Cloud Migration & Architecture

Cloud Migration Done Right

Moving to the cloud without a plan is how you end up with shadow IT, misconfigured storage buckets, and a Microsoft 365 tenant that is technically in the cloud but just as insecure as the server you left behind. Ottomate IT plans, executes, and hardens cloud migrations for small and medium-sized businesses — ensuring you get the performance, cost, and security benefits the cloud actually offers.

Cloud Services

Platforms We Work With

• Microsoft Azure — Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) workloads including virtual machines, Azure Virtual Desktop, networking, storage, and Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).
• Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online — Full Microsoft 365 tenant deployments and migrations: Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams, OneDrive for Business, Intune, Defender for Business, and the full compliance & security stack.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services) — EC2, S3, RDS, VPC, IAM, CloudTrail, and associated services. Architecture aligned with the AWS Well-Architected Framework and CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark.
• Google Workspace (migration from) — We migrate organizations off Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 or Azure environments, including mail, calendar, contacts, Drive content, and shared drive structures.
• Hybrid On-Premises / Cloud Environments — Not everything moves to the cloud at once. We design and manage hybrid architectures that integrate on-premises servers, Active Directory, and network infrastructure with cloud services securely and sustainably.

Our Migration Approach

1. Assessment & Discovery. We inventory your current environment — servers, applications, data volumes, identities, licensing, and dependencies — before writing a single line of migration runbook.
2. Architecture Planning. We design the target-state architecture: tenant structure, networking, identity model, security controls, and licensing tier. You review and approve before we touch anything.
3. Proof of Concept. For complex migrations, we stand up a pilot environment to validate the design, test application compatibility, and surface surprises before they affect production users.
4. Phased Migration. Migration runs in waves — typically by department or workload — with rollback capability at each phase. Users get advance notice, documentation, and support during the cutover window.
5. Security Hardening. Post-migration, we apply the full security baseline: MFA enforcement, conditional access, privileged identity management, audit logging, and Secure Score remediation.
6. Optimization & Cost Review. Thirty to sixty days after migration, we revisit sizing, licensing, and spend. Cloud environments drift — we fix that early.
7. Ongoing Managed Support. We remain available for policy updates, license changes, security incidents, and platform changes — as a managed service or on retainer.

Cloud Security: Not Secure by Default

“Cloud” is not a security posture. A Microsoft 365 tenant with default settings is a misconfigured tenant. An Azure subscription without policy locks and role separation is an exposed subscription. Cloud providers offer the tools to be secure — they do not configure them for you. Ottomate IT applies a hardened baseline to every cloud environment we manage:

• MFA Enforcement. Every account, every platform. Security defaults or Conditional Access — no exceptions for executives or shared accounts.
• Conditional Access Policies. Risk-based sign-in controls, device compliance requirements, location restrictions, and session token lifetimes tuned to your threat model.
• Admin Role Separation. Global Administrator is not a day-to-day account. We implement Privileged Identity Management (PIM), break-glass accounts, and just-in-time elevation with full audit trails.
• Secure Score Improvement. Microsoft Secure Score and AWS Security Hub findings are prioritized, remediated, and tracked. We don’t just report the number — we move it.
• Backup Verification. Backups that have never been restored are not backups. We test recovery procedures and document the results.
• Data Classification. Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels, DLP policies, and retention rules applied to protect regulated and sensitive data in M365 and Azure.
• Compliance Alignment. For organizations subject to CMMC, HIPAA, or other frameworks, we map cloud controls to compliance requirements and maintain auditable evidence of implementation.

Licensing Optimization & Cost Control

Microsoft licensing is among the most complex purchasing decisions a small business makes — and most businesses overpay. We audit your current licensing posture, identify users on the wrong tier, surface redundant tools being paid for twice, and ensure your subscription level matches both your operational needs and your compliance requirements. Common findings include:

• Users licensed for Microsoft 365 Business Premium when Business Basic would suffice — or the reverse, where Premium features required for compliance are missing.
• Standalone add-ons (Exchange Online Plan 1, Defender for Business) that are already included in the tenant’s base license but being billed separately.
• Azure resources running 24/7 that should be scheduled or right-sized — often 30–50% of unreviewed cloud spend.
• Third-party SaaS tools duplicating Microsoft 365 functionality already licensed but not deployed.

We document every finding, quantify the savings, and implement the changes — including configuring Azure Cost Management budgets and alerts so surprises don’t appear on next month’s invoice.

Authoritative Cloud Resources

Documentation and frameworks we use daily:

• Microsoft Azure Documentation — official reference for all Azure services, architecture guides, and security baselines.
• AWS Well-Architected Framework — Amazon’s five-pillar framework for designing reliable, secure, efficient, and cost-optimized cloud workloads.
• NIST Cloud Computing — NIST SP 800-146 and related publications defining cloud computing models, security considerations, and deployment guidance.
• CIS Microsoft 365 Benchmarks — prescriptive configuration guidance for hardening Microsoft 365 tenants across Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, and Azure AD.