Leave the Server Room, Keep the Support
Moving email, files, servers and sign-ins to Microsoft 365 and Azure is a project. Running them afterward is a job that never ends, and that is the part Ceifa does. We deliver larger moves with Regroove, our sister consultancy, then monitor, back up, secure and support the new environment as your managed IT provider, for organizations across Canada and the US.
On-Premises
Today
Microsoft Cloud
Managed by Ceifa
What Moving to the Cloud Changes Day to Day
The move itself takes weeks. How the environment is run once it lands matters for years. Here is the before and after, from the point of view of the team that will support it.
Before: In the Server Room
After: Managed in the Cloud
Before
Servers and file shares that only one person really understands, with no plan for moving them without stopping work.
After
Planned Around Your Working Day
Moves are staged and switch-overs booked for quiet hours, so staff keep working while data copies in the background.
Before
An on-premises Exchange server, a file server and a local Active Directory, each one heading toward a hardware or licence renewal.
After
Mail, Files and Sign-ins in One Tenant
Mail in Exchange Online, files in SharePoint and OneDrive, and sign-ins in Microsoft Entra ID, all looked after under one managed service.
Before
Backups nobody has tried to restore, and data that only gets checked when someone notices a missing file.
After
Checked, Backed Up and Watched
Data is counted before the move and checked after it. Once it lands, the new environment is backed up and monitored as part of managed IT.
Before
Half-moved setups where some things live in the cloud, some on a server in the back room, and nobody owns the plan for the rest.
After
Hybrid, Kept Under Control
Whatever stays on-premises is monitored and patched alongside the cloud side, with the next steps written into your IT roadmap.
Before
The Monday after a move, people cannot find their files and the questions land on whoever sits closest to IT.
After
Staff Know Where Things Are
Staff hear what changes and when, and their questions go to our helpdesk, which already knows the new setup.
Before
The project team leaves right after cutover, just as the small problems start to appear.
After
Support That Carries On After Go-Live
There is no hand-off to a stranger. The environment moves straight into managed support, with unlimited helpdesk during business hours and a monthly report.
Senior Project Manager
Sarah Catterall keeps your move on schedule
A cloud move we are part of always has a named person on our side. Most of the time, that person is Sarah.
Sarah makes sure the schedule you signed off is the schedule you get, that changes reach you from a person rather than a ticket queue, and that our managed support team has everything it needs before the project closes. When the move is done, your environment is already in familiar hands.
From Inventory to Managed Support
Six stages, each with a check before the next one starts. The last stage is not the end of the work. It is where managed support begins.
Inventory
Servers, data, user accounts, applications and how they depend on each other, plus any retention rules that affect how data has to be handled.
Plan and Sign-off
What moves, in what order, who is affected and how to roll back if needed. You review and approve the plan before any work begins.
Test Group First
A small group of users or a slice of data goes first, so problems show up while they are still small and cheap to fix.
Move in Batches
The rest follows in planned batches instead of one big weekend, so most of the organization keeps working throughout.
Confirm Each Batch
Data, applications and access are confirmed after each batch. The next one waits until the last one is clean.
Into Managed Support
After the final switch, the environment joins our managed service: monitoring, backup, the security baseline, helpdesk support and a monthly report.
Inventory
Servers, data, user accounts, applications and how they depend on each other, plus any retention rules that affect how data has to be handled.
Plan and Sign-off
What moves, in what order, who is affected and how to roll back if needed. You review and approve the plan before any work begins.
Test Group First
A small group of users or a slice of data goes first, so problems show up while they are still small and cheap to fix.
Move in Batches
The rest follows in planned batches instead of one big weekend, so most of the organization keeps working throughout.
Confirm Each Batch
Data, applications and access are confirmed after each batch. The next one waits until the last one is clean.
Into Managed Support
After the final switch, the environment joins our managed service: monitoring, backup, the security baseline, helpdesk support and a monthly report.
Questions We Hear About Moving to the Cloud
Thinking About Leaving the Server Room?
Tell us what you run today. We will explain what the move involves and how we would look after the environment once it is in the cloud.
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