Cloud and Server Migration
Migration moves an application, database and file store you already run today onto new infrastructure, with the move rehearsed on a copy first so the actual cut-over happens in a window you chose.
What Usually Forces a Migration
- The office server or tower PC running the business is ageing and increasingly hard to source parts for
- A hosting provider is closing, raising prices sharply, or has stopped supporting the plan you are on
- A virtual server bought years ago no longer has the capacity your current order volume needs
- Two systems must merge after an acquisition or a change in ownership
Two Ways the Move Can Happen
Lift and Shift
The application moves largely unchanged onto new infrastructure, chosen when speed matters more than restructuring the system.
Re-platforming
Parts of the application are adjusted during the move to use a managed database or storage service instead of a self-run equivalent.
How the Data Itself Is Moved
Database Migration and Validation
Data is copied, checksummed and compared against the source so the new database is confirmed identical before cut-over.
File and Asset Transfer
Uploaded files, scanned documents and historical exports are moved and verified separately from the database itself.
How Downtime Is Kept to a Window You Choose
We build the destination environment, copy your data into it, and run both systems side by side before anyone is asked to switch. The rehearsal surfaces problems while the old system is still live, and the real cut-over happens in a maintenance window you agree, with a defined point to roll back to if something behaves unexpectedly.
Frequently asked questions
Is a migration the same as an architecture review?
No. An architecture review decides what the destination should look like; migration is the work of actually moving your data and application onto it. Many projects need both, in that order, but a business that already has a target environment may only need the migration.
What decides whether we do a lift-and-shift or a re-platform?
How much time you can spend and how much the current setup is already costing you in maintenance. A lift-and-shift is faster and lower-risk; a re-platform takes longer but removes servers you would otherwise keep patching yourself. We recommend one after seeing your current system, not before.
What drives the cost of a migration?
The size of your database and file store, how many applications are in scope, whether the application needs code changes to run in the new environment, and how much parallel running and verification you want before cut-over.
What decides how long a migration takes?
How quickly new cloud accounts can be opened in your name, how large the data is and how long a copy takes, how many people need to check their own screens and reports on the copy before sign-off, and which maintenance window your business can offer.
Can our application keep running during the migration?
Yes, for almost all of it. The new environment is built and populated while the old one keeps serving your business. Only the final cut-over needs a window, and its length is measured during rehearsal rather than guessed in advance.
Who owns the new environment afterwards?
You do. The cloud account, domain and any new database licences are registered in your business name, with our access scoped to what the migration and any agreed handover period require.
What do you need from us before we start?
Read access to your current servers or hosting account, a list of who depends on the system and when they cannot afford it to be down, and one person authorised to approve the cut-over window and the rollback decision if it is needed.
Tell us what you need.
Send a short brief and one of our engineers will come back to you — usually the same day.
- No obligation
- We reply the same working day
- Your details stay private