The most common question from businesses planning their first move to the cloud is simple but critical: Where do we start?
The answer is with a thorough cloud readiness assessment. For those planning to move to Microsoft Azure, the ideal process is a Microsoft Advanced Migration Assessment.
The Microsoft Advanced Migration Assessment is performed in partnership with Microsoft’s AI Cloud Partners. It’s one of the most comprehensive and valuable offerings for organizations preparing to migrate to the cloud.
In this article, we’ll explore this service in more detail, including what it entails, why your organization needs it, and how to get nominated by Protera for a fully funded assessment to embark on the journey.
Quick Takeaways:
- Microsoft Advanced Migration Assessments deliver in-depth analysis of an enterprise's existing IT landscape and evaluate its readiness to migrate to Microsoft Azure.
- Insights gained from thorough migration assessments include: cost estimations, risks and opportunities, performance expectations, ROI analysis, and migration path.
- The Microsoft Advanced Migration Assessment is a multi-week offering and has a much more in-depth scope than standard assessments.
- Customers must be nominated for this offering by a certified Microsoft AI Cloud Partner (like Protera).
What is a Microsoft Advanced Migration Assessment?
Microsoft’s Advanced Migration Assessment is a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of an enterprise’s existing IT landscape, designed to evaluate its current state and readiness to migrate and modernize on Microsoft Azure.
An assessment is the most critical first step in every migration initiative. It gives IT leaders a complete understanding of their current landscapes, including hardware and software, data, and dependencies. This baseline knowledge is essential for planning a successful migration.
Further, an assessment serves as the foundation for designing a migration roadmap, which outlines the actual migration execution process. Migration assessments provide critical information around:
Estimated Migration Costs
Assessments provide insights into the total cost of ownership (TCO) of SAP and non-SAP workloads in the cloud. This includes not only the migration costs but also ongoing operational expenses.
Sizing and Scalability
Determining the right cloud resources (compute, storage, etc.) for SAP and non-SAP workloads is crucial. Assessments help in sizing these resources correctly to ensure optimal performance and scalability.
Risk Mitigation
Assessments identify potential risks and challenges associated with the migration. These could include compatibility issues, data migration complexities, or compliance and security concerns. Addressing these risks proactively can prevent costly disruptions later in the migration process.
Optimization Opportunities
Organizations can use assessment findings to optimize their systems before migration. This might involve streamlining processes, retiring unnecessary components, or upgrading software to take full advantage of cloud capabilities.
Resource Planning
Assessments help in resource planning by identifying the skills and expertise required for a successful migration. This may involve training existing staff or engaging external experts as needed.
Performance Expectations
Assessments set performance expectations and benchmarks for SAP and non-SAP workloads in the cloud. This helps in measuring the success of the migration and identifying areas that need further optimization.
Compliance and Security
Ensuring compliance with industry regulations and maintaining robust security is a top priority. Migration assessments evaluate how SAP and non-SAP systems will meet compliance requirements and identify security measures needed in the cloud.
ROI Analysis
IT leaders can use the assessment results to perform a return on investment (ROI) analysis. This helps justify the migration investment to stakeholders by quantifying the expected benefits in terms of cost savings, agility, and innovation.
Migration Strategy
As mentioned, based on the assessment, organizations can formulate a clear and well-defined migration strategy. This strategy outlines the steps, timelines, and milestones for a smooth transition to Microsoft Azure.
For organizations migrating large and complex ERP systems to the cloud, assessments are especially critical. They help to avoid rushed or uninformed migration plans that result in negative consequences such as unexpected downtime and/or data loss.
Equally importantly, they ensure the significant investment you’re making in cloud migration reaches its full ROI potential, positioning your organization competitively for the future.
The advantage of the Microsoft Advanced Migration Assessment offering is that it leverages Microsoft’s data analytics capabilities to analyze current workloads in sophisticated detail. In turn, you can be confident you’re making decisions based on complete and accurate insights.
Why Your Organization Needs the Assessment
The cloud is the future of enterprise IT operations—there’s no doubt about that. The global market for cloud migration solutions and services is expected to grow by 5X from its 2020 value of $9.2B to reach $49.96B by 2028.
But this accelerated path to the cloud is also leading to widespread execution challenges. According to McKinsey, 75% of cloud migrations go over budget, and 38% run behind schedule.
This is largely due to unexpected costs and issues that could have been addressed proactively with a thorough migration assessment. McKinsey’s findings underscore the criticality not only of performing the assessment itself but of working with an experienced team that knows how to do it effectively.
For organizations running SAP and non-SAP workloads considering moving to Microsoft Azure, that’s exactly what Microsoft’s Advanced Migration Assessment offers. It readies your organization for successful cloud migration while giving you access to insight and expertise from Microsoft experts who can help you optimize at every turn.
Partnering with Protera for Your Microsoft Advanced Migration Assessment
Protera is a preferred Microsoft partner for delivering the Microsoft Advanced Migration Assessment service at no cost to the business, which goes beyond the scope of standard migration assessment offerings. It includes a schedule of services over three to five weeks, resulting in a complete analysis and recommended plan for your cloud migration. During the process, a team of Microsoft experts from Protera partner with your internal team to:
- Conduct an Assessment Kickoff: During this step, you’ll share your migration goals and system access. The Protera team will perform an exploratory assessment of your current systems and determine the initial scope and timeline of your migration at a high level.
- Perform a Technical Review: The Protera team will analyze solution customization and modification needs for the cloud, evaluate data consistency and integrity, map out application dependencies, and identify and mitigate technical risks.
- Perform a Functional Review: Assess new Microsoft Azure capabilities and enhancements against your existing features, review current business processes, and identify opportunities for optimization.
- Present Findings and Map Out Migration Plan: Deliver customized recommendations and full support in mapping out the migration strategy and execution plan.
To access this offering, high-potential customers must be nominated by a preferred Microsoft partner. Protera is a preferred SAP on Azure migration partner in North America and has a deep engineering partnership with Microsoft, meaning we not only nominate customers but play an active role in the delivery of Microsoft migration solutions and ensuring customer success on Microsoft Azure.
Learn more about being nominated for this opportunity.