The right time to migrate to the cloud: discounts and special conditions for the Microsoft Azure solutions

Businesses around the world are moving away from legacy on-premises technologies in favor of flexible, scalable and cost-effective solutions in the cloud. There are many good reasons to start a cloud migration, from reducing IT costs to accelerating innovation.

Forrester predicts that the cloud services market will grow by 35% in 2023 compared to 2022. This means that the market size will reach $832 billion in 2023, which is a significant increase from $620 billion in 2020.

Demand for cloud services is predicted to grow as more companies use cloud solutions to streamline their business infrastructure and enable efficient work with remote teams.

Microsoft Azure is one of the leading cloud providers due to its advantages. It is trusted by 95% of Fortune 500 companies. Let’s take a look at what makes Azure an attractive option for businesses looking for reliable and efficient solutions in the cloud.

Migration to Azure cloud – what are the business benefits?

• The largest number of regions of presence

Microsoft Azure has many regions of presence. Now there are more than 60 of them. If the company’s offices are located all over the world, it is possible to choose the region that will be closest to the geolocation of the business.

It is also possible to choose several regions at once in order to improve interaction with the cloud. Additionally, this allows you to build more reliable solutions with geo-reservation, if, for example, the data center in one region ceases to function.

• More than 200 services

Microsoft Azure is not only virtual machines or storage for backups, but many more services. For example, one of them, Azure Virtual Desktop, allows you to deploy solutions from virtual desktops. It is almost out-of-box, that is, Microsoft has made most of the preliminary configurations, and the customer only needs to specify user data: what resources they should have, what restrictions and policies apply to them in relation to data access.

• Industry-leading security

Security is a powerful tool in Microsoft Azure. Over the past 5 years, Microsoft has been actively investing in the cybersecurity industry: more than $1 billion annually. The company has more than 3,500 employees who research common vulnerabilities and develop new IT security solutions.

This approach makes it possible to enhance the reliability of existing solutions that cover both all Microsoft Azure and third-party solutions at the level of the operating system, network or infrastructure.

• Standardized Microsoft Azure solutions

Most successful companies in Ukraine have a long history. They started with on-premises solutions and are currently working with a lot of technologies. Often these are proprietary solutions. Therefore, there is an urgent issue with the search for specialized experts who have begun to migrate en masse to the West. Accordingly, when a company has a whole variety of already built and customized solutions, it becomes more and more difficult for a new specialist to deal with the existing IT infrastructure in the company.

In Microsoft Azure, it’s almost never an issue. Of course, there is some customization involved, but this is a standardized environment, and every specialist who has worked with Microsoft quickly understands and masters the features of the company’s new infrastructure thanks to the experience gained earlier.

In turn, the company receives a solution that does not rely on the competencies of a particular specialist.

• Flexibility to experiment

If a company is planning to launch new projects, try to test solutions, or check how the system can withstand different loads, it is possible to deploy additional resources to implement certain projects without wasting time on buying equipment and preparing infrastructure. It is possible to quickly deploy additional resources and, if necessary, quickly scale them down and pay only for the time used.

• Pay as you go

The company does not overpay for idle resources. It is possible to manage this, set up automatic scaling, limit resources.

• Distributed responsibility

If a company, for example, rents virtual servers or has its own on-premises infrastructure, all responsibility for the correct functioning of hardware, network, data storage and software lies with the company’s IT specialists. In the case of Microsoft Azure, Microsoft is responsible for part of the solution – the hardware and the operating system – if you choose Platform as a Service.

And thus, firstly, the team does not waste time on their maintenance, and secondly, part of the workload of the technical department is removed, and they have the opportunity to deal with urgent issues more. Accordingly, there will be fewer problems with the supply of hardware (at least in the server part and storage part), because it all goes under the control of Microsoft.

How SMART business helps companies migrate to the Microsoft Azure cloud

There are two classic ways to get started with the Microsoft Azure cloud. First: the company has a specialist who independently registers an account, selects the necessary service and starts working with it: studies the documentation, makes the appropriate settings, and implements this solution.

