Managed Services Ensure Azure Cloud Migrations Turn Into Sustained Success

For many organizations, going live with Azure is a milestone rather than a finish line. As post-migration challenges emerge, managed services help organizations ensure success and maximize the value of their cloud migrations.

While migrating to the cloud can be a big step, it’s important to monitor costs associated with running in the cloud once an organization is set up. 

Cloud costs can quickly spiral out of control, and while many organizations know to ask for help with cloud implementation, not as many realize they may need expert assistance to tackle the complexities of cost optimization. Azure Reservations, which is Microsoft’s way of allowing customers to discount compute resources, storage and capacity in the cloud, can help save money. Because of the complexity that comes with committed discounting, working with an Azure Expert Managed Service Provider, such as CDW, becomes extremely valuable when customers are overwhelmed attempting to add reservations on their own.

Organizations may also struggle to ensure a strong security posture in their Azure environment. At times, they may find themselves needing assistance navigating the recommendations that come from Azure Advisor, Microsoft’s built-in assistant meant to help optimize cloud configurations. 

A managed service partner can make a big difference here, as many IT professionals find that engaging with the assistant often requires additional assistance. 

When CDW is engaged for such support, we conduct a thorough analysis of your cloud environment, pulling reports and digging deep into potential savings. We can steer you toward the right discount plan, and if a reservation is the best fit, we can help execute on that, ensuring that utilization maximizes the economic benefit.

As a true partner, CDW supports a strong security posture. Prioritizing security is a must for many industries, such as healthcare and financial services, which often have specific security compliance regulations that must be met. 

Another thing we help with is rightsizing the signal-to-noise ratio that comes from automated alert systems. We filter the hundreds of Azure Advisor recommendations to prioritize the high-value action items, emphasize the low-hanging fruit, and identify the quick hits that can most readily improve security and optimize costs. 

Experience is the best teacher, and given the depth and breadth of experience we have across the company, customers can rest assured that CDW brings an impressive bench of engineering and subject-matter experts who add real value, even in emerging technology areas such as artificial intelligence. In fact, we’re already quite well-versed in enabling Copilot, Microsoft’s generative AI tool, in the Azure environment. 

For organizations with compliance requirements, managed services can play a key role, helping to ensure the right controls are enabled and applying appropriate governance over third-party tools. CDW supports this with workshops and mock audits, and when the organization lacks the internal staff needed to implement, we put hands on keyboards to help do the work. 

Our team of technical account managers adds real value around cost controls and assists internal teams in being more agile as they take advantage of scalability in the cloud to drive business growth. 

Our goal as a managed service provider is to act as an extension of your IT team, helping fill any time or talent gaps so your organization can maximize the value of its cloud investment. For example, many customers don’t have a dedicated Azure networking, security or cost optimization specialist on staff. In those situations, CDW provides access to experienced engineers who help monitor the environment, troubleshoot issues, manage changes, optimize costs, review security recommendations and provide guidance on cloud-native services such as virtual networks, VPN gateways, ExpressRoute, storage and governance. This allows internal IT teams to stay focused on strategic initiatives while leveraging CDW’s expertise for day-to-day cloud operations and specialized technical needs.

For small and midsize businesses in particular, CDW’s strong ties to Microsoft can make a meaningful difference in day-to-day support. 

When questions or problems arise in Azure, it can be hard for a smaller organization to get Microsoft’s attention on their own. At CDW, we have deep contacts with our partners, and we can help connect our customers with the right resources faster. 

As your advocate, we can bring in Microsoft engineers to resolve issues, get timely updates and maintain momentum. And as your strategic partner, CDW can deliver the managed services needed to ensure cloud is a financial win and not a cost calamity. We make sure robust security standards are met and help organizations make the most of cloud’s speed and scalability, ensuring that the cloud becomes a true driver of business growth.