{"id":16797,"date":"2019-11-14T09:02:38","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T08:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/?p=16797"},"modified":"2019-11-15T15:52:48","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T14:52:48","slug":"sql-server-windows-server-azure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/cross-industry\/2019\/11\/14\/sql-server-windows-server-azure\/","title":{"rendered":"4 reasons why SQL Server & Windows Server work best on Azure"},"content":{"rendered":"
Is your organisation one of the 90% of businesses that Forrester estimates have now migrated their operations to the cloud?<\/p>\n
The benefits of the technology are clear: with its power to deliver increased productivity, collaboration, and innovation, the cloud is no longer considered an optional extra. Today, it\u2019s as fundamental to the running of a successful business as the typewriter was a century ago. A necessity that enables you to remain competitive, relevant, and gain market share.<\/p>\n
Whatever the size of your organisation, the question is how much cloud technology you should adopt, when and where should you adopt it, and how soon to introduce it?<\/p>\n
Every business will have a different starting point. Knowing what\u2019s right for you, and which workloads to move first is critical to beginning your journey. Once you\u2019ve moved these to Microsoft Azure, you\u2019re then free to investigate modernising your operations and adding innovation into the mix, leveraging technology like AI.<\/p>\n
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Cyber-security is a topic that never seems to the leave the headlines. It\u2019s a core focus for any business; without the defensive protection of the cloud, you leave yourself open to the threat of your IT systems being taken offline \u2013 a cost no business wishes to bear. And that\u2019s before we consider the risk of data loss.<\/p>\n
If you find yourself a victim of a breach, with sensitive data hacked, the cost is two-fold. In the first instance, you\u2019re liable to be fined by the Information Commissioner\u2019s Office under GDPR<\/a>. This can be as high as \u00a318 million or 4%, depending on the severity of the breach. However, the second cost is far more worrying: a data breach hurts your reputation, resulting in customer trust spiralling.<\/p>\n Azure\u2019s built-in security measures prevent this from happening \u2013 this includes Azure Sentinel<\/a>, the intelligent security application that fuses AI and the cloud to protect your entire enterprise. We invest $1 billion every year in security measures that protect your organisation. Microsoft\u2019s cloud solution analyses 6.5 trillion threats every day, and with 3,500 security experts, you can be confident we\u2019ve got you covered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Don\u2019t let that end of support worry you. In fact, if you migrate to the cloud, you don\u2019t need to ever think about it again.<\/p>\n Azure is the only cloud solution with evergreen SQL. This ensures that you\u2019re always using the most up-to-date version available. No patches, no updates. This is just one of the reasons why Azure is the best cloud to run your Windows and SQL Servers.<\/p>\n When you make the switch to the Microsoft cloud, you\u2019ll also begin a transformation with built-in intelligence to simplify resource management and governance and reduce complex admin tasks. It also offers the only fully managed service for any .NET app.<\/p>\n We have a full commitment to Linux migration and open-source projects and applications like Kubernetes, so you can make the choice that\u2019s right for your organisation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Azure Hybrid Benefit brings extra pricing benefits to customers with both Software Assurance and on-premises Windows Server and SQL Server licenses. We know, as a decision-maker, you\u2019ll always have one eye on the bottom-line. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve made Azure the most attractive proposition, without compromising on the top quality you expect from Microsoft.<\/p>\n There\u2019s free extended security updates when migrating Windows Server and SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 workloads. Pre-paying your compute capacity on a one or three-year term is another way you\u2019ll save on costs. This is designed to simplify budgeting and forecasting. You can also get started at speed with our Azure Migrate Program, which includes prescriptive advice, resources, and tools for a successful path to the cloud. The program leverages our strong and highly capable partner network to ensure customers move to Azure is successful.<\/p>\n Find out how much you stand to gain by visiting the Azure Hybrid Benefit page<\/a> and using the Savings Calculator.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Microsoft is the only cloud provider with end-to-end hybrid infrastructure, with 2.5m+ hybrid-enabled Windows Servers through Windows Admin Centre.<\/p>\n Using Azure with Windows Server provides a truly unique hybrid experience, letting you seamlessly operate across your data centre and the cloud. The systems\u2019 are deeply integrated and for a very good reason \u2013 by developing platforms that not only work well together, but are made <\/em>for each other, you\u2019ll discover it\u2019s easy to perform critical scenarios like Backup, Disaster Recovery and migration.<\/p>\n When you move to Azure, you\u2019ll find the most comprehensive backward and forward SQL compatibility with Azure SQL DB Managed Instance. This enables existing SQL users to switch on-site applications to the Azure cloud with little disruption and database changes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are four core stages to migrating your business to the cloud\u2026<\/p>\n This is, arguably, the most important stage: planning. Cloud migration tools, such as the Azure Migrate Tool, can be used to assess your inventory and figure out which on-premises apps need to be moved over to the cloud.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to make the move. This is where you\u2019ll use tools like the Azure Migrate Tool and Azure Site Recovery \u2013 this essentially automates your migration with next to no downtime.<\/p>\n The work doesn\u2019t just stop once you\u2019ve migrated. Now, you can calibrate your apps, so they perform optimally on Azure, while Azure Cost Management helps you monitoring and budgeting.<\/p>\n Congratulations! You\u2019re now operating in the cloud. At this stage, you\u2019re free to leverage Azure security and management services, to keep your cloud applications running smoothly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is it time to modernise your business, make it more secure, and increase the productivity of your whole team? We\u2019ll help you with step-by-step guidance, advice, and all the support you need to accelerate your cloud-based future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Listen to the webinar: Discover why Azure is the right choice for cloud migration<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0Download the eBook: Cloud migration essentials<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nUnparalleled innovation<\/h2>\n
Unbeatable offers<\/h2>\n
Built-in hybrid<\/h2>\n
Take the first steps and start your migration journey<\/h2>\n
Step 1 – Assess<\/h3>\n
Step 2 – Migrate<\/h3>\n
Step 3 – Optimise<\/h3>\n
Step 4 – Secure and manage<\/h3>\n
Find out more<\/h2>\n