As businesses attempt to accelerate their transition into the Digital Age, leaders may be asking themselves a common question: What does it take to make a digital transformation truly transformational? The crucial answer hiding beneath the buzzwords and hype about each new technology in this space is that successful digitization of an entire organization means a headlong dive into the cloud.
Why is migration to the cloud so significant? The analogy of a physical raincloud can help reveal the potential of cloud computing. Water droplets gathered in a physical cloud can move anywhere in the sky securely and uninhibited by physical barriers, and a cloud can distribute water to distant locations at the same time, through the same mechanism. Similar advantages are available for data stored in a figurative cloud such as Azure.
If your data are locked inside physical servers and managed through Microsoft SQL Server in one of your offices, then your access to the metaphorical drops of data within those servers is like limited access to water in a canal. Your data can only flow through rigid channels to immovable destinations, which makes it difficult to access. If this sounds familiar, then it is time for you to make it rain with Azure.
Also Read: Migration to Azure Checklist
Limits of SQL Server
Moving to Azure means leaving behind SQL Server. Although SQL Server is a robust platform with many capabilities, it could be holding your business back. These are some of the reasons why:
- Restricted storage capacity and compute power of on-site server hardware
- Bounded scope of connectivity to and from the SQL server within your network
- Minimal dashboard functionality and data visualizations
Above all, continuing to run your business on a SQL Server backbone is problematic because all these functionalities have been updated and improved (with the added benefit of the cloud) in Azure. Choosing not to migrate to Azure from SQL Server would be like choosing not to update the operating system on your personal computer.
What Azure Has to Offer
Since Azure is a cloud-based solution, it has much more flexibility, functionality and scalability than an on-premises solution like SQL Server. For instance, here are some of the new features from which you can benefit with Azure:
- Threat detection, active-directory-based authentication and data encryption
- Machine learning for adaptive, predictive data management
- Fluid up-and-down scaling for workload balancing
Azure is the next generation of database management platforms. It can drive your business to new heights and help your employees and customers achieve truly on-demand access. It can also give you insights into the way your data are used both internally and externally in a way that SQL Server cannot do. However, migrating from SQL Server to Azure is no small undertaking and merits the assistance of a true expert.
How Trianz Can Help
There are many online resources that can inform you about SQL Server migration on a very basic, conceptual level, but none that can enable you to perform a full migration without help. This is why Trianz has established a large team of experienced server and database migration specialists to guide you throughout the process.
Some of the services we provide, among many others, include the following:
- Comprehensive assessment of your current system configuration
- In-depth planning of the migration procedure
- Secure backup of your existing data
- Post-migration data validation
A true digital transformation at the center of your business will only be possible when you commit to entering the cloud without reservation. There is no alternative for enabling your business to use its own data in pace with dynamic growth.
With our help, you can rest assured that your migration will be successful. Our experience assisting many Fortune 1000 clients reinforces this, but you can test it for yourself. Even if you are only investigating options for migration, we encourage you to contact our migration team today to discover what we can do for you.
