The server goes
Files, logins and applications move to Microsoft 365 or Azure. No box in a cupboard to replace, cool, or lose sleep over when it dies on a Friday.
- No hardware to buy
- No cooling or power bill
- No emergency repairs
Cloud services · Microsoft 365 & Azure · Toronto
The server in the cupboard has a use-by date. Plan the move before it does.
Old servers fail, fall out of support and cost money to cool and repair. We move files, logins and business applications to Microsoft 365 and Azure out of hours, keep your data in Canadian regions, and check the bill every month so it does not creep up.
Windows Server 2016 receives its last security update on 12 January 2027. A review now leaves room to plan rather than rush.
- Cutover out of hours, with a way back
- Data kept in Microsoft's Canadian regions
- Cloud bill reviewed every month
- No long-term contracts
Where each job moves
- Files move to SharePoint and OneDrive
- Logins move to Microsoft Entra ID
- Business apps move to Azure in Canada
- Backups keep a copy ransomware can't reach
Microsoft lifecycle
12 January 2027
Windows Server 2016 security updates end
The January 2027 patch is the last one Microsoft will publish for any edition of Server 2016. Paid Extended Security Updates exist for Standard and Datacenter, but they buy time rather than fix anything.
Book a server reviewAlso worth knowing
The dates that quietly decide your budget.
Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2
Out of support already. If a server running these is still doing real work, it is being kept alive by luck and by the fact that nobody has looked at it lately.
Windows 10 on staff laptops
Consumer and business support has finished. Machines still on Windows 10 need replacing or upgrading, and that decision usually joins the same plan as the server.
What changes
What's different after the move.
No box to replace, cool or worry about. Cloud services in Toronto are not only about where the data sits — they are about who does the maintenance at 2am.
Out of hours
The cutover happens on a night or a weekend and is tested before staff log in on Monday. If something does not work, we go back to the old setup and try again.
- Planned in advance
- Tested before handover
- A documented way back
Data in Canada
Canadian data stays in Canadian Azure regions — Canada Central in Toronto and Canada East in Quebec — not in a datacentre whose location nobody can name.
- Canada Central and Canada East
- Your own tenant, your own data
- PIPEDA-aware configuration
Bill checked monthly
Cloud costs creep because nobody switches things off. We right-size what you run, turn off what you don't, and show you the trend every month.
- Reviewed monthly
- Right-sized, not overbuilt
- Written cost report
Where things go
What happens to your server?
A server does several jobs at once. Each one has a better home in the cloud, and one or two are usually better left where they are. Here is the honest mapping we work through with you.
What it does todayWhere it goesWhy it works better
Shared files and folders
SharePoint and OneDrive, laid out by team
Version history, permissions that match how you actually work, and access without a VPN.
Logins and computer accounts
Microsoft Entra ID, devices managed in Intune
One identity per person, multi-factor authentication, and staff who leave lose access the same day.
A business application or database
An Azure server in Canada Central, sized for the load
The application your vendor supports, running without hardware in your office.
Email server
Exchange Online in Microsoft 365
No mail server to patch, no spam appliance to replace, mailboxes that survive a dead server.
Backups
Cloud backup with copies kept separately
Ransomware can encrypt your server, but not a copy it cannot reach. Restores are tested.
Printing and local devices
Stays on site, with Universal Print for hybrid staff
Printers stay where the paper is. Not everything benefits from moving.
Azure Canada Central is in Toronto and Canada East is in Quebec City. Where a client requires data to stay in a specific jurisdiction, we configure the tenant and say plainly what can and cannot be guaranteed.
Cloud services we deliver
Everything the move touches, handled by one team.
Files, logins, applications, permissions and the monthly bill. We design it, migrate it and then support it, so nobody has to explain your setup twice.
Cloud migration
Servers, files, mailboxes and applications moved out of hours, in a planned order, with a tested rollback at every stage and staff training afterwards.
Cloud migration Toronto
Microsoft 365 and SharePoint Online
Tenant setup, licence selection, a file structure staff will actually use, and SharePoint support from implementation to the advanced features you have already paid for.
SharePoint Online support
Azure hosting and IaaS
On-demand Azure servers for the applications that need one, with sizing, patching, backup and monitoring included. No datacentre in your back room.
Infrastructure as a Service
Cloud file sharing
Files shareable from any device, with permissions set by department and external sharing limited to what your business actually allows.
Cloud file sharing
Identity and access management
User profiles synced across the apps you run, attributes imported once, and one directory deciding who gets in where — including on which device.
