SQL Server to Azure Migration Assessment
A fixed-fee, three-business-day, read-only assessment of your SQL Server estate that tells you which Azure target fits — SQL Server on an Azure VM, Azure SQL Managed Instance, or Azure SQL Database — which migration method we would use and why, every blocker with its remediation, a sized and licensed target, and a fixed written quote for the migration itself with the cutover window stated in minutes. $950 fixed, for up to three SQL Server instances. The report is yours whether you migrate with us, with someone else, or not at all.
What this engagement is
Most SQL Server migrations that go wrong go wrong for reasons that were visible on day one and nobody looked: tables with no primary key that rule out the replication method someone already promised, a source version the chosen tool no longer supports, FILESTREAM buried in one database that quietly disqualifies Managed Instance, a storage layout that halves query performance the moment you cut over, or a VPN that was never tested under load. This assessment finds those things before you have committed to a date, a method, or a budget. The timing is rarely accidental. SQL Server 2016 left extended support on 14 July 2026, and Microsoft's current guidance is that its Extended Security Updates are a paid subscription — unlike 2012 and 2014, they are not free simply for running on an Azure VM. SQL Server 2017 follows in October 2027. If an end-of-support date is what put migration on your agenda, the assessment also tells you which target lets you leave the version treadmill behind entirely and which one keeps you on it. Over three business days we inventory your SQL Server estate with read-only collection, test the connectivity path to Azure, and produce a written report that answers four questions: 1. Which Azure target is right — SQL Server on an Azure VM, Azure SQL Managed Instance, or Azure SQL Database — and why, with the alternatives stated and the reason each was ruled out. 2. Which migration method we would use — backup and log-restore chain, Managed Instance link, Log Replay Service, Azure Database Migration Service, transactional replication, or a whole-VM lift with Azure Site Recovery — with the reasoning written down, not assumed. 3. What will block it, listed individually, with the remediation each item needs. 4. What the migration will cost and how long the cutover window will be, as a fixed written quote. You own the report. Take it to another vendor, hand it to your own DBA team, or decide not to migrate at all — each is a legitimate outcome and the report is still worth having. If you do proceed with us, the migration quote is built directly from these findings, which is what makes a fixed price for the migration itself possible.
Success criteria
The engagement is successful when you can make a go/no-go decision without needing another meeting. Specifically:
What you receive
How the work unfolds
Confirm which instances are in scope, who owns the applications that connect to them, what your downtime tolerance actually is, and any target platform you have already committed to. Agree the read-only access and the collection window.
Run read-only collection scripts against the source instances. Nothing is installed, nothing is changed, no configuration is modified. We capture schema metadata, object inventory, data type and feature usage, index and constraint definitions, job definitions, login and permission mappings, wait statistics, and workload characteristics. Where Query Store is on we capture a plan baseline; where it is not, we sample the plan cache.
Evaluate the migration method options against the findings and against Microsoft's current tooling and support matrix — checked on the day, not from memory. Test the network path to Azure and measure achievable throughput, which sets the initial seeding time and often decides the method. Size the target and model the licensing cost both ways. Build the blocker register.
Deliver the written report and walk through it live for 60 minutes with your team. Answer the 'what if we did X instead' questions on the call rather than in a follow-up. Issue the fixed-price migration quote.
Prerequisites
Who does what
IT Partner
- Provide and explain the read-only collection scripts.
- Run or supervise collection and analysis.
- Test and measure the connectivity path to Azure.
- Produce the assessment report, blocker register, sizing and licensing recommendation, and the fixed-price migration quote.
- Deliver the findings walkthrough and answer the follow-up questions it raises.
- Treat everything collected as confidential and request the least access the job needs.
Your team
- Provide a named technical contact for the duration.
- Grant the read access described above, or run collection on our behalf.
- Identify application owners and confirm which applications depend on which databases.
- Confirm scope before Day 1.
- Attend the Day 3 walkthrough.
