Cloudy Key to Migration

Curtis Franklin Jr., Executive Editor | 12/20/2012 | 20 comments

Curtis Franklin Jr.
Conversations about migrating to Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 tend to focus on hardware, but a trip to the cloud may be the secret to a smooth transition. Two clouds in particular -- Azure and Office 365 -- might be the key to a successful move to the latest versions of Microsoft Windows.

Microsoft Azure is a cloud, but Microsoft is working to make it more. In fact, the company wants to make Azure a complete application-building ecosystem, and the latest iteration of the cloud service comes quite close to making that vision a reality. A service, a set of developer tools, and the various bits of glue and kit to hold them all together, Azure will allow IT departments to build web-facing applications that bring together Windows systems with Linux backends for a unified whole with a brave new interface.

In many ways, "Linux" is the surprising and important part of that sentence. It's to be expected that a service from Microsoft will be the bee's knees when it comes to developing applications around a Windows Server foundation, but in allowing both Windows Server and Linux components, Azure becomes an important tool for migrating from one operating system to another. The capability is important, but the pricing is what makes Azure an attractive option -- and the pricing couldn't be simpler.

Unlike many cloud competitors, Microsoft charges the same fee for setting up a server whether it is running on Linux or Windows. Customers have their choice of most of the popular Linux distros, and (this is important) both Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are options. This range of possibilities makes Azure a reasonable tool for building the bridging components between new and old pieces of infrastructure. It also makes Azure a working solution for organizations that need to sandbox solutions or provide temporary bridging options during a period of migration from one operating system to another or from one version of Windows to another.

Microsoft Office 365 is many things in different configurations, but most of those options include the ability to share Office documents between users who might or might not be using the same version of Windows or Office. Whether the client computer is running Windows XP, Vista 7, or 8; whether it has the latest version of Office or not; whether the system is running IE, Firefox, Safari, or Chrome; or whether the version of Office the company uses has been sold in the last five years or not, the client system can reach Office 365 and build and share documents. Clients also can share schedule and email messages to bring the organization together while the backend systems are being created in whatever target configuration the organization ultimately chooses.

There has been a great deal of discussion about whether cloud computing is appropriate for an enterprise deployment. In the case of Azure and Microsoft Office 365, clouds can be the basis of a smooth and cost-effective migration plan, but only if you look at where you're going and create the right roadmap to get there. Is a cloud part of your Windows migration plan? If not, perhaps it's time to take a step back and engage in some cloudy thinking for the new year.

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Don K   Cloudy Key to Migration   1/31/2013 10:49:41 PM
Re: Cloudy key to migration
Keith: the most questions do have answers . They may not be perfect but its there for the taking. The only major one is less control
rdv   Cloudy Key to Migration   12/30/2012 4:05:12 AM
azure a step in direction of migration...
" ...but the pricing is what makes Azure an attractive option"

Azure has the option of Flexible billing cycles (option of pay-as-you-go) which can make it attractive but, on the contrary, such billing cycles leave behind some clients a feeling being over-charged as it is quite different from one-time license provisioning.  If the migration plan is a short-term then this can be a effective migration tool...

 
KeithGrinsted   Cloudy Key to Migration   12/29/2012 4:50:48 AM
Re: Cloudy key to migration
@Don K yes security is one of the big issues - the cloud is not some wonderful place in the atmosphere that is a secure bubble from the world.

It actually exists on hardware somewhere.

Do you know where your data is held?

Do you know how secure that location is?

Do you know how resilient that location and hardware is?

I'd guess the answer to most of those questions is - no!
The_Phil   Cloudy Key to Migration   12/27/2012 12:17:16 PM
Re: Cloudy key to migration
What's the ideal method?
Don K   Cloudy Key to Migration   12/24/2012 4:53:59 AM
Re: Cloudy key to migration
Yes its the ideal method since we do not need to worry about space but security wise its a big risk we take. We do not have full control over our data in cloud still. So if it can be solved then its the ideal thing.
The_Phil   Cloudy Key to Migration   12/22/2012 3:58:36 PM
Re: Cloudy key to migration
Really... how? or where?
KeithGrinsted   Cloudy Key to Migration   12/22/2012 3:47:37 AM
Office 365 -
To my mind there is little incentive to lay out £3.90 per month / user ($6 in US) for their small business P1 plan that seems to provide very little more than Google http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/office365/compare-plans.aspx

 

Or am I missing some key information?

 
singlemud   Cloudy Key to Migration   12/21/2012 2:01:16 PM
Re: Cloudy key to migration
Microsoft put tons of effort on Azure cloud framework. for startup, they can get free Vistual Studio, SQL Server, and Cloud Service.
CurtisFranklin   Cloudy Key to Migration   12/21/2012 1:13:24 PM
Re: Is there the knowledge out there to take advantage of this?
@KeithGrinsted, Microsoft seems to be making a concerted effort to educated people about Azure, and it's designed to be a relatively straight-forward way for companies to build hybrid clouds that leverage the economies of public clouds while maintaining the security and privacy many companies worry about.

Office 365 is, indeed, an odd duck. I agree that it seems to be most frequently used by small businesses, but there are some interesting possibilities there if you're looking for a way to buffer the shock of a migration project.
KeithGrinsted   Cloudy Key to Migration   12/21/2012 4:52:52 AM
Is there the knowledge out there to take advantage of this?
@Curtis This could be very interesting.  I wonder what expertise there is out there to take advantage of it?

I have often said that the issues relating to legacy systems and capability hold a lot of businesses back.

I have heard of few people going over to 365 and have only really considered it as a small business solution - that seems to be the way it has been promoted here anyway.

Probably worth a better look and could be a competitor for Google docs etc.

For cloud to work in UK at least, and it is beginning to, there need to be clear benefits to the business.  Which brings me back to one of my 'hobbyhorses' - the lack of education, knowledge, among the decision-makers.
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