Overview
As businesses grow, infrastructure that was once fit-for-purpose can quickly become a constraint. Ageing servers, unsupported software, and limited storage capacity do not just create technical issues: they introduce operational and security risks that can affect the wider business.
We were engaged by Michael Laird Architects (MLA), whose primary server environment had become increasingly unstable. Downtime incidents were becoming more frequent, storage capacity had been exhausted, and the existing virtual machine platform was running on unsupported versions that no longer aligned with modern security and resilience requirements.
The objective was not simply to replace ageing servers, but to redesign the environment to improve stability, strengthen business continuity, and provide a platform for future growth.
The Challenge
MLA’s existing environment had reached the end of its lifecycle. Their primary virtual machine host was struggling with both stability and capacity, resulting in increasing operational disruption as performance degraded and downtime became more frequent.
Equally, the environment presented a growing security concern. The virtualisation platform and several virtual servers were running unsupported operating systems and software, leaving the business exposed to vulnerabilities.
Storage had also become a significant issue. The business had effectively reached the limits of the existing infrastructure, with no solution in place to accommodate future growth. This created ongoing concerns around performance.
The challenge was therefore twofold: modernise the infrastructure whilst also redesigning the environment to reduce dependency on a single point of failure.
Our Approach
We approached the project as a complete infrastructure and business continuity modernisation exercise.
The first priority was addressing the storage environment. Rather than continuing to rely on traditional server-attached storage, we migrated the client’s file shares onto newly deployed tiered NAS platforms. Different tiers of storage were configured to balance performance and cost, ensuring that business-critical data received the speed it required while less demanding workloads were stored more efficiently.
To strengthen resilience, replication was configured between the NAS infrastructure at the primary office and a larger NAS device at the secondary site. This ensured that company data was protected and recoverable should an issue occur at one location.
Alongside the storage redesign, we replaced the ageing virtual machine host at the primary site with new HPE hardware configured as a Microsoft Hyper-V host. The newer server at the secondary location was then reformatted and rebuilt as a secondary Hyper-V host, allowing us to implement replication between both sites and create a far more resilient platform.
We also modernised the wider server estate during the project. A new domain controller was deployed, virtual machines were migrated onto the new infrastructure, and a new application server was built in preparation for a third-party upgrade of the client’s line-of-business application onto a supported operating system.
Implementation
The migration was carefully staged to minimise disruption whilst maintaining operational continuity.
File shares were transferred onto the new tiered NAS platforms first, allowing the client’s data to be secured and replicated before wider infrastructure changes began. Existing virtual machines were then migrated or rebuilt onto the new environment in phases, ensuring that critical business systems remained available throughout the transition.
Once all services had been successfully migrated and tested, the legacy infrastructure was securely decommissioned and disposed of.
The Outcome
MLA now operates on a modern, resilient infrastructure platform designed around both operational stability and business continuity.
The move away from ageing infrastructure has eliminated the security and support risks associated with unsupported operating systems and outdated software. All workloads now operate on supported platforms receiving ongoing security updates and vendor support.
Storage limitations have also been fully resolved. Company data now resides on scalable tiered NAS infrastructure with replication between sites, providing both improved performance and stronger resilience.
The introduction of Hyper-V replication between locations has improved business continuity. Should the primary server or office experience an outage, replicated virtual machines can now be brought online at the secondary site far more quickly and efficiently than was previously possible.
Operational risk has been reduced through the introduction of new hardware, manufacturer warranties, modern operating systems, and properly designed failover capability.
Most importantly, the business now has confidence that its infrastructure can support future growth without becoming a barrier to day-to-day operations.
Conclusion
Infrastructure issues rarely appear overnight. More often, businesses gradually adapt to instability, storage limitations, and ageing systems until downtime and operational risk become impossible to ignore.
By proactively redesigning MLA’s infrastructure around resilience, scalability, and modern business continuity principles, we helped transform an outdated environment into a stable and future-ready platform.
