5 Common Challenges in BizTalk to Azure Migration
Moving from BizTalk to Azure Integration Services is a significant and often complex task. For many organizations, it's about ensuring both the technology stack and existing business processes remain intact and function properly in the new environment. With the right tools and expertise, this transition can actually be very smooth. Here are the five most common challenges organizations face in this type of migration – and how Epical can help you solve them.
1. Integration Environment Complexity
BizTalk has traditionally been used to manage highly complex integration environments. Companies often have multiple systems to integrate, both legacy and new, and these integrations have often been customized over time to meet specific business needs. Moving to Azure means transferring these integrations to a completely new platform, which can pose both technical and organizational challenges.
Solution: Moving to Azure requires careful mapping of all integration flows, identifying stakeholders, and adapting to the new cloud platform. Epical helps you perform a thorough analysis of your current solution and identify best practices for achieving the same functionality with cloud-based workflows. We ensure all existing integrations are migrated in a way that doesn't affect business continuity and that all technical requirements are met for both current and future needs.
2. Data Integrity and Security
Another concern during migration is ensuring that data isn't lost or accessed by unauthorized parties. In many cases, the BizTalk platform contains workflows with confidential information. The challenge is ensuring sensitive data is handled securely during migration and that equally secure data flows are created in the cloud. This is particularly important in industries such as finance, healthcare, and retail, where compliance is critical.
Solution: With nearly 25 years of integration experience, Epical follows established best practices, such as Microsoft's Well-Architected Framework, to create secure and scalable integration flows in cloud environments. We support our customers in identifying and resolving potential security challenges and ensuring their solution complies with applicable standards and regulations. The focus is on creating the conditions for long-term security and reliability in the new environment.
3. Preserving Business Logic
Many companies have implemented complex business logic in their BizTalk solutions, and this logic is often tailored to specific requirements and business processes. One of the biggest challenges during migration is ensuring this business logic is preserved and works just as well (or better) in the new environment. It's not just about moving data when switching platforms, but also about effectively transferring processes and logic to Azure.
Solution: Epical works closely with you to understand your specific business needs and business logic that drive your integration flows. We ensure all logic is preserved and further developed in the new Azure solution, utilizing Azure tools. We focus on building solutions that both meet your current integration needs and evolve with future business challenges.
4. Downtime and Operational Disruptions
Another common fear related to migration is the risk of downtime or business process disruption. In the case of poorly executed migration, companies may find themselves in a situation where business-critical systems aren't functioning properly, which can lead to financial losses and reputational damage.
Solution: To avoid downtime, our strategy involves carefully planned phases and a systematic approach. Epical provides a well-thought-out migration framework, the Epical Migration Framework, which offers multiple options for performing the migration. The framework focuses on a well-planned phased migration that enables efficient transition to the cloud. We aim to minimize downtime from an integration perspective and carefully plan the migration to have minimal impact on business. Our experience in managing complex migrations allows us to anticipate and manage potential issues before they affect your business.
5. Resource Shortage and Skills Gap
Moving from BizTalk to Azure requires both technical expertise and the availability of proper resources. While many companies have their own expertise, it's often used to drive new development, making it difficult to allocate time for comprehensive migration. Therefore, it's crucial to find the right partner who can complement and facilitate the organization's work in the process.
Solution: Epical has a team of BizTalk and Azure experts and has implemented a large number of successful migration projects. We can take responsibility for the entire migration from planning and analysis to implementation and optimization, so you don't need to recruit additional resources and can focus on your core business. Our experience ensures you have access to the right expertise at the right time, making migration both faster and more cost-effective.
Book a meeting with our experts
Migrating from BizTalk to Azure is a complex process that requires careful planning and expertise. With the right partner, this can be an opportunity to both modernize your systems and improve business processes. Epical guides you step by step, from planning to implementation, ensuring that every part of the migration runs smoothly and efficiently.
