Sponda.

Challenges.

Sponda saw an opportunity to transform and future-proof its business. As part of its IT transformation roadmap, a key part was to shift data centre operations, moving everything to cloud.

With basically all servers in a traditional on-premise environment at its data centre away in Eastern Finland, plus a relatively modest IT headcount, this was no small feat.

Sponda had already marked Microsoft Azure as the right fit, but needed a cloud partner to steer its path. They weren’t just looking for a vendor with strong migration credentials, but one that could be a strategic partner into the future. 

And Sponda were clear in seeking a pure-play cloud-native provider. A partner that lived and breathed cloud. One that could continue optimising Sponda’s Azure investments in the future, with things like security, data analytics support, and cost optimisation. 

Assessment & Roadmap.

Sponda had already selected Azure as its preferred public cloud. As a Microsoft Gold Partner and Azure Expert MSP, Nordcloud could not only maximise value from the platform, but also secure various fundings for workshops, migration and Azure Virtual Desktop.

• Advisory Workshops

Nordcloud initially ran a series of cloud advisory workshops, where migration and modernisation experts focused on the approaches and roadmaps to meet Sponda’s needs.

• Collaborative Competency

The Nordcloud team then joined up with Sponda’s architect team as part of a collaborative CCoE, to centralise cloud competencies and ensure best practices would be embedded during and after the migration.

Modernisation.

Following migration, Sponda continued to partner with Nordcloud to make strategic improvements to its Azure stack, driving true value through agility, cost optimisation, expanded functionality and improved security and stability.

• Infra Agility

Cloud allows Sponda more agility and flexibility in a constantly changing IT environment. Nordcloud supports modernisation efforts, from upgrading systems or improving security, to cloud development supporting strategic IT initiatives, such as ERP or HR system renewal, or upgrading operating systems to Azure Virtual Desktop.

• Enabling Innovation

Moving to the cloud has also enabled greater agility and improved product development on the customer side, and Sponda has expanded its capabilities around data and analytics, underpinned by Azure services.

• Cost Optimisation

Nordcloud’s expertise have already been used to find cost effectiveness and cost optimisations. For some applications, modernisation allowed Sponda to save on licences. For others, eliminating technical debt and enabling the application to perform more efficiently and saving cloud usage.

Results.

Sponda completed its enterprise IT migration from on-premise to cloud within the schedule of one year, with zero degradation of services throughout.

By using Nordcloud’s cost optimisation expertise, Sponda has significantly reduced its post-migration Azure spend, with future plans to further implement cloud management tools and double-down on cost optimisation.

Also, having improved its ways of working and fully adopted cloud-native tools, Sponda’s agility has significantly improved the velocity of upgrades and releases.

And following migration, Sponda is in a strong position to evolve its technology stack in-line with strategic transformation plans. Free from the on-premise data centre, the team can to continue its modernisation efforts – unlocking future innovations and new products, built upon Azure native services.