The case study below was submitted by a client that requested anonymity.
Please describe in broad terms what your company does. Personal and commercial residential property insurance.
Brief description of your SQL Server environment: SQL Server 2019 Availability Group consisting of two replicas.
Describe the scope of the work SQL Solutions Group undertook for you. Scope of Work SQL Solutions Group (SSG) led a zero-downtime migration of the SQL Server environment by deploying and configuring two new SQL Server 2019 virtual machines, integrating them into the existing Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC), and adding them as secondary replicas in the production Availability Group. This multi-site cluster architecture allowed all migration activities to occur without impacting production workloads. Following the successful cutover, the legacy SQL servers were decommissioned, resulting in a clean two-node WSFC in the new data center.
In addition to the database migration, SSG provided temporary Active Directory administration and migration support during the transition period. Due to the compressed project timeline and limited internal Active Directory resources, SSG assisted with the following activities:
- Validated and coordinated the site-to-site VPN connectivity between the two data centers
- Configured new domain controllers in the target environment and joined them to the existing domain
- Transferred Global Catalog responsibilities to the new environment to support the retirement of the legacy domain controllers
- Served as the acting domain administrator throughout the migration and transition period
We remained responsible for the migration and deployment of the web, application, and other non-database infrastructure components. SSG’s primary responsibility was the database tier, with additional Active Directory support provided to ensure a successful migration.
Challenges The timeline was extremely compressed from the outset. A migration of this scope typically takes around 90 days from scoping to go-live; with an October 10th kickoff and a hard November 29th go-live, SSG had roughly 50 days to complete this migration. Several factors then tightened that window further.
Separately, a hardware limitation in the existing backup infrastructure created a data-transfer bottleneck that threatened the schedule. SSG caught it early, flagged it to the customer, and re-engineered the transfer approach to stay on track — without ever putting data integrity at risk.
A further complication was political. The source data center was still controlled by the incumbent provider — our managed services partner of several years and the very company our migration was leaving. The cutover required SSG to coordinate across four parties with competing interests: the incumbent provider, which still held the legacy environment; us, its departing client; the new cloud host; and SSG, leading the migration.
The provider being replaced has little incentive to smooth its own exit, and it cost time — VM credentials and backup tapes arrived three weeks after kickoff, erasing what buffer remained.
To its credit, the incumbent referred us to SSG and stayed cooperative throughout, but SSG still had to actively manage all four relationships to keep the project on track.
Why did you choose SQL Solutions Group to address these needs? SQL Solutions Group supported our SQL Server 2019 Availability Group environment, hosted by our incumbent provider, from 2022 to 2025. When we elected to transition away from that provider, we made the strategic decision to move our infrastructure to a new cloud host. SSG was engaged directly to lead the migration effort and provide ongoing fractional DBA support and proactive monitoring.
What are the outcomes of this work? SSG completed the migration on November 29, 2025, one day prior to the hard deadline, without data loss or service disruption.
How did the project help you be more competitive and/or productive? The move to the new cloud host modernized our infrastructure without any operational disruption — but the bigger win was eliminating the risk of a failed or delayed migration. SSG hit the deadline, we lost no data, and our teams never felt the impact. We’re now on a more scalable platform to support our growth.
What kind of ROI did you realize from the work done by SQL Solutions Group? The most direct ROI was avoiding the cost and risk of unplanned downtime during a complex data center migration. SSG’s multi-site cluster approach meant production workloads were never at risk, and completing the project a day ahead of a hard deadline protected us from potential contractual and operational exposure. Ongoing fractional DBA support also means we get enterprise-level SQL Server expertise without the overhead of a full-time hire.
What would you tell a company that was considering using the services of SQL Solutions Group? SQL Solutions Group successfully delivered a complex SQL Server migration with no production downtime. Their team demonstrated strong technical expertise in SQL Server, Always On Availability Groups, and Windows Server Failover Clustering, while also providing valuable Active Directory support during the transition.
What stood out most was their ability to plan and execute the migration methodically, communicate clearly throughout the project, and adapt to challenges as they arose. They worked collaboratively with our internal team and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth cutover and successful deployment.
For organizations considering SQL Solutions Group, we would recommend them for SQL Server migrations, high-availability implementations, disaster recovery projects, and related infrastructure transitions. Their experience and attention to detail helped reduce risk and allowed us to complete a critical migration within a compressed timeline while maintaining service availability.