What's not included
Limitations & technical notes
Frequently asked questions
What do we actually get for $950?
A written report, typically 6–10 pages: target platform recommendation, migration method recommendation, blocker register, dependency map, Azure sizing and storage recommendation with a licensing cost comparison, a measured connectivity finding, a performance baseline, and a fixed-price migration quote with the cutover window stated in minutes — plus a 60-minute walkthrough. Three business days end to end, for up to three SQL Server instances.
Why is this not free? Other vendors offer a free assessment.
Because a free assessment is a sales call, and it produces a proposal rather than findings. Charging for it means we spend three days on your environment instead of an hour, and it means the report is yours — including the parts that say don't migrate, or migrate somewhere other than what we would prefer to sell you. If you want a free conversation first, that is exactly what our 30-minute discovery session is for, and it will tell you honestly whether this assessment is worth $950 for your estate.
Do we have to use you for the migration?
No. The report is written to be actionable by any competent SQL Server team, including your own. It is not a proposal with findings attached. If you do proceed with us, the migration is a separate fixed-price engagement quoted directly from the report.
Will you recommend an Azure VM just because it is the easiest thing to sell?
The report states which alternatives were considered and why each was ruled out, so you can check the reasoning. Managed Instance is the better answer for a meaningful share of estates and Azure SQL Database for some; the report says so when it is true. We publish separate migration services for all three targets, so the recommendation does not cost us the engagement either way.
How is this different from the Azure Migrate datacenter assessment?
Scope and depth. The Azure Migrate Datacenter Discovery and Assessment looks at an entire server estate — VMware, Hyper-V, physical — and answers what should move to Azure at all, with SQL Server instances discovered and inventoried along the way. This assessment goes inside the database engine: feature usage, data types, jobs, logins, linked servers, the compatibility surface of each Azure SQL target, and the method that gets you there with a cutover window in minutes. Estates that need both usually run the datacenter assessment first and this one for the databases it flags.
SQL Server 2016 is out of support. Does that change the answer?
It changes the urgency and sometimes the target. SQL Server 2016 reached the end of extended support on 14 July 2026; Microsoft's current guidance is that Extended Security Updates for it are a paid subscription and — unlike 2012 and 2014 — not free for running on an Azure VM. Moving to a supported SQL Server version on an Azure VM ends the ESU question for that version; moving to Managed Instance or Azure SQL Database ends the version treadmill altogether. The report lays out both paths against your estate. Verify the current lifecycle terms on Microsoft's pages before you commit — they are Microsoft's to change.
How long does it take?
Three business days from the completion of collection. Kickoff to report is typically one calendar week including scheduling.
Do you need sysadmin access to production?
No. `VIEW SERVER STATE`, `VIEW ANY DEFINITION`, and read access on the in-scope databases is enough. If your policy does not permit external access at all, your staff can run our collection scripts and return the output. Least access is how we work on every engagement, not a concession for this one.
Will this touch production?
Collection is read-only and runs against system catalog views and DMVs. It does not install anything, change configuration, take locks on user data, or generate meaningful load. It can be run during business hours.
What if you find something that means we cannot migrate?
Then you have saved the cost of finding out during a failed cutover. The report states the blocker, the remediation required, and the effort involved — for example, tables without primary keys in a vendor schema you are not permitted to modify, which rules out some methods but not others; or FILESTREAM in one database, which rules out Managed Instance for that database but not for the rest of the estate.
We have already decided on an Azure VM. Is this still worth it?
Yes, and it is the more common case. Even with the target fixed, the assessment decides the method, the sizing and storage layout, the licensing route, the blocker list, and the achievable cutover window — which is what makes a fixed-price migration possible at all. If your estate is one small database and the cutover window does not matter, say so on the discovery call: a fixed-price single-database copy to an Azure VM may be the better product, and we will tell you.
Can you assess more than three instances?
Yes. The standard fee covers up to three SQL Server instances; larger estates are scoped and quoted in writing before we start.