The second way is to contact a Microsoft partner and benefit from the experience of its specialists, who are constantly learning, have applied cases and help customers achieve business goals every day.

For 14 years, SMART business has been a Microsoft partner in Ukraine and has been helping customers migrate to Azure and use cloud solutions.

The experience and competencies of SMART business specialists can be useful at the following stages:

• Consultation on migration to the cloud: selection of licenses and the solution for business needs,
• Cloud assessment: providing an estimate consisting of the cost of resources for migration and the cost of work,
• Building a cloud architecture: the development of an architecture that takes into account the immediate and future needs of the business, meets the criteria for reliability and security,
• Cloud implementation: configuring processes related to the solution deployment,
• Cloud adoption: getting a ready-made solution and training technical specialists to maintain its performance, and end users – to use it and get results,
• Cloud support: support throughout the entire life cycle of a set of solutions deployed in the cloud.

Each of these offers can be ordered as a separate service or a set of measures: it depends on the request and goals of the company.

Special conditions for implementing Microsoft Azure solutions from SMART business

80% off program

SMART business, together with Microsoft, supports Ukrainian businesses and provides an 80% discount on the cost of Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Security solutions until November 30, 2023 provided that the customer’s tenant is registered in Ukraine.

Please note that this offer applies to both existing and new projects.

If a company is still paying 100% for using Microsoft Azure solutions or is planning to start a new project, our specialists will help.

Web Apps New Project Development Program

Bonus program to support new projects on migration and modernization of WEB applications: SMART Start Web App.

SMART business works with Microsoft to support the development of new Web Apps projects and offers a one-time compensation of $5,000 to $25,000 for the use of related services. It is credited to the balance for paying for further use of resources or you can use the services for an equivalent amount.

The program operates all over the world, so it does not matter where exactly the client’s tenant is located. There is a list of services covered by this program. To find out more, fill out the form.

Free consultation

If you are planning to start a migration project, but do not know what licenses or solutions you need to choose for your request, our specialists are ready to help.

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Why is now the best time to migrate to the Microsoft Azure cloud?

1. Launching pilot versions and beta tests of new systems is now easier than ever thanks to discounts and bonus programs designed to support Ukrainian businesses and scale them abroad.Everything that was previously postponed due to lack of funding is now affordable. Why not take advantage of this opportunity?
2. Ability to accustom business to the ‘perfect’ IT environment.This is a chance to show investors, top management and colleagues an IT infrastructure that meets the requirements of modern business without requiring additional funding.An additional benefit is that the company’s employees adapt to technologies and will be able to test the Microsoft ecosystem in order to further determine which set of solutions is appropriate to use to fulfill the company’s business tasks.
3. Significantly enhance the company’s IT security.Microsoft Security contains powerful security services that address phishing attacks on corporate email, identity and endpoint protection, uncontrolled software installation on devices, DDoS attacks, and other cyber threats.Learn more about the Microsoft Security services: cloud.smart-it.com/en/security
4. Optimize labor costs: while the war is ongoing, it is better to be in the cloud, which can be served completely remotely.On-premises infrastructure and people for maintenance in different places. There is no way to serve servers 24/7 if they are unavailable.
5. Reduce the risks associated with the failure of the data center due to external circumstances (such as no electricity), delays in the supply of hardware.

Benefits of switching from card payments for using Microsoft Azure solutions

If a company pays for using Microsoft Azure solutions with a card, there are more favorable conditions: payment through a Microsoft partner – SMART business.

Why is this beneficial?

1. Lower price of the Microsoft Azure solution
2. Local technical support
3. Access to the full line of Azure products
4. Ease of payment and license management
5. Combination of licenses to optimize costs

Just planning to migrate to the Azure cloud? Our experts are ready to provide free consultations on building cloud architecture and selecting solutions that will help businesses achieve their goals.

Already using cloud solutions? Contact us and we will help you optimize costs and get additional bonuses.