Timo Lindström, CEO, DB Pro Oy & DB Pro Services Oy.

SQL Server 2016 will reach end of support in a couple of months, in July 2026. Thousands of organizations are currently migrating or planning to migrate. Most of them are doing it wrong.

Not because the migration would technically fail, but because the overloaded environment is moved to the new address as-is. The problem comes along with it at an even higher cost.

Migration is a rare opportunity to do the right thing

A thorough reassessment of the database environment rarely takes place. In day-to-day operations, capacity issues take a back seat. What matters most is that the environment works.

Migration is an exception. It is a moment when the entire environment needs to be reevaluated. It is also a moment when flawed planning is set in stone for years to come.

“Lift-and-shift just moves the problem to a new location. A properly planned migration solves it.”

Three Ways to Migrate to SQL Server 2016

Option 1 — A direct upgrade to the new version is the fastest option. All capacity, all configurations, and all licenses are transferred as-is. Quick to implement, expensive to own.

Option 2 — A “lift-and-shift” migration to the cloud involves moving an on-premises environment to Azure or a similar platform. The same scaling issue applies, but now with cloud pricing. In the cloud, overcapacity costs money every month, not just once every five years.

Option 3 — A properly sized migration first analyzes the actual capacity requirements, sizes the target system accordingly, and migrates to the correct size. This requires more work up front. It saves hundreds of thousands of euros.

Business continuity in migration projects

The biggest business risk in migration isn’t a technical failure. It’s downtime at the wrong time. According to IDC estimates, the cost of downtime for critical applications can range from €500,000 to €1,000,000 per hour for large enterprises.

A properly sized target system is like a well-planned move. You don’t take everything in your closet to your new home just because it fits. You take what you need and organize it efficiently. Your new home works better than your old one, even if it’s smaller.

We have successfully managed hundreds of migrations. Zero downtime.

 

Case Study: Tampa General – 40% savings prior to migration

Tampa General Hospital is one of the leading hospitals in the United States. The plan was to migrate to Azure, but the target environment’s performance did not meet the standards of the previous environment and the organization’s needs:

  • Once a thorough capacity and cost analysis was conducted, performance bottlenecks and downtime were eliminated, and performance was improved.
  • The result: ~40% savings in total cost of ownership (TCO). Zero downtime. Zero crisis meetings.

The SQL Server 2016 End of Support window is now open. It will not open again.

→ Request a migration assessment before sizing the target system: www.sqlgovernor.com