Active Directory source domain: Any idea what’s in that?
An Active Directory migration can feel like you’re moving from one part of the globe to another. Quite possibly, you’ll want to keep your original home too, at least for a while, just in case.
But all too often, that “while” stretches on and on, and source AD domains remain in place indefinitely. One of the primary reasons: It can be a real challenge to migrate the applications in legacy domains.
The problem with keeping your source domains
Retaining source domains and their applications comes with multiple downsides. Applications age in place quickly and the skillset required to maintain them moves on to other roles, which can result in configuration drift. In addition, the cost of supporting the underlying infrastructure can balloon quickly, raising the cost of ownership well above modern ecosystems.
But perhaps the largest issue is security: As long as your source AD domains live on, your attack surface is broader, making you an easier target for bad actors.
What can you do?
Quest Application Migration Assessment is a service offering that will evaluate what applications you have in your on-premises AD domain and make recommendations for what to do with them. This service delivers all of the following:
- A thorough discovery of what applications you have running and where they are running in your environment (sounds simple, but it’s not)
- A clear mapping of how those applications interact with each other and your infrastructure
- Recommendations for what to do with each application — rehome it to the target forest, rehome it to Azure, re-platform it, or retire it
- The expected costs of implementing those recommendations
- An actionable proposal for migrating the applications as recommended
Aside from the benefit of understanding what’s in your application portfolio, you can gain:
- Increased security, since consolidating domains shrinks the attack surface.
- Cost savings from shutting down the source domain and optimizing IT resources
- Flexibility to adopt more modern applications
If you’re interested in a comprehensive assessment and strategic planning framework for application migration, please contact Quest for more information.