Server and application migration

Sooner or later every business has to move its IT. A server reaches the end of its life, a hosting contract ends, costs climb, or the software it runs is no longer supported. We move websites, applications, file servers, email and whole platforms to the cloud, between clouds and onto new servers, without losing data and with as little disruption as possible.

What we move

• From the office to the cloud: servers, file shares and business applications moved to Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services or Oracle Cloud, with secure access for your staff wherever they work.
• Between clouds and hosting providers: when one provider no longer suits you on cost, service or security, we move your services to another and close down the old ones cleanly.
• Onto new platforms: servers running out-of-date or unsupported operating systems rebuilt on current, secure ones, with the applications and data carried across.
• Websites and domains: sites, their databases and the settings behind your domain name moved so that visitors and email keep arriving at the right place.
• Old business systems: where a system is no longer worth running, we can keep its records available in a simpler, safer form, checked against the original so nothing goes missing.

For small businesses we have moved websites off ageing servers, replaced a retiring business system with a secure archive, moved remote access and shared files to cloud servers, and moved monitoring and other back-office services onto new platforms. Each one was planned, rehearsed and tested before the old service was switched off.

Experience at scale

We have migrated government services to the cloud and between clouds: moving data platforms out of on-premise data centres, from one hosting provider to another and back into secure government hosting, and building platforms that run across more than one cloud. That work demands careful planning, strong security and evidence that everything still works after the move. Every client gets the same discipline, scaled to the size of the job.

How a migration works

1. Plan together. We find out what you have, what depends on what and what must not stop. We agree the order, the timing and how we will know each step has worked, and we agree a way back if something unexpected happens.
2. Build the new home securely. The new servers or cloud services are built to a secure design from the start, not tidied up afterwards. See cloud and infrastructure security.
3. Rehearse. Using our own automated tools, we copy your services across and run them in the new place before anything goes live, so problems are found and fixed in the rehearsal rather than on the day.
4. Move and test. On the day we move the live service, then run automated tests to check that it behaves as it did before: pages load, forms send, logins work, data matches and security settings are in place.
5. Look after it. We keep the old service available until you are happy, then close it down safely. Afterwards we can monitor and support the new service as part of a support contract.

Why it matters

A badly run migration can lose data, break email, drop your website from search results or leave a security gap. Our tools and testing are there to stop that happening, and to give you evidence that it has not.

Migrations often go hand in hand with cloud services and backups and recovery. Based in Chorley, we move services for businesses across Lancashire and Greater Manchester, and further afield. Contact us to talk about what you need to move.