Some organisations still have this misconception that modernising their legacy applications is too expensive or complicated to roll out and will disrupt their business operations. However, the pandemic taught businesses perhaps one of the most important lessons: ‘modernisation breeds innovation’. Companies using cloud-based technologies could pivot their business much quicker than those still using legacy or on-premises applications and servers. Microsoft cloud subscribers enabled remote working in 24 hours, modernised apps in just four days, saved on IT infrastructure costs, and stayed protected against data breaches.
With technological advancements powered by Microsoft Azure, there’s never been a simpler and clearer path to the cloud. There is no better cloud destination for your web applications and databases than Microsoft Azure because it:
- Supports SQL Server and Windows Server natively.
- Allows you to auto-scale depending on your business needs.
- Enables high availability and disaster recovery.
- Secures your corporate data against cyber threats.
- Simplifies the transition from on-premises servers with various migration tools.
If you are looking to modernise your apps and data on Microsoft Azure, here are a few things you should know to prepare for your migration.
The 4 stages of the cloud migration process
1 | Pre-migration
Assess your server, app, and database for migration. Identify what must move together and apps that require remediation after migration.
2 | Migration
Initiate the movement of your applications and data from your on-premises servers to your new cloud environment with helpful tools and resources.
3 | Post-migration
Execute any changes or fixes to the app code. Once remediation is complete, perform functional tests to ensure your environment is running smoothly.
4 | Optimisation
Gather insights on system operations, fine-tune performance to reduce costs, and apply automated patches, upgrades, security, analytics, and compliance features.
Tools to migrate workloads to the cloud with minimal code changes
Azure Migrate for application discovery.
Azure Migrate helps assess on-premises workloads, including servers, databases, virtual desktops, and data. This assessment determines performance requirements and, in some cases, cost estimates for migrated workloads.
Azure App Service Migration Assistant for web application migration.
This tool evaluates your current applications and provides a report on compatibility with Azure App Service, including recommendations on remediation steps before migration. Azure App Service Migration Assistant automates the migration of your .NET and PHP applications and walks you through the migration process.
You can quickly create and deploy critical web apps at scale using your preferred technology stack and enjoy the benefits of a fully managed platform. Differentiate through great web experiences and never again worry about managing your application infrastructure.
Azure Database Migration Service for database migration.
Azure SQL Database is an intelligent, scalable cloud database service that provides the broadest SQL Server engine compatibility. You can leverage its unparalleled security and performance in a fully managed environment that supports your most important business applications.
Once app migration is complete, Azure Database Migration Service enables seamless migration of databases to the cloud with minimal downtime. This tool assesses on-premises databases, uploads the results to Azure Migrate Hub, and generates a report on migration readiness, including the ideal Azure SQL Database target based on user needs.
Download ‘Learn how to modernise your apps and data with Azure’ infographic here.
Learn more and begin your Azure migration journey today!
A good Azure app modernisation strategy starts with a clear migration roadmap. We can help you get started with either our 1-day complimentary readiness assessment or more in-depth analysis and design workshops to help you determine the best migration approaches that suit your requirements. Either way, these are starting points for you to have modern, secure, and better-performing apps on Microsoft Azure.
