Azure Lift & Shift Migration Services by WME
Move Fast. Change as Little as Possible.
Rehost your on-premises infrastructure to Microsoft Azure as-is.
Same workloads. Same architecture. Zero refactoring. Full business continuity.
Rehosting, Not Rebuilding
Azure lift and shift migration means taking what runs on-premises – servers, databases, web applications, file storage – and moving it to Azure infrastructure without changing how it works.
No major application redesigns. No large-scale refactoring projects. No months of transformation planning.
Your existing workloads run on Azure Virtual Machines instead of physical hardware.
Your data moves into Azure-based SQL services instead of staying in an on-premises server environment.
The Azure cloud environment becomes your new datacenter. The workloads stay yours.
This is how most organizations take their first step into cloud computing. It gets you out of the premises datacenter fast, cuts maintenance costs immediately, and unlocks Azure’s scalability, without touching what’s working.
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When the Lift and Shift Strategy Is the Right Call
- Datacenter Lease Ending:
Your premises datacenter contract is up. There’s no runway for a full transformation project. The shift migration strategy gets infrastructure off physical hardware and into Azure before the deadline, without disrupting operations.
End-of-Life Hardware:
Aging servers, rising maintenance costs, and performance issues on the horizon. A lift and shift approach removes dependency on physical infrastructure before it becomes a liability.
- Business Continuity Is the Priority:
Some existing workloads can’t tolerate downtime or application changes. If it’s stable and business critical, rehosting keeps it running exactly as-is, just on Azure cloud infrastructure.
Regulated Industries:
In sectors like Real Estate, finance, or healthcare, changing application architecture carries compliance risk. Minimal changes during migration satisfy cloud mandates without touching what’s certified.
Speed Is the Requirement:
Organizational pressure to move to cloud platforms is real. Azure cloud migration via lift and shift delivers results in weeks, not the multi-year timelines that modernization projects carry.
Move First. Optimize in Azure:
Cost optimization, high availability tuning, and digital transformation are all easier once you’re already in Azure resources. Lift and shift is the first step, and it doesn’t lock you out of anything later.
Straight answers on timeline, cost, and what a lift and shift migration looks like for your environment.
Web Applications
Azure App Service | Azure Virtual Machines – Existing web applications migrated to Azure hosting services with minimal architectural changes. Networking, access configurations, and load balancing are adapted for Azure without requiring a full application rebuild.
Identity & Access
Active Directory | Identity Services – Active Directory extended or migrated to Azure. Access controls, group policies, and identity configurations are synchronized or migrated with minimal disruption to users and administrators.
Disaster Recovery
Azure Site Recovery – On-premises disaster recovery replaced by Azure Site Recovery. Replication, failover, and high availability built into Azure services from day one, often more resilient than traditional on-premises disaster recovery setups.
Servers & Computers
Azure Virtual Machines – Physical and virtual servers rehosted as Azure VMs. Same OS, same configuration, same resource allocation. Running on Azure infrastructure instead of your hardware.
Databases
Azure SQL Database | Azure Database Migration Service – SQL Server, Oracle, and MySQL instances migrated with data flow preserved. Minimal or no application-layer changes required.
File Storage
Azure Files – On-premises file servers moved to Azure Files. SMB-compatible, fully managed, and accessible from Azure VMs without changing how users or applications access them.
Azure migration is not a standalone process but several, running in parallel, mapped to your specific systems.
Infrastructure and Workloads That Can Be Rehosted
Licensing Optimization at Cutover
Azure Hybrid Benefit is applied to existing Windows Server and SQL Server licenses at migration. It converts capital expenditures into predictable cloud pricing models, without any renegotiation. Cost efficiency starts at cutover.
Security Baseline from Day One
Microsoft Defender for Cloud (previously, Azure Security Center) is configured as part of the migration, not added later. Security updates, access controls, and management tool integration are live before users switch over. Security and governance are configured from the beginning rather than added later.
Discovery & Dependency Mapping
The Azure Migrate appliance scans your environment, including servers, databases, web applications, and their connections. Dependency mapping shows what talks to what. Nothing moves until you have a complete picture and a sequenced migration plan.
Landing Zone Build-Out
The Azure environment is configured before anything migrates. Landing zones define the network layout, security tools, access controls, and resource allocation, aligned to the Cloud Adoption Framework. The foundation is established before migration starts, not patched together afterward.
Live Replication & Controlled Cutover
Azure Site Recovery replicates workloads to Azure while they’re still running on-premises. Cutover happens in a controlled window. Minimal downtime, no data loss. Migration tasks are tracked against the migration plan throughout.
How to Execute a Low-Risk Azure Cloud Migration
Real systems and real code don’t behave like sandbox tests. Without a structured migration process, the gaps show up at the worst possible time.
Azure Hybrid Benefit Applied at Migration
We apply Azure Hybrid Benefit to your Windows Server and SQL licenses at cutover. Cost efficiency starts on day one, not when someone notices the bill three months later.
Stable Cloud Infrastructure, Handed Over Properly
Post-migration, Azure resources are monitored, cloud infrastructure is validated, and management tools are configured. A smooth transition means your team is fully in control before we step back.
Assessment Before Anything Moves
We deploy the Azure Migrate appliance, run full discovery, and build a dependency map of your existing premises infrastructure. You see exactly what's moving, in what order, and where the risks are, before we touch anything.
Cloud Adoption Framework From the Start
Landing zones are built to Microsoft's Cloud Adoption Framework. Azure infrastructure, network configurations, identity services, and access controls are structured before the shift migration begins.
Phased or Full-cutover, Your Call
We design the shift strategy around your business needs. Some organizations move everything in one cutover window. Others move workload by workload. We manage migration tasks either way.
WME runs the entire Azure cloud migration, from the first discovery scan to post-cutover stabilization. We don’t hand you a playbook and walk away.
WME's Azure Lift and Shift Migration Approach
Ready to Get Off-Premises?
Your servers are costing you more than they should.
Every month in that premises datacenter is a month of maintenance costs, aging hardware, and shrinking margins.
Moving to Azure doesn’t require rebuilding anything. It requires the right migration partner.