Microsoft Azure Migration: move to the cloud with a plan.
Moving workloads to Microsoft Azure reduces your on-premises hardware costs, improves resilience, and unlocks productivity tools that are difficult to run on local servers. But a poorly planned migration can result in higher costs, performance problems, or data loss. North Star plans and executes Azure migrations for BC and AB businesses with a fixed-scope approach: we agree on what moves, when it moves, and what it will cost before anything is touched.
What is involved in an Azure migration?
An Azure migration starts with a discovery and assessment phase where North Star documents your current environment: servers, applications, data volumes, dependencies, and network configuration. We then design the target Azure architecture - virtual machines, storage accounts, networking, identity, and licensing - and produce a migration plan with sequenced workloads and defined rollback procedures. The migration itself is executed in phases to minimise disruption, with critical workloads typically migrated last. After cutover, North Star monitors the Azure environment for performance and cost anomalies and assists with right-sizing to avoid overspend. We also handle Azure Active Directory (Entra ID) integration, conditional access policies, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud configuration as part of the migration.
What North Star delivers.
Discovery and readiness assessment before a dollar is committed.
We document what you have, what it costs to run on-premises, and what equivalent Azure resources will cost. You see the business case before committing to the migration.
Target state design that fits your workloads, not a generic template.
VM sizing, network topology, redundancy, backup, and identity integration designed for your specific applications and user base.
Phased migration with tested rollback at each step.
Workloads are migrated in priority order with defined rollback procedures. Nothing moves without a tested fallback.
Right-sizing and reserved instances to control spend.
Azure costs can grow quickly without discipline. North Star configures cost alerts, reviews usage monthly, and recommends right-sizing and reserved instance purchases to reduce your bill.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Secure Score configured at cutover.
Security defaults, conditional access, and Defender for Cloud alerts are configured before the migration completes so you are not exposed during the transition.
30-day hypercare period with priority response.
The first 30 days after cutover are highest-risk. North Star provides priority response during hypercare to address any performance or configuration issues quickly.
What buyers ask before they sign.
How long does an Azure migration take?
For a typical SMB with five to 25 servers and 20 to 100 users, an Azure migration takes four to 12 weeks from project kick-off to final cutover. Larger or more complex environments take longer. The assessment phase alone typically takes one to two weeks.
How much does an Azure migration cost?
Migration project fees depend on scope: number of servers, applications, and complexity. A straightforward SMB migration is typically $5,000 to $20,000 in professional services. Azure running costs after migration vary widely based on your workloads but are often lower than equivalent on-premises hardware over a three-year horizon.
Will there be downtime during the migration?
North Star plans migrations to minimise downtime. Most workloads can be migrated with a cutover window of a few hours, scheduled for a weekend or after-hours period. Some legacy applications may require longer windows. Downtime requirements are documented during the assessment phase.
Can we keep some workloads on-premises and move others to Azure?
Yes. Hybrid cloud is a valid and common outcome - some workloads stay on-premises (often for latency or regulatory reasons) and others move to Azure. North Star designs the connectivity between your on-premises environment and Azure as part of the migration.
Does North Star manage our Azure environment after the migration?
Yes. North Star offers ongoing Azure managed services covering monitoring, patching, backup management, cost optimisation, and security. This is separate from the migration project and priced as a monthly retainer.
Ready to plan your Azure migration?
Tell us about your environment and we will come back with a scoped proposal in two business days. No obligation, no pressure.
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