Microsoft Entra ID
Cloud security
Conditional access, MFA, admin role limits and third-party app review. The defaults attackers rely on are the first things we change.
Cloud security Canada
Permissions and hybrid models
Public, private or hybrid, chosen for a reason: who can reach which application, from which device, and what stays on site.
Hybrid cloud
Cloud backup and recovery
Microsoft keeps the service running; it does not promise your data comes back. Separate, tested backups with documented restore times.
Cloud backup and recovery
Cloud cost optimisation
Licence audits, right-sizing, switching off abandoned resources and a written monthly review, so the bill reflects what you use.
Azure cost review
Cloud cost control
Watching the bill is part of the job.
Cloud spend creeps because nobody switches things off. Left alone, a test server, an old copy of a database and a handful of unused licences quietly become a permanent line item. We review yours every month and tell you what changed.
See what the managed plans costRight-size first
We size servers and licences for what you actually run, not for the worst hour of 2019.
Switch off the forgotten
Test machines, old copies of data and projects nobody owns are the usual leaks.
Audit licences yearly
Microsoft licence types are easy to over-buy and painful to notice. We check them.
Show you the trend
A written monthly review of what changed and why, so no surprise invoice.
Honest advice
When the server should stay.
Cloud is not automatically the right answer. If any of these apply, we will say so rather than sell you a project you don't need.
Software that must stay on site
Some vendors do not support cloud hosting or their licensing forbids it. We check with them before promising anything.
Very large local files
CAD, video editing and imaging work over a slow connection is painful in the cloud. Sometimes a newer, smaller server is the right answer.
A weak internet connection
If the link is unreliable, move the internet first. The cloud makes a bad connection unmissable.
Mistakes we get called in to fix
What goes wrong with cloud moves.
- Lifting and shifting an old server into Azure and running it 24/7, for more than it cost on site.
- Nobody watching the bill, so test machines run for months.
- Assuming Microsoft backs up your data because the service is in the cloud.
- Waiting until support has already ended, then paying for a rushed migration.
- Checking with the application vendor after the move instead of before.
- Moving files into SharePoint without a permission model, so everyone can see everything.
If a move was rushed or never finished, we can review it, fix the permissions and backups, and bring the bill down before starting anything new.
How we do it
From cupboard to cloud, with a way back at each step.
- 01
Review
Servers, applications, files and the people who use them. What moves, what retires, what stays.
- 02
Plan and price
The order, the timing and the monthly cloud cost, in writing, before anything changes.
- 03
Move
Out of hours, tested, with a documented way back if something does not work.
- 04
Retire
The old hardware is wiped and switched off, and the licence or support renewal is cancelled.
- 05
Run
Patching, security, backups and the monthly cost review from then on.
Clients
What people say when we pick up.
Long-standing relationships across manufacturing, professional services, transport and healthcare — many measured in years, not months.
“Sun IT Solutions has given us predictable monthly IT budget costs, eliminating surprises and downtime. They provided us with the right IT solution and a comprehensive business plan to meet all future needs.”
Kevin Stanley
President, Skyreach Window Cleaning Inc.
“They are quick to respond to any issues or questions we have and Lloyd always offers solutions so that the same problems don't arise again. Thank you to Lloyd and his team — we can focus on our business while they take care of our IT needs.”
Mike Mintsopoulos
President, Truck Equipment & Service Co. Ltd
“Following our serious server crash the service they provided our business was the absolute best. A technician was onsite almost immediately and worked non-stop to get us back up and running, with almost no downtime.”
Amelia Folco
President, Jupiter Industries Inc.
“Sun IT Solutions convinced us to switch to a VoIP telephone system. It has been virtually trouble free and our telephone costs dropped by more than 80%. We have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending them.”
Richard Waite
President, Salix Systems Limited
Cloud FAQ
What people ask about moving to the cloud.
Ring 416-479-0505 and you will get an engineer's answer about your own setup, not a general one.
No, and we will tell you when you shouldn't. If an old server is due for replacement, moving is usually the cheaper long-term answer. Some applications still run best on site, and a weak internet connection makes cloud work painful. We review each system and give you a straight recommendation for each one.
Moving off the server touches everything else
Talk to an engineerFree cloud review
Is your server on borrowed time?
Tell us what your server runs and how people work. You get a written plan: what moves where, what it costs each month, what stays on site, and the order to do it in — whether or not you work with us.
- 416-479-0505
- help@sunitsolutions.ca
- Offices in downtown Toronto and Markham. Remote and onsite support across the GTA, and cloud migrations for businesses across Canada.