University Sees Continuous Optimization After Transforming Workloads to Azure with Ntirety
Download Case Study Booklet
Challenge
A major university found itself in need of a digital transformation in order to support its programs, students, and staff into the future. The university was apprehensive about transitioning its technology with in-house resources, due to the potential for extended downtime and other IT risks. To implement the migration and transformation, it decided to search for an experienced cloud services provider.
The university’s existing colocation provider did not provide visibility into its IT environment, making it difficult to identify and understand existing issues. Additionally, the provider lacked effective monitoring and management, which impacted performance and introduced vulnerabilities. As the university began to evolve its IT stack, it uncovered IT performance and availability issues outside the initial scope of the digital transformation.
After a long vetting process, Ntirety was selected to perform the university’s transformation to Microsoft Azure, based upon Ntirety’s longstanding history of excellence as a managed IT services provider. In addition to a digital transformation, Ntirety was engaged to provide continuous support and improvements after the migration, across four key areas—availability, performance, security, and cost.
Solution
Ntirety designed a project plan in preparation for the transformation, working closely in collaboration with the university’s internal team. Aiming to avoid downtime and optimize the environment both during and after the move to Azure, Ntirety’s plans included full analysis of existing code and infrastructure design.
Ntirety subsequently provided a comprehensive solution that included:
- Cloud transformation to Azure
- Managed Cloud Services customized for the university’s unique applications and IT needs
- Implementation of new security measures aligned with the new environment
- Professional database services during the migration and beyond
After the migration, the university received actionable recommendations for continuous improvement via monthly reports for further optimization of its new Azure environment, increasing ROI on IT spend.
“The migration went very well and shows that we are fully operational with no outages.” – University Director of Web Development
Results
The move to Azure relieved many of the operational risks and costs the university faced with its legacy colocation provider. In addition to enjoying the benefits of a modern infrastructure, the university’s ongoing engagement with Ntirety helps it further optimize operations including availability, performance, security, and cost.
- Availability: The university expanded its managed IT services to include disaster recovery, protecting the availability of their systems and freeing up time for their internal IT teams.
- Performance: Ntirety expanded upon Azure’s built-in reporting to provide an in-depth look and analysis of the data, which helped the university make informed decisions.
- Security: Ntirety’s proactive security and visibility vastly improved the ineffective monitoring and management previously in place, enabling a more proactive posture against threats.
- Cost: Ntirety continues to help optimize the university’s Azure spend, increasing ROI in alignment with their specific business outcomes.
Now that the digital transformation is complete, Ntirety manages the university’s cloud environment so the university’s internal IT teams can focus instead on continuing to deliver academic excellence.
Ready to start your digital transformation? Schedule a consultation today.
