Cloud migration is often talked about like it’s a single moment: a switch you flip, a workload that lifts and shifts, a clean line between old and new. But in reality, the move to Microsoft Azure is rarely that simple. It’s layered. It’s strategic. And, if you want it to succeed, it has to be tailored to the people and goals behind the infrastructure.
At Sopra Steria, the team has helped organisations across Europe, from Dutch provinces to Nordic financials and everything in between, make that move with confidence. At the heart of many of those projects is Michiel Hamers, Principal Expert and Microsoft Certified Trainer at Sopra Steria. With a background in enterprise architecture and years of experience helping both public and private sector clients navigate cloud transformation, he’s seen first-hand what works, and what often gets overlooked.
Where every journey begins
For Michiel, cloud migrations always start with questions. What are we moving? Why now? What outcomes does the client care about? Is it cost savings, innovation, compliance, all of the above? “It’s never just about infrastructure,” he says. “There are always business priorities shaping what we do.”
That is why it’s important that there’s more done than just a technical scan; what organisations often need is a full discovery phase that maps applications, interdependencies, risks and needs across the organisation. In some cases, that means flagging workloads that simply can’t go down, like critical alarm systems. In others, it reveals inefficient setups that can be improved during migration. “We’ve seen clients running SQL workloads in ways that don’t make sense anymore,” Michiel notes. “Sometimes we recommend skipping lift-and-shift, or rehosting, and moving straight to a managed solution.”
Execution is everything
Once the roadmap is clear, execution kicks off. Automation, governance, and scalability are baked in. The team ensures environments are repeatable, secure, and ready to scale. They also apply structure from the start, segmenting environments, setting up RBAC, and defining policies.
It’s this clarity and control that allows clients to scale safely once they’re in the cloud. “If you treat your first move to Azure like a side project,” Michiel warns, “you’ll be fighting sprawl later.”
Beyond the tech: making it work for real people
But, migration isn’t just an IT story, it’s also a people story. Sopra Steria works closely with clients to prepare end users for change, from switching to OneDrive to adopting Teams and new ways of working. Communication and training go hand in hand with the technical side, so users aren’t left frustrated or confused.
And when the workloads are live, that’s when another kind of work begins: optimisation. Cost savings don’t happen magically in the cloud. Sopra Steria helps organisations run cost scans, identify idle resources, and re-architect where needed. One client, Michiel recalls, managed to slash costs simply by cleaning up leftover resources from an old project that no one had touched in years.
Cloud as a platform for innovation
What excites Michiel most, though, is what happens after the migration. Azure becomes a launchpad. AI pilots, data projects, new digital services, suddenly, things that felt “too ambitious” become doable. But without the right governance, things can get messy fast.”
That’s where Sopra Steria’s cloud governance frameworks step in, giving teams the freedom to innovate, within safe and scalable boundaries.
Want to migrate with confidence?
Cloud migration is a strategic shift that touches everything: architecture, users, budgets, and business goals. And that’s exactly why organisations choose Sopra Steria to guide them through it.
Ready to migrate with confidence?
Get in touch with Sopra Steria’s Cloud Center of Excellence to start your Azure journey — and learn more about Microsoft Azure to explore the platform’s full potential Sopra Steria Microsoft Integration Boost Cloud Work & AI