How long does an on-premises to cloud migration take?
Discovery is usually two to four weeks and gives you a defensible plan and cost model. Execution depends on estate size and how much has to move together, from a few weeks for a single application to many months for a datacentre exit. We would rather give you a real number after discovery than a comfortable one before it.
Can you migrate a production database without downtime?
Near-zero downtime is achievable for most engines using change data capture and replication, with a cutover measured in minutes rather than hours. Genuinely zero downtime depends on the engine, the application's tolerance for a brief read-only window, and whether the schema changes. We tell you which category you are in during discovery.
Should we lift and shift, or refactor while we migrate?
Usually both, applied to different workloads. Refactoring everything stalls the programme, and refactoring nothing moves your problems into a more expensive place. We assess per application and give you the running cost of each option, so the decision is financial rather than ideological.
How do you move very large datasets?
It depends on volume and the window. Online replication over private connectivity where bandwidth allows, physical transfer appliances where it does not, and a staged approach for anything that must stay available throughout. Integrity is verified on arrival with checksums, and the source stays intact until you have signed off.
What happens to our existing licences?
Licensing is one of the first things discovery examines, because it frequently changes the economics of a move. Some licences transfer, some are cheaper as a managed service, and some are the reason a workload should be replatformed rather than rehosted. You get that picture before committing to an approach.