MSP On-Premises Data Center to Microsoft Azure Migration
Migrated an MSP's production environment from its on-premises data center to Microsoft Azure, including Windows Server workloads, its helpdesk and multiple self-hosted business applications.
- Client
- Managed Service Provider
- Industry
- Managed IT Services
Challenge
The MSP operated production services from its own on-premises data-center environment. The estate included Windows Server, the company's helpdesk and multiple self-hosted applications that were part of normal day-to-day operations. The migration therefore could not be treated as copying a single virtual machine. Applications, service dependencies, data, access paths and the order of cutover all had to be understood so that the cloud environment could take over without losing the operational systems the MSP depended on.
Approach
We started with workload and dependency discovery: what was running, which services depended on one another, which systems contained persistent data and which endpoints or access paths would change after migration. The Azure target was then prepared around the real workload requirements, including virtual-machine capacity, storage, networking and security controls. Backups and rollback considerations were established before production changes. Migration was carried out in stages. Windows Server workloads, the helpdesk and self-hosted applications were moved and configured in the Azure environment, followed by application-level validation. Only after the services were confirmed to be working was the production cutover completed.
What We Delivered
• Existing on-premises server and application inventory. • Dependency and migration-order planning. • Microsoft Azure virtual-machine environment for the production workloads. • Azure networking, storage and access/security configuration. • Migration of Windows Server workloads. • Migration of the MSP's helpdesk platform. • Migration of multiple self-hosted business applications and their required data. • Re-creation of application and service configuration in the cloud environment. • Endpoint and access transition for the migrated services. • Post-migration application, authentication and service-connectivity validation. • Backup, rollback and post-cutover operating considerations.
Ongoing Support
After cutover, the focus moved from migration to stability: checking the migrated services under normal use, confirming that application dependencies remained healthy, validating backup coverage and documenting the new cloud operating model. The original environment could remain available during the validation window as a fallback until the cloud deployment was considered stable enough for the legacy infrastructure to be retired according to the client's plan.
Services, products and platforms used in the engagement.
Services
Technologies
The MSP's core operational environment was moved from its on-premises data center to Microsoft Azure, with Windows Server, helpdesk and self-hosted application workloads validated in the cloud before the migration was treated as complete.
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