Mission Announced as AWS Launch Partner for New End-of-Support Migration Program for Windows Server

Mission is an AWS-certified partner for future-proofing customers’ applications running on unsupported versions of Windows Server by migrating them to supported versions on AWS

LOS ANGELES – December 10, 2019 – Mission, a managed services provider and Premier Consulting Partner in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN), today announced it is a certified launch partner in the new AWS End-of-Support Migration Program (EMP) for Windows Server. As a program partner, businesses with applications running on legacy (and unsupported) versions of Windows Server can entrust Mission to migrate those applications to newer and supported Windows Server versions on AWS – and do so without any code changes necessary. AWS announced the EMP for Windows Server at re:Invent 2019.

For organizations running business-critical applications on versions of Windows Server that face end-of-support, simply transitioning to a newer supported version often is not a viable option. The application may have dependencies associated with the specific version of Windows Server it runs on, the source code or installation media may have become unavailable, the business may lack the application knowledge necessary to make the transition, or other factors may make a direct Windows Server upgrade impossible. More businesses find themselves in this difficult position each time a legacy version of Windows Server reaches its end-of-support date – as is scheduled to occur for those companies relying on Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 on January 14, 2020. Once unsupported, businesses have largely been faced with two sup-optimal options: either buy costly extended support to push back an inevitable transition or accept the dangerous security and compliance risks of operating without future security updates.

Through the newly launched AWS EMP for Windows Server, Mission can deliver a unique and long-term solution for enterprises in need of a better path forward. AWS’ technology is able to identify an application’s dependencies on unsupported Windows Server versions, and then create a package that includes the resources required to run the application on newer versions. Mission’s cloud experts can leverage this technology to fully migrate legacy applications to modern, supported versions of Windows Server running on AWS – effectively future-proofing these applications from end-of-support issues going forward. Importantly, Mission can complete these migrations with zero application code changes, and with no need for the original installation media or source code. The program requires that enterprises work with an AWS Partner such as Mission or AWS Professional Services to conduct these migrations.

“The AWS EMP for Windows Server is an apt fit for the way we do business, which is focused on understanding the unique needs of each customer’s existing applications and then vastly simplifying the management and operation of those applications through the tremendous power of the AWS Cloud,” said Phaedra Divras, Chief Operating Officer, Service Delivery at Mission. “We’re extremely proud to be a launch partner in the AWS EMP for Windows Server, and look forward to providing a powerful and ready solution for businesses that need to complete timely migrations in the face of end-of-support scenarios.”

Mission’s inclusion as a certified program launch partner builds on its recently-achieved AWS Microsoft Workloads Competency Status, which recognizes Mission’s deep expertise working with customers across industries to design, migrate, deploy, and manage Microsoft-based applications on AWS. By fully managing enterprise Windows environments on AWS, Mission reduces customers’ expenses and management burdens while enabling more efficient solution development. Mission carefully considers each customer’s specific cloud goals and performance requirements, and then applies a customized strategy to complete each Windows migration while leveraging the most appropriate and advantageous AWS tools and technologies.

“Mission impressed us with their cloud expertise, so we felt confident they could quickly design, deploy, and support a cloud environment that would work well,” said Chuck Kelly, CEO of MicroSearch, following Mission’s successful migration of the company’s Microsoft workloads to AWS. “More importantly, they demonstrated just how cost-effective the move to AWS could be.”

About Mission

Mission is a trusted managed services provider and Premier Consulting Partner for businesses using – or migrating to – Amazon Web Services (AWS). Through its dedicated team of expert cloud operations professionals and solutions architects, Mission delivers a unique breadth and depth of AWS-recognized technical and strategic proficiencies. Mission combines this know-how with an anything-is-possible belief in the power of cloud transformation through AWS, and a dedication to understanding and solving customers’ individual goals and challenges – enabling their development of new and powerful applications running on AWS. Follow Mission on Twitter and LinkedIn.