Seamless Cloud Migration – How we helped a national vehicle repairer modernise its IT.
Client Challenge
The client is a UK-based, award-winning national vehicle repairer supporting major insurance providers and fleet operators. With over 30 locations and plans for further expansion, they needed a more future-proof and scalable IT infrastructure.
Key challenges included:
- A fully virtualised core Windows network hosted in a local data centre, running on ageing hardware.
- Increasing data centre hosting costs.
- Ambitious plans for new site openings across the UK.
- A growing remote workforce in addition to 30 physical locations.
- Legacy data storage and a mix of on-premise applications needing consolidation or migration.
nTrust AWS Partner Solution
As the client’s existing IT support provider for their datacentre and operational infrastructure, nTrust had a deep understanding of their environment.
To modernise the their infrastructure, we used AWS Application Migration Service (AWS MGN) to assess their environment and carry out the primary server migrations from on-premise to AWS. This created right-sized Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances optimised for performance and cost.
Given the existing use of FortiGate firewalls at the data centre, we deployed FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall for AWS as a virtual appliance. This provided continuity, simplified management, and enabled secure, managed VPN (Virtual Private Network) connections for both branch offices and remote users.
We designed and deployed a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) to house the AWS infrastructure, incorporating all necessary components such as:
- Subnets (for network segmentation)
- Route tables (for traffic control)
- Internet gateways (for secure public internet access)
- Security groups (acting as virtual firewalls for instances)
Together with the client, we classified applications according to the “7 Rs” cloud migration strategy:
- Retire (outsourcing payroll applications)
- Retain (Active Directory Domain, print Server, Network Policy Server)
- Rehost (replacing the legacy phone system with AWS Connect for the call centre and 3CX for less customer facing business units)
- Relocate (moving data from on-premise file servers to Sharepoint)
- Repurchase (moving from physical to virtual Fortigate firewalls)
- Replatform (Remote Access Server replaced with Fortigate firewall)
- Refactor/re-architect (Remote Desktop Server)
We then:
- Conducted a test migration to refine the process.
- Agreed a midweek, out-of-hours cutover plan with clear communication protocols.
- Executed the cutover and provided on-the-day support.
- Delivered post-migration troubleshooting and user training as needed.
Results and Benefits of Migrating to AWS
The cutover was executed seamlessly, with no unexpected issues. The outcomes for the client:
- Data Centre hosting costs were reduced by 25%.
- Improved scalability supports continued site expansion.
- VPN reconfiguration required some staff retraining due to updated login procedures.
About nTrust IT Solution Provider and AWS Partner
nTrust is a specialist IT services provider operating within the UK’s managed services and cloud infrastructure sector, with a strong reputation for delivering secure, scalable and compliant solutions.
With deep expertise in cloud transformation, cybersecurity and infrastructure management, nTrust supports clients across industries including legal, finance, education, manufacturing and not-for-profit organisations.
As a certified Cyber Essentials Plus (CE+) organisation, nTrust upholds the highest standards of data protection and regulatory compliance, including full alignment with UK GDPR.
nTrust holds AWS Partner Network (APN) status and has been selected by AWS for their Partner Accelerator Program.
nTrust specialises in AWS infrastructure design, migration and managed services. This positions us as a trusted partner to guide organisations through their transition to a modern, cloud-native environment with minimal disruption and maximum long-term value.
nTrust’s in house team of certified Cyber Advisors and Assessors ensures every solution is built with resilience, performance and operational excellence at its core.
Thinking about Cloud Migration for your business?
Whether you’re planning a full migration or just exploring your options, our certified team is here to help. We’ll guide you every step of the way, minimising disruption, improving performance and keeping your data secure.
