Azure Migration Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q. Why is Chevin doing this now?

A. The new platform will provide more resources, redundancy, and data storage capacity. The Azure platform offers best in class backups, disaster recovery capabilities and a high-level of ISO and SOC compliance. In summary, this change will bring about significant performance enhancements for our customers and enable the best experience of our applications as we continue to develop them and add new features.

 

Q. What is the Azure platform?

A. Azure is a Microsoft platform that runs applications in the cloud. It allows the hardware resources to scale to meet the needs of the application, ensuring best in class performance. For our customers, this simply means better, faster performing applications.

 

Q. When is my maintenance window going to be?

A. This will be communicated to you in due course and at least two weeks before the migration takes place. However, we can tell you that the windows will be planned to take place over the weekend when most users will not be logging in.

 

Q. Our users normally use the system during the maintenance window that you have specified. Can we do this without downtime?

A. Unfortunately there is not a way for us to complete this process without taking the system offline for some period. We have chosen a maintenance window that causes the least disruption for most of our customers. If you need to work while the system is offline, you will need to implement manual processes and then enter the data into your system when it is back online.

 

Q. How do I know that my system is going to continue working after you have done this?

A. We have diligently planned out the migration and the actions that will need to be completed and have undertaken multiple dry-runs to ensure the process will result in a seamless experience for our customers. We already have multiple customers hosted on the Azure platform, experiencing the benefits that this brings.

 

Q. Can you guarantee that there will be no additional down time other than what has been communicated?

A. We have planned the maintenance windows for the migration process as accurately as possible and built in significant contingency, so we are highly confident that your systems will not be offline for any longer than planned. In the unlikely event of an unforeseen issue occurring, we would simply postpone the migration and keep your system running on our current hosting platform until the issue is resolved. If this were to happen, we would inform you and schedule a new maintenance window.

 

Q. What changes do I need to tell my users about?

A. The only change you need to communicate to your users are the new URL’s that they will need to use to access the application(s). This information will be provided to you at least two weeks before the migration takes place. All users will need to update any shortcuts that they use to access the application(s), including those saved to tablets and terminals used by your technicians.

 

Q. Where will my data be stored after the migration is complete?

A. Your data will be stored dependant on your geographical region:

US customers: Iowa (primary), Virginia (failover)
Canadian customers: Toronto (primary), Quebec City (failover)
UK customers: London (primary), Cardiff (failover)
European customers: Republic of Ireland (primary), Netherlands (failover)
APAC customers: Victoria (primary), New South Wales (failover)

 

Q. How do I know that my data is safe with the new host provider?

A. We have carried out the process with a certified Microsoft Partner to ensure that our Azure environment has been built following best cyber security practices. The new platform has also been set up to be subject to regular penetration testing which will ensure the ongoing security of your data and application.

 

Q. How will the performance/speed of the application be impacted by the change?

A. The primary purpose of this move is to enhance and future proof the performance of our applications. However, in the initial day or so following the migration, users may experience some minor slow down; this is due to the system needing to cache new data on the server before the applications can run at optimal efficiency. Once this process is complete, there should be a significant performance improvement.

 

Q. Will my third-party integrations still work after the migration?

A. Your third-party migrations will continue to work as they do today, however, you will need to update the FleetWave URL in any of your applications to allow this.

 

Q. How will I access the applications after the migration, will anything change?

A. The URLs to the application(s) will change. This information will be provided to you at least two weeks before the migration takes place. All users will need to update any shortcuts that they use to access the application(s), including those saved to tablets and terminals used by your technicians.