Accelerate migration and modernization of Windows Server workloads with AWS MAP for Windows

By Fred Wurden, GM Enterprise and Benchmarking

AWS has spent the last 11 years working with you to migrate and run your Windows workloads on AWS, and gained valuable experience along the way. We’ve taken this learning and evolved our products, services, and programs to make AWS the best place to run Windows workloads. We are excited to announce the new Migration Acceleration Program for Windows (MAP for Windows), which launches in Q1 2020. MAP for Windows provides prescriptive guidance, specialist consulting support, tooling, training, and services credits to help reduce the risk and cost of migrating to the cloud, while providing pathways to modernize your Windows Server workloads on cloud-native and open-source technologies.

Many organizations are seeing disruption in their industries, and have mentioned needing assistance in four areas specifically. First, create a foundational cloud environment, and use emerging technologies and methods like AI, machine learning, IoT, and analytics to unlock innovation, scale, and agility. Second, reduce operational and infrastructure costs, and redirect budgets to drive the most important business initiatives. Third, use prescriptive guidance and proven methodologies to reduce risk and accelerate the migration of critical Windows workloads to the cloud. Fourth, reduce or eliminate dependencies on old-guard licensing in order to innovate freely.

AWS MAP for Windows helps you address these areas with a proven methodology of best practices. Per IDC, AWS hosts nearly twice as many Windows Server instances in the cloud as Microsoft Azure, and you can continue to trust us to run your most critical Windows workloads. Enterprise customers such as eMarketer, Capital One, and Edward Life Sciences have successfully migrated to AWS, and have seen significant performance improvements and savings. With MAP for Windows, we want to make it easier to access resources you need to accelerate your migrations for Microsoft workloads, and reduce your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

But the migration of Windows workloads to the cloud is simply the first step in the journey. AWS enables you to modernize your Windows workloads on cloud-native services, Linux, and other open-source solutions. With MAP for Windows, you get tooling, methodologies, consulting support, and additional incentives when you modernize your Windows Server and SQL Server workloads. In addition to substantial cost savings and freedom from licensing dependencies, the modernization initiatives help you with increased agility, faster application launch times, and greater access to rapid innovation in open source. Ancestry modernized 400 Windows-based applications to Linux and .Net Core and used Serverless and Containers in less than 9 months. Organizations like Sysco, Edwards Life Sciences, Expedia, and NextGen Healthcare have all chosen AWS to migrate and modernize their Windows workloads on AWS.

MAP for Windows will be generally available in Q1 2020. Contact us to discuss your Windows migration or modernization initiatives and learn more about the program. To read more about customers that are modernizing on AWS, please visit our customer references page. Also, check out our new modernization blog channel for weekly modernization stories.