Innoligo cloud migration assessment · Final report
Corrick Components Ltd
Fictional UK manufacturer, 140 staff on two sites, 14 virtual servers on 3 hosts whose warranty ends in March, an on-premises ERP system.
The question: Our servers are out of warranty. Do we replace them or move to Azure?
1Executive summary
Neither extreme. A hybrid move saves £18,000 over five years and removes most of the hardware risk.
Moving everything to Azure would cost more than refreshing the servers, mainly because the ERP system needs a large, always-on server. Replacing everything like for like keeps all the risk on site. The best value is hybrid: move files to SharePoint and nine servers to Azure, keep the ERP on one new host until the ERP supplier's cloud version is available in 2028.
3 options
costed over five years, like for like
£170,000
five-year cost of the recommended hybrid option
£18,000
lower than a like-for-like refresh, over five years
2Scope and method
What we looked at
- Inventory of the 14 servers, storage and network links
- Application dependencies, including the ERP and its database
- Current five-year cost: hardware, licences, power, support
- Azure sizing and pricing, with and without reservations
- Migration effort, risk and sequencing
Access and evidence
- Read-only access to the virtualisation platform for 4 weeks of performance data
- ERP supplier's roadmap (shared under NDA)
- Interviews with the Operations Director and the IT manager
Not included
- Running the migration
- Renegotiating the ERP contract
- Network redesign beyond the internet links
3Cloud readiness by area (out of 5)
- IdentityOn-premises Active Directory, syncs to Entra ID3 / 5
- Network linksSecond site on a single 100 Mbps line2.5 / 5
- File data4 TB, suits SharePoint and OneDrive4 / 5
- ApplicationsERP not supported in Azure by its supplier until 20282 / 5
- Backup and recoveryBackups good; no off-site copy3 / 5
- Skills and supportOne IT manager; no Azure experience2.5 / 5
4Findings, ranked
Every finding has the evidence behind it, what it means for the business, the fix, the effort and the cost. A real report adds an evidence appendix with the underlying exports.
1.HighHardware out of warranty in March
- Evidence
- All 3 hosts are 7 years old; warranty extension quoted at £9,400 a year.
- Business impact
- A host failure would stop production scheduling for days.
- Fix
- Decide the target by December so the move or refresh finishes before March.
- Effort
- Decision now
- Cost
- Avoids £9,400 a year extension
2.HighERP not supported in Azure until 2028
- Evidence
- ERP supplier supports only on-premises or its own cloud from Q2 2028.
- Business impact
- Moving the ERP to Azure now would leave it unsupported.
- Fix
- Keep the ERP on one new host; plan to move to the supplier's cloud in 2028.
- Effort
- Part of the refresh
- Cost
- £18,000 for one host
3.MediumSingle internet line at the second site
- Evidence
- One 100 Mbps line, no backup line.
- Business impact
- With servers in Azure, a line failure stops the second site working.
- Fix
- Add a second line from a different provider before moving any server.
- Effort
- 6 to 8 weeks lead time
- Cost
- £2,400 a year
4.MediumServers over-sized for their load
- Evidence
- Average CPU use 18%; 5 servers idle outside working hours.
- Business impact
- Like-for-like sizing in Azure would overpay by about a third.
- Fix
- Right-size in Azure and switch off 5 servers out of hours.
- Effort
- Built into migration
- Cost
- Saves about £6,000 a year in Azure
5.LowFile server suits SharePoint
- Evidence
- 4 TB of documents, mostly by department, few very large files.
- Business impact
- A server, its backup and its licence can be retired.
- Fix
- Move departmental shares to SharePoint and OneDrive in 3 waves.
- Effort
- 4 weeks
- Cost
- Included in existing licences
5Five-year cost of each option
| Option | Five years |
|---|---|
| A. Refresh like for like: £68,000 hardware, then £24,000 a year to run | £188,000 |
| B. Everything to Azure: £32,000 migration, then £33,000 to £41,000 a year | £197,000 to £237,000 |
| C. Hybrid (recommended): £22,000 migration, £18,000 ERP host, then £26,000 a year | £170,000 |
| Hybrid compared with refresh | £18,000 lower |
Running costs include power, support, licences and Azure consumption. Azure range depends on reserving capacity for 3 years. All figures excluding VAT.
6Savings and costs to test
| Item | Range | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid against like-for-like refresh, over 5 years Central estimate £18,000 | £10,000 to £25,000 | Medium |
| Warranty extension avoided Quoted by the hardware supplier | £9,400 a year | High |
| Out-of-hours shutdown of 5 Azure servers Included in option C's running cost | £4,500 to £6,000 a year | Medium |
The larger benefit is risk: after the move, a single host failure affects only the ERP, and that host is new and under warranty.
7Your action plan
The fixes, sorted into three time buckets so nothing is overwhelming: quick wins first, then planned work, then longer-term improvements. Hand it to your IT provider, or to us, and say "do this, in this order".
First 30 days: quick wins
- Board decision on option C
- Order the second internet line
- Order one ERP host
30 to 90 days: planned work
- Move files to SharePoint in 3 waves
- Migrate 9 servers to Azure, right-sized
- Move the ERP to the new host
3 to 12 months: longer term
- Retire the 3 old hosts
- Reserve Azure capacity once usage settles
- Plan the 2028 move to the ERP supplier's cloud
8Decisions for you to make
The few questions IT cannot answer alone, because they need budget or authority. Your owner or directors can settle them in one meeting.
- Choose option C (hybrid) and approve £40,000 of one-off spend.
- Approve a second internet line at the second site before any server moves.
- Decide whether to use a partner for the migration or train the IT manager.
The report ends with a senior readout: a one-hour session to walk through the findings and these decisions with you and anyone else who needs to be there. The report, findings and plan are yours to keep and use with any supplier.