Cloud migration
Move your infrastructure to Azure without betting the operation
We assess which workloads are worth migrating, which ones to modernize and which ones to leave where they are; we design the architecture on Microsoft Azure following the Cloud Adoption Framework; we validate with a controlled pilot and run the migration in phases, with a rollback plan at every cutover.
When this service applies
- Your hardware has reached the end of its useful life
- The servers are out of warranty, replacing them means a significant investment, and the risk of a failure grows every month.
- Infrastructure is limiting growth
- Opening a site, adding users or absorbing a peak season means buying equipment months in advance and sizing for the peak.
- Running the data center consumes your team
- Patching, backups, power, cooling and license renewals absorb the time that should go to the operation and to business projects.
- Your legacy ERP is tied to the on-premises server
- Dynamics GP, NAV or AX work, but only from the office, with a backup nobody has tried to restore and with no continuity plan.
- There is no verified disaster recovery plan
- Backups exist, but nobody knows how long the company would really take to operate again after a major failure, or how much information it would lose.
Expected outcome
Workloads on Azure, with proven continuity and visible cost
Your systems run on a documented architecture in Azure, with identity, backups, disaster recovery and monitoring configured and tested, not merely switched on. Infrastructure spend shifts from capital equipment to measurable consumption per service, with budget alerts and assigned owners. Your team stops maintaining hardware and starts administering services.
Scope and deliverables
- Inventory of servers, applications, databases and dependencies, with their criticality and the downtime windows they can tolerate.
- Feasibility assessment per workload and a recommended strategy for each one: lift and shift, modernize, replace with a managed service or keep on premises.
- Design of the target architecture on Azure: network, identity, security, backups, disaster recovery and governance model.
- Estimate of monthly Azure consumption per workload, with the assumptions stated and the budget alerting mechanism.
- Migration pilot on a limited workload, with results measured and approved before continuing.
- Phased migration plan, with cutover windows, success criteria and a documented rollback plan for each phase.
- Migration executed for the servers, databases and applications included in the scope.
- Configuration of backups and disaster recovery, with a restore test executed and documented.
- Monitoring, alerts and dashboards for consumption and availability.
- Documentation of the final architecture and operational handover to your team or to the support service.
Work stages
Assessment
We inventory applications, servers and dependencies, and determine the technical feasibility of each workload. This is where the surprises that sink migration projects show up: applications with no vendor behind them, non-transferable licenses and undocumented integrations.
Strategy and design
We define the strategy per workload and design the target architecture following the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework: network, identity, security, backups, recovery and cost governance.
Landing zone preparation
We build the foundation on Azure before moving anything: subscriptions, network, connectivity to your sites, identity with Microsoft Entra ID, security policies and spend controls.
Pilot
We migrate a limited, representative workload, measure performance, cost and real behavior, and adjust the design. The pilot is approved before we commit the critical workloads.
Phased migration
We run the phases according to plan, each with its own cutover window, its validation tests and its rollback plan. Critical workloads are migrated once the ones they depend on are already stable.
Operation and optimization
We stay with you after cutover, test the restore and the recovery scenario, review actual consumption against the estimate and adjust sizing to eliminate spend that is not being used.
Responsibilities
Your company
- Appoint a technical owner who knows the current environment and can decide on cutover windows.
- Provide access, credentials, infrastructure documentation and current licensing agreements.
- Identify the critical applications and the downtime windows the operation can tolerate.
- Arrange with third-party software vendors the compatibility and license transfer to the cloud.
- Validate that each migrated workload works before releasing the cutover window.
- Take on the Azure subscription and the monthly consumption.
BETABOX
- Inventory the environment and assess the technical feasibility of each workload.
- Design the target architecture following the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework.
- Estimate monthly consumption per workload and state the assumptions behind the estimate.
- Run the pilot and present its measured results before continuing.
- Execute the phased migration, with a documented rollback plan for every cutover.
- Configure backups, disaster recovery and monitoring, and test the restore.
- Deliver the documentation of the final architecture and train the team that will operate the environment.
