When companies rushed to the cloud during the pandemic, they set themselves up for the tough choices they must make today — what’s the best way to get out from under all this expensive sprawl? Using both traditional and cloud infrastructures was smart back then, but what makes the most business sense right now?
The need to end duplicate infrastructure is one of the 3 Hard Truths About Cloud Migration.
Leapfrog has seen that mitigating to the cloud by chipping away at small pieces of traditional IT environments is not the ideal cloud adoption approach. It introduces risk, integration challenges, and complexities inherent in managing multiple solutions (and VARs) that weren’t designed to work together. What works more effectively is taking bold action.
- Is some of your hardware or software approaching end-of-life? Look at migrating the entire solution to the cloud.
- Are outdated solutions or workarounds getting in your way? Consider leaving older technology behind altogether by migrating to modern cloud infrastructure instead.
- Are you spinning off a company or starting a new one? Go all-cloud. The opportunity is there, ready to be leveraged.
Here’s an example of each of these scenarios from Leapfrog’s client base:
Client | Reporting and Transcription Service | Private Wealth Management Company | Medical Hardware & Software Solution Developer |
Infrastructure problem | The company was running its main application on six servers and had since built a Software as a Service (SaaS) version — it was ready to migrate | The company was running a private cloud/VDI client in its data center that had substantial technical debt and had added Office 365 during the pandemic | The organization needed entirely new infrastructure for a spinoff company to be deployed within 60 days |
Cloud adoption solution | Migrated two servers to Office 365 for the company’s files, collaboration, and phones Migrated four servers for the company’s ERP |
Leveraged Microsoft Azure and its born-in-the-cloud reference architecture to migrate away from servers and virtual desktops and to encrypted endpoints | Built, tested, and migrated data into Microsoft Azure to leverage business analytics and avoid data center investment or private cloud expenses |
Cloud migration cost | 10% of the cost of buying replacement equipment | About one month of recurring management fees | Less than a week’s worth of revenue |
Cost savings | No recurring investment in replacement servers or costs related to server maintenance | No investment in physical technology beyond computers — management costs remained static | No investment in physical technology beyond computers and wireless network infrastructure (ports to plug everything into) |
Risk mitigation | Avoided risk related to Microsoft Windows Server 2012 having aged out | Built an equally secure, cloud-based environment | Used modern tools to build in security from the ground up |
Key business benefit | Provided a modernized infrastructure with numerous new functionalities | Provided a modern infrastructure with dramatically improved functionality with no workarounds | Provided a modern infrastructure with pinpoint customizations of resources and computing capacity |
These are just a few recent case studies — Leapfrog has completed countless cloud migration projects. As our clients’ IT and cybersecurity partner, we work with CIOs, internal IT departments, and leadership to develop optimal cloud migration strategies based on each company’s unique objectives and circumstances.
While each client’s needs are different, the overarching goal is universal. They want streamlined, secure IT operations they can use to accelerate their businesses.