy
The reality of redundancy in business has become inescapable. Microsoft Azure offers you the business continuity you need.
Additionally, all applications that your business relies on are protected and you don't have to worry about additional hardware requirements associated with redundancy solutions.
Therefore, capital expenses for hardware are reduced, maintenance tasks are reduced, and mission-critical applications continue to be accessible.
What Are the Steps to Migrate to Azure?
With the right support and understanding, an Azure migration can be handled easily and without much pain. Polestar Solutions provides migration and cloud services for Azure. All aspects of migration, including initial setup, maintenance, and management can be managed by us. We take the time to get to know your business and understand your IT infrastructure before configuring and managing cloud services.
The migration process involves many factors, as Polestar knows. Choosing the best course of action can be stressful. We understand, and we can assist you throughout the whole process:
Assess:
Working with our experts, we can analyze your business needs and infrastructure and create a plan that fits best with your organization. We will help you define your migration priorities and objectives in this plan. During the assessment phase, we work to compile a list of all the physical and virtual servers at your company. In order to effectively plan and reduce risks, we need to understand how the infrastructure communicates with one another.
Migrate:
With our help, you'll be able to select the best migration strategy for your business and have any questions answered throughout the process. Once we have decided on the best approach, the migration begins. Once the transition is complete, we help you test all applications to ensure everything is working as it should.
Optimize & Manage:
To get the most value out of your migration, it is vital to continue managing and optimizing the services. By providing IT support, our experts can assist in this step.
The key to successful migration to Microsoft Azure?
A successful Azure migration service will have:
1. Well-defined strategies
Identify an approach to modernization
Involve key stakeholders to smooth and speed up the migration
Work with Polestars’ managed service provider
2. Migration strategy
Analyze databases, applications, and infrastructure
Compute the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)
Plan an all-inclusive migration strategy
Summary
Cloud computing is a big step for businesses. There are many factors to consider, but ultimately it is a sensible decision. Enterprises can eliminate the high costs associated with owning and maintaining on-premise hardware with Microsoft Azure Cloud Services.
Azure is also capable of empowering businesses. As a result of security, compliance, cross-compatibility for legacy applications, mobility, flexibility, and business continuity solutions, businesses can migrate to the cloud and benefit from a more streamlined IT infrastructure.
Get in touch with Polestar Solutions to find out how to migrate to Azure.