What is included
What is included
- Feasibility assessment and strategy per workload.
- Design of the target architecture and the cost governance model.
- Azure landing zone preparation: network, identity, security and spend controls.
- Controlled pilot with measured results.
- Migration of the workloads included in the scope, in phases and with a rollback plan.
- Configuration and testing of backups and disaster recovery.
- Monitoring, alerts and dashboards for consumption and availability.
- Hands-on support after cutover for the agreed period, plus final documentation.
What is not included
- Azure service consumption and Microsoft licenses: purchased by your company directly.
- Third-party software licenses, their cloud compatibility and transfer costs.
- Development or rewriting of in-house applications that are not compatible with the target environment.
- Migration of workloads not included in the agreed scope.
- Communication links, network equipment at your sites and contracts with connectivity providers.
- Ongoing administration of the environment after handover, unless managed support is contracted.
- Regulatory compliance certification: we support the configuration, but legal validation is your company responsibility.
Success criteria
- Every phase completes within the agreed cutover window, without triggering the rollback plan.
- Migrated workloads maintain or improve the response times measured before the migration.
- The restore test and the recovery scenario are executed successfully and documented.
- Monthly consumption stays within the estimated range, with deviations explained and budget alerts active.
- A reduction in the time your team spends on hardware maintenance, measured against the prior baseline.
- No critical system in scope still depends on out-of-warranty servers when the project closes.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to migrate to Azure?
- It depends on the number of workloads, their criticality, the quality of the existing documentation and the downtime windows your operation can tolerate. We do not commit to a timeline before the inventory and feasibility assessment are done, because that is the stage where the undocumented dependencies that drive the calendar come to light. The migration plan includes the phased schedule and the assumptions it rests on.
- Does everything have to be migrated at once?
- No, and it rarely should be. We recommend a phased migration, starting with less critical workloads that let you validate the architecture, and leaving the critical systems until their dependencies are stable. During the transition it is common to run a hybrid setup, with part of the infrastructure on your premises and part on Azure, securely connected.
- What happens to our ERP during the migration?
- An ERP is a critical workload and is treated as one: it is migrated with an agreed cutover window, validation tests beforehand and a documented rollback plan. If you run Dynamics GP, NAV or AX, migrating to Azure solves continuity and accessibility, and it is compatible with evaluating a move to Business Central later. Those are two separate decisions and mixing them into one cutover is not advisable.
- How do we know what we will pay for Azure each month?
- During the assessment we estimate consumption per workload, with the assumptions stated: size, hours running, storage and traffic. The cloud model is pay as you go, so the estimate is refined against the actual consumption of the first months. We configure budget alerts and consumption dashboards, and in the optimization stage we adjust sizing to remove oversized resources.
- What happens to our in-house or custom applications?
- They are analyzed one by one during the assessment. Depending on the case they are moved as they are, adapted to take advantage of managed services, or replaced. When an application has no vendor behind it, is undocumented or depends on unsupported components, we flag it as a risk before committing the phase, and we decide with you whether to migrate it, isolate it or replace it.
- What happens if something fails during the cutover?
- Every phase has a documented rollback plan and a decision criterion defined in advance: if the validations are not met within the window, we return to the source environment and reschedule. That is why we migrate in phases and validate with a pilot: so that no cutover decision is taken under pressure and without an alternative.
- Who administers the environment after the migration?
- At closeout we deliver the architecture documentation and train the team that will operate it. From there, administration can stay with your IT team or be contracted as managed support, which includes monitoring, incident management, updates and a periodic consumption review.
Do you know what would happen if your main server failed tomorrow?
Tell us what your infrastructure is holding up today. We inventory your workloads, assess how feasible it is to migrate them and present the architecture, the phases and the estimated consumption before moving anything.
Contact
Request a complimentary assessment
Tell us what your company needs and a BETABOX advisor will get in touch to schedule a call at your convenience. The initial assessment is 100% free of charge.
- +1 (754) 209-2071
- Bookings
- Book directly on the calendar