Industry: Energy Services
Users: 300
Sites: 15
Background
Our customer relied on a traditional Citrix infrastructure to support their desktop and application delivery needs. Additionally, their application and SQL servers were hosted in an on-premises data centre. To enhance operational efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, the client aimed to migrate their IT infrastructure to Microsoft Azure.
Challenge
The primary challenges faced during this migration included ensuring minimal downtime, maintaining data integrity and security, and optimising the performance of applications and databases in the new cloud environment. It was also essential to provide a seamless user experience throughout the migration.
Solution
Layer 4 Limited executed a comprehensive migration strategy involving the following steps:
Assessment and Planning
Conducted an in-depth assessment of the clients existing Citrix infrastructure, application servers, and SQL servers.
Developed a detailed migration roadmap to transition to Azure Virtual Desktops (AVD) and Azure cloud services, ensuring minimal business disruption.
Infrastructure Setup
Provisioned Azure Virtual Desktops to replace the existing Citrix environment, providing secure, scalable, and accessible virtual desktops.
Configured Azure resources, including virtual networks, storage accounts, and virtual machines to host the application servers and SQL servers.
Data and Application Migration
Leveraged tools like Azure Migrate and Azure Database Migration Service to transfer application servers and SQL servers to Azure.
Ensured data integrity and security throughout the migration process with end-to-end encryption and robust backup solutions.
User Training and Support
Conducted training sessions for the clients IT staff and end-users to acclimatise them to the new Azure environment.
Provided ongoing support to address any issues and ensure a smooth transition.
Results:
Scalability: The client now benefits from enhanced scalability, allowing them to adjust resources based on demand without significant capital expenditure.
Performance: Improved application performance and database efficiency due to Azure’s robust infrastructure and management tools.
Cost Efficiency: Reduced operational costs associated with maintaining on-premises hardware, thanks to Azure’s pay-as-you-go model and utilising effective management of Licences and Azure Reserved Instances.
User Experience: A seamless transition with minimal downtime, ensuring that users experienced little to no disruption during the migration.
Conclusion
The migration to Azure Virtual Desktops and Azure cloud services has provided the client with a modern, scalable, and cost-effective IT infrastructure. Layer 4 Limited successfully transformed the clients IT operations, setting a strong foundation for future growth and innovation.
