Case Studies | GovTech

Moving the client's core data from Azure to AWS

Azure to AWS Migration

About

A GovTech business working with Cloud Combinator on AWS. The client is anonymised at their request.

Challenge

The migration had three focus areas, each of which had to be proven before cutover.

Migrating live SQL databases without losing anything

The Azure SQL databases had to move to Amazon RDS with the full schema, stored procedures, triggers, indexes and data replicated, so the application would behave exactly as before against the new database.

Moving Blob Storage to S3 with completeness

The Blob Storage had to move to Amazon S3 validated for object completeness and accessibility, with lifecycle policies and cost optimisation considered so the storage was not just copied but set up well on AWS.

Minimising downtime at cutover

The move could not take the platform offline for long, so the approach had to support a full-load migration followed by ongoing replication until a final cutover in an agreed maintenance window, with the data proven consistent before the switch.

Solution

Cloud Combinator structured the work in phases, starting with an assessment that produced a costed plan, then executing the database and storage migrations, validating them, and cutting over.

2 stores

Azure SQL and Blob Storage moved to Amazon RDS and S3

Full-load

Plus ongoing replication to a minimal-downtime cutover (target)

Verified

Row counts, checksums and application tests before cutover

By the numbers:

  • 2 stores - Azure SQL and Blob Storage moved to Amazon RDS and S3
  • Full-load - Plus ongoing replication to a minimal-downtime cutover (target)
  • Verified - Row counts, checksums and application tests before cutover
Changes

Acceptance was met when all Azure SQL databases were migrated to Amazon RDS with schema, procedures, triggers, indexes and data intact, and Blob Storage was migrated to Amazon S3 with verified object completeness and accessibility, confirmed by record counts, checksums and application-level testing. The client's core data now runs on managed AWS services provisioned for resiliency and security.

  • Databases migrated intact — AWS Database Migration Service moved the Azure SQL databases to Amazon RDS with full schema, stored procedures, triggers, indexes and data.
  • Storage moved and optimised — Blob Storage moved to Amazon S3 via AWS DataSync, with lifecycle policies and storage-class choices for cost optimisation.
  • Minimal downtime — A full-load migration followed by ongoing replication kept downtime to an agreed cutover window.
  • Proven before the switch — Data consistency was confirmed by record counts, checksums and application-level testing before cutover.
  • Handover — A cutover report and knowledge-transfer pack cover RDS operations, backup and restore, monitoring and S3 lifecycle management.

With its core data now on Amazon RDS and Amazon S3, the client is positioned to bring more of its platform onto AWS, to optimise storage cost through S3 lifecycle policies, and to build on a managed, resilient data foundation as the product scales.

AWS Stack

AWS Database Migration Service

For moving the Azure SQL databases with full-load and ongoing replication.

Amazon RDS

(SQL Server or Aurora) as the managed target for the databases.

Amazon S3

For the migrated object storage, with lifecycle policies and storage-class optimisation.

AWS DataSync

For moving the Blob Storage data to Amazon S3.

AWS Schema Conversion Tool

For schema conversion and validation where required.

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