The customer was in need to move their SQL Server 2008|R2 instances to Azure to save Extended Security Update (ESU) costs which were due. By moving the workloads (consisting of DB-, App- and Web-Server) to the Azure Cloud, a 7-digit amount could be saved.
Client
LANXESS AG
Year
2020
Stack
Azure Cloud, Terraform, VMWare
➞ Saving ESU Costs
Moving SQL Servers 2008|R2 to Azure helped save ESU costs.
➞ Scaleability
Moving to Azure provided horizontal and vertical scalability.
➞ Monitoring & Better SLAs
Moving to Azure provided better monitoring of the migrated services and hence better SLAs.
➞ Backup & Restore
Moving to Azure enabled automatic backup and restore capabilities for migrated workloads.
⸻ Customer Challenge
Why Extended Security Update Costs?
The Extended Security Update (ESU) program is a last resort option for customers who need to run certain legacy Microsoft products past the end of support. It includes Critical and/or Important security updates for a maximum of three years after the product’s End of Extended Support date. SQL Servers 2008|R2 customers received an update on July 14, 2019 as these systems were in support until then. Updates for these systems after July 14, 2020 are provided for ESU customers only.
LANXESS, in need to receive security updates, a 7-digit payment would need to be made each year. The ESU costs accrued annually and could be paid for a maximum of 3 years (till July, 2022). After July, 2022 LAXNESS would not receive any security updates anymore.
Why Move to Azure?
LANXESS had already paid for 2019 a 7-digit amount towards Microsoft for receiving the security updates. However, by migrating the workloads to Azure, the SQL Servers 2008|R2 updates would come free of charge. The business case was very obvious: LANXESS could save a 7-digit sum for each year by doing a one-time investment and moving its servers to the Azure Cloud.
⸻ Solution
How Did MobiLab Support LANXESS?
MobiLab was asked to undertake the SQL Server migration within a very tight timeline (3 months) to save ESU payments which were due in July 2020.
MobiLab put together a team of cloud migration specialists which split the tasks in multiple workstreams (infrastructure analysis, application assessment, target cloud architecture, landing zone, migration planning/execution). Within 3 months and a team of 9 people MobiLab delivered successfully (in time and in budget) the complete migration of SQL Servers 2008|R2 to Azure and saved the customer ESU costs.
Related project: StackIT
