How to build a cloud migration business case for your customer

Many of our partners are starting to embrace the power of Microsoft’s AI Cloud and it being one of the most powerful and ever evolving cloud infrastructures and combined stack of solutions in our existence. It would therefore be a no-brainer to adopt migration paths to modernize our customer’s data estates as a crucial, yet great profit yielding digital transformation strategy.

So many customers are still running their workloads and infrastructures in-house due to the fear of embarking on new cloud solutions. When approached, the responses usually sound like ‘The cloud is not safe’ or ‘What happens when we lose connectivity’ or ‘Attempts to gain unauthorized access by hackers.’ Some of these fears are valid and might still haunt some administrators out there, but as Microsoft is shifting Security and AI to a new level, and their substantial investments into securing their solutions, software, and cloud. This may be the new answer to lift and shift your customer’s business to new fronts.

So, how can we shift our customers to modernize their data estate? We can help you achieve this by helping you build compelling cloud migration business cases for why your customer’s organization should migrate and modernize their Windows Server and SQL Server to Azure by using tools and methodologies provided.

Microsoft’s Business Case Toolkit You can use this tool to prepare your customer’s organization for innovating with AI by using the below guidelines:

• Define your customer’s solution plan to Identify their business value.
• Learn how companies have benefitted from modernising their infrastructureto apply to your unique case.
• Accurately estimate and manage costs across your customer’s infrastructure.
• Use training resources and certifications to strengthen your team’s skill sets to further drive this engagement with your customer.

Let’s strategize by defining your solution plan Begin by assessing your customer’s on-premises resources and discovering meaningful insights that will help you modernise their estate faster and see a stronger ROI. We can do this by:

• Develop a hybrid migration approach that starts from where your customer currently is.
• Define your goals using the Cloud Adoption Strategy Evaluator.
• Identify your customer’s cloud adoption path with the Cloud Adoption Tracker.
• Discover and assess your customer’s resources with Azure Migrate and other current assessment and migration tools.

Identify the assessed business value By having your customers adopt Microsoft Azure can lead to improved efficiency, better user experiences, increased revenue, and the ability to stay competitive in today’s dynamic business landscape. Some include:

• Efficiency and Cost Optimization
• Enhanced User Experiences
• Increased Revenue and Competitive Edge
• Modernization and Agility
• Quantifiable Benefits
• Find inspiration in migration success stories available on further blogs and Microsoft’s web page that cover many verticals including Transportation, Insurance, Medical and Manufacturing.

Setup a sound budget and find methods to save Use these Azure tools to build a cloud migration value argument and identify ways to optimise costs along the journey and here is where you should start:

• Use the pricing calculator to start building your budget.
• Use the TCO calculator to review your current infrastructure and estimate costs and savings for migration.

Further to this, you can optimize resources by following the below steps:

• Extend your licensing investments with Azure Hybrid Benefit. This mostly applies to your customers that have an active software assurance agreement on their server operating systems and SQL Servers.
• Take advantage of discounts up to 72% by reserving resources in advance.
• Extend security updates when SQL Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 reach end of support. The later versions are also on the brink for end-of-support.
• Develop a plan for maximising ROI with training modules supplied by Microsoft.

Customer readiness for their transition to the cloud Enabling your customer and help them to migrate with confidence using resources curated to their learning styles. Microsoft provides a variety of skill-building materials to help you migrate on their terms at every stage of the journey. Some further guides should also be considered:

• Have your customer learn from self-paced training modules for experts, intermediate learners, and beginners. And this would apply to your team if you are implementing on behalf of your customer.
• Browse Microsoft skills certifications for admins, engineers, consultants, and business users.
• Give your team or your customer’s team the essential cloud skills for Windows Server and SQL Server migration.
• Explore the fundamentals of Azure AI to prepare teams for AI adoption in the cloud.

Customer alignment And lastly, create your business case now by contacting your Surestep Ambassador at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so that we can assist with creating your customer’s business case for Azure migration with taylor made PowerPoint presentations and empowerment sessions. Then, share your plan with your customer and further stakeholders to build alignment for an AI-ready foundation.