We recently took the decision to migrate to Microsoft’s world-class Azure hosting platform. Here are our primary reasons for making this decision:
Scaleability
The WriteUpp user base has grown exponentially over the past three years and we expect this growth to continue going forwards. This is not marketing hyperbole, just check out the graph of our user population below:
With this in mind, we need the ability to increase the processing power available to us with minimal service disruption. Microsoft Azure provides us with this flexibility.
Data Integrity
Microsoft Azure provides us with geo-redundant storage. In short, we maintain six copies of your data. Three copies in our primary location and another three copies in a separate secondary location. We also have the flexibility to switch these locations in the event of legislative changes or geo-political threats. Our primary and secondary locations are both in the EU.
Reliability
In choosing a new hosting partner we wanted to work with an organisation that upheld the highest standards of privacy and data protection. We also wanted access to state-of-the-art tools to help us manage and secure your data. Here are some of the global companies that rely on Microsoft Azure – Customer & Partner Success Stories
Brexit
As all Europeans know, Brexit has thrown up a huge amount of uncertainty. At present, aside from GDPR which I cover below, there isn’t a great deal of clarity about where data could/should reside post Brexit. With this in mind we have chosen to invest in Azure to provide us with complete geographical flexibility going forwards.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
GDPR will have profound implications for businesses around the world. It completely revolutionises privacy laws and drags the various Data Protection Acts around Europe into the 21st Century. It comes into effect in May 2018 and will radically transform the way you handle client/patient data. Consequently, it will also mean that we will need to utilise new technologies and provide you with new tools to uphold your GDPR obligations. Failure to do so could result in fines equalling 3% of revenue or €20m, whichever is higher. Our investment in Microsoft Azure, will enable us to help you meet the inevitable challenges that will arise as a result of GDPR.
