Migrating Your SQL To Azure Doesn’t Need To be Scary
By Gary Lo, VP, Product Management
October 20, 2021
Halloween is almost with us again. It’s that time of year when we confront our deepest fears and concerns. For many businesses, one such fear is building a cloud migration strategy that actually works!
Have an urgent need of migrating from SQL Server to the cloud? It can certainly appear complex and scary at first, once you have experienced the process a few times it becomes clear that migration doesn’t need to keep you up at night.
There are plenty of guides and tips online, but the key is experience and insight. That’s what the team at WatServ has, and the best way to demonstrate this is to describe a real example of a successful cloud migration strategy.
Sagen, previously known as Genworth Canada, is Canada’s largest private mortgage insurance provider. After an acquisition, Sagen had less than a year to completely split their assets from Genworth (US) – they needed to quickly create an entirely new, streamlined, IT infrastructure.
As Sagen planned how they needed their new operational systems to look, it became clear that any future strategy also needed to include an updated approach to security.
Sagen realized that stretched IT and security resources could result in the following situations:
- Existing IT security is overburdened and not able to monitor continuously incoming threats.
- Inexperienced employees are faced with advanced security requirements,
- The business relies on technology solutions without the skill to properly manage them.
Sagen built a fully independent IT function, but partnered with WatServ to ensure they always had strong advice on core security and infrastructure. This partnership is ongoing and for many clients this is only possible because WatServ has lowered the cost of entry to managed security services while still driving value to meet the essential security requirements.
A competitive price point, combined with WatServ’s ability to be agile and provide end-to-end service, sets them apart from competitors.
WatServ provides the advanced capabilities to serve a large customer like Sagen, but can also provide those same abilities to small organizations who can’t necessarily hire the talent or have the technology available on their operating budgets.
This is where a partner like WatServ can make all the difference to a cloud migration strategy. You are not just migrating from a SQL Server inside your office to Microsoft Azure – you are building a new streamlined IT infrastructure and completely reviewing your information security procedures at the same time. A partner that has been through this process and is ready to share their insight and experience is extremely valuable on this journey.
With over 15 years of cloud management expertise and an exceptional methodology, WatServ had both the experience and tools to meet Sagen’s critical timelines. This level of experience reduces the fear factor when planning a cloud migration strategy from tools such as SQL to Azure.
Don’t let those Halloween nerves prevent you from designing a secure future for your business.
Rely on WatServ to migrate your Windows Server and SQL Server to Azure. To get you started, contact us today to take advantage of a free, no-obligation assessment.
About
WatServ is an IT solutions provider that helps organizations digitally transform through cloud technologies and managed services.
Serving clients as a trusted advisor since 2006, WatServ provides experience-tested, strategic solutions across all stages of the digital transformation journey. Clients choose WatServ to migrate infrastructure and applications to the cloud, secure critical data, implement disaster recovery, deploy virtual desktop, enable data-readiness for productivity solutions and manage IT environments.
Our clients span a broad range of industries, and we’re a global supplier of IT services for many Brookfield Portfolio Companies. To help our mid-size clients, we provide scalable offerings that simplify cloud adoption and drive business optimization. For enterprise clients, we co-create cloud solutions that enable stability and efficiency for complex IT tools and processes.
With more than 15 years of experience, WatServ has a track record of delivering quantifiable business results and a superior client experience. Ranked as one of Canada’s Top 100 Solution Providers for the last three years in a row, WatServ is always on.
