Information Technology Navigator

The benefits of migrating applications to Microsoft’s Azure cloud make a very compelling business case – agility, scalability, a pay for what you use cost model, etc. But as you move workloads to Azure, don’t assume they are automatically protected, because while Azure does ensure a secure infrastructure, you are responsible for ensuring protection of your data – not Microsoft.

It’s all detailed in Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Security Model. Understanding where the Shared Responsibility model starts and stops is critical to ensuring your data is secure and compliant. Here are some key considerations:

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Time is running out. Microsoft deadlines for SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 end of support are quickly approaching with Extended Support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 ending on July 9, 2019 and Extended Support for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 ending on January 14, 2020. Don’t risk possible security or compliance gaps of unsupported software.

Security Options

End of support for these releases means the end of regular security updates. With cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated and frequent, running applications and data on unsupported versions can create significant security and compliance risks. With these risks and end of support dates coming soon, Microsoft has provided a cost-effective alternative to allow you to keep your 2008 release servers by migrating to the Azure cloud.

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A large number of businesses are increasingly embracing all that Microsoft Office 365 cloud technology has to offer and are getting there using a hybrid model. This model is based on - maintaining their on-premises Exchange infrastructure while slowly migrating mailboxes into the O365 cloud tenant. It’s a strategy that makes sense when organizations have large numbers of mailboxes or don’t have sufficient staff to support a “big bang” cutover approach.

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Last week, 5 members of the Daymark Cloud Consulting team traveled down to Orlando, Florida to attend the annual Microsoft Ignite technical conference. As always, the first day of the conference was filled with several major announcements. This blog will focus on the Azure related enhancements that were announced and Daymark’s thoughts on how they could help our clients in the future.

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With end of extended support for Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 and SQL Server 2008/2008 R2 quickly approaching within the next year, Microsoft has announced a program that will provide an additional 3 years of extended support if these workloads are migrated to Azure. Since this announcement in July, customers have been trying to figure out the most efficient way to migrate these workloads to Azure while preventing any security or compliance issues.

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On July 12, 2018, Microsoft announced new options for SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 end of support. End of support is quickly approaching:

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In part one of our blog, Key Considerations for an Azure Deployment,  Corey Roberts, Daymark’s Director of Managed and Cloud Services, addressed some of the common questions clients have regarding migrating workloads to Azure. Now he moves on to talk about benefits, application performance, and how to best prepare for an Azure deployment.

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Microsoft’s Azure cloud has emerged as a leader in the public cloud market. It provides the agility, scalability, security and cost-efficiency today’s enterprises need. In this 2-part blog, Corey Roberts, Daymark’s Director of Cloud and Managed Services, answers the common questions clients have before, during and after an Azure deployment. 

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Planning a move to Office 365? You’re not alone. Given the compelling benefits of the cloud, many of our customers are planning for, or are in the process of, migrating from on-premises Exchange to Office 365.

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Leveraging the cloud for the agility and scalability today’s businesses demand has become the norm for most organizations. Microsoft Office 365 is a frequent choice for a businesses’ first cloud-based application. But what’s it really like once the decision is made to move to Office 365?

In this blog, Daymark Cloud Consultant, Steve Caprio, shares his experience of deploying Office 365 at a Massachusetts community bank with over a dozen branch locations. This was the bank’s first enterprise cloud application and Steve offers a candid view of the migration’s motivation, key security and compliance challenges, buy-in from senior management, end user experiences, and more.

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