5 Key Benefits of Moving Windows Workloads to AWS

Today, there are numerous advantages to migrating and modernizing Microsoft Windows workloads on the cloud. Companies that plan ahead and execute well can improve performance significantly while also reducing costs and overhead.

In addition, industry-leading public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) now offer a multitude of fully managed solutions and tools to help organizations elevate their IT. In other words, companies are running out of reasons to stick with legacy tech.

Below, we describe the top five benefits that come with moving outdated Microsoft infrastructure to the cloud. Our hope here is to make the migration decision easier for those who are hesitant to pull the trigger. Let’s dive in.

1: Lower Costs

One of the biggest reasons to migrate away from on-premises infrastructure is to evolve beyond rigid licensing and contracts. Many organizations still pay high Microsoft licensing and Windows compute costs, even for unused resources.

When you switch over to the cloud, you can start to leverage pay-as-you-go pricing and flexible payment models that only incur costs for resources consumed. AWS gives users plenty of options when it comes to Microsoft licensing, many of which extend software lifecycles and leverage cloud-specific efficiencies.

In some instances, we’ve seen companies save up to 90% on their Windows compute costs after migrating to the cloud. One IDC study also found that AWS users reduced Windows workloads expenses by 56% over five years after migrating.

2: Better Performance

When legacy IT inevitably declines, companies see drops in productivity and performance. Applications slow down and become less reliable, making it harder to deliver exceptional experiences for end-users.

By modernizing Windows workloads on the AWS cloud, you can increase the availability, durability, and scalability of your mission-critical applications. As a result, products and services become more valuable to consumers. On top of that, ambitious engineering teams can adopt best practices around DevOps, containers, serverless infrastructure and more, to free themselves up for higher-value work.

3: Expanded Functionality and Services

Adaptability is crucial in the modern business world. Trends rise and fall quickly, making it difficult for those with slow legacy technology to meet their customers’ needs in real-time.

Once on the AWS cloud, you have access to over 200 services, many of which aren’t available on any other platforms. You can extend the value and functionality of your offerings significantly with BI tools, AI/ML, and others that integrate seamlessly with your cloud-optimized infrastructure.

AWS even offers the first and only fully managed cloud-native Windows file system through Amazon FSx for Windows File Server – just one example of AWS going above and beyond for Microsoft users.

4: Improved Business Continuity

Uptime is a critical metric for any business that depends on IT infrastructure. To serve your customers and empower your workforce, you must ensure business continuity at all times.

Fortunately, AWS is built for high availability and resiliency. The platform comes with 77 Availability Zones (AZs) across 24 regions. That’s twice as many as the next largest cloud provider. AWS also offers disaster recovery for Windows workloads.

In fact, one IDC survey found that AWS reduces unplanned application outages by more than $18,000 per 100 users, per year. That represents significant incremental value, especially for businesses with large user bases.

5: Maximum Security

Keeping systems and sensitive data secure is essential in the modern era. Cyberattacks are growing more sophisticated every day, which is why companies must be able to leverage the latest advancements in IT security.

With over 200 security, compliance, and governance services – including more than 100 services that offer encryption – AWS provides everything businesses need to minimize cybersecurity risk. Compared to other providers, AWS is the most secure platform out there, fulfilling 90 security standards and compliance certifications ranging from PCI-DSS to NIST 800-171.

The best part? These services are simple to implement across your workloads once you’ve made the migration.

Maximize Long-term Success by Migrating and Modernizing on the Cloud

In summary, there are many compelling reasons to modernize and migrate Microsoft architecture to the cloud. Although such an undertaking can seem intimidating, it’s well worth the time and financial investment.

The question that remains is how to ensure a migration and modernization project goes according to plan. In our eBook Modernize and Migrate Windows Workloads on AWS, we discuss various strategies and highlight specific AWS services that help organizations hit the ground running as quickly as possible.

We also share why it makes sense for businesses to partner with a third-party expert, like ClearScale, that specializes in optimizing IT infrastructure for the cloud. We come alongside organizations that don’t have the skills or capacity to complete a large-scale migration and help them maximize long-term success on AWS.

Schedule a consultation with one of our cloud experts today.