What is Azure Migrate?
Azure Migrate is a central hub for planning and executing cloud migrations. The service helps you discover on-premises resources, assess their readiness for Azure, and carry out the actual migration and modernization of servers, databases, web apps, and virtual desktops.
The hub brings together Microsoft-owned tools (including Azure Migrate: Discovery and Assessment, Azure Migrate and Modernize, and Database Migration Service) as well as partner solutions for specialized migration scenarios. A Copilot-powered migration agent (preview) is also available to help analyze and plan migrations based on the data collected in your Azure Migrate project.
Core Features
- Discovery and inventory of VMware, Hyper-V, and physical servers via a lightweight Azure Migrate appliance or a collector for air-gapped environments
- Dependency mapping for visualizing application dependencies
- Business case and TCO analysis with Azure cost projections
- Agentless or agent-based migration of VMware and Hyper-V VMs
- Migration of physical servers as well as virtualized servers or VMs from other clouds via the physical-server migration path
- Database migrations via Data Migration Assistant and Azure Database Migration Service
- Agentless web app migration to Azure App Service
Typical Use Cases
Datacenter migration: Systematic inventory of all servers and applications, assessment of migration suitability, and coordinated lift-and-shift migration to Azure.
Database modernization: Assessment of SQL Server instances for Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, or SQL Server on an Azure VM with automatic compatibility checking.
Application modernization: Identification of web apps for migration to Azure App Service or Azure Kubernetes Service with detailed migration plans.
Benefits
- Free service for discovery, assessment, and planning
- One central portal for deciding, planning, and executing migrations
- Integrated Microsoft and partner tools for different migration scenarios
- Dependency mapping and business case creation for well-informed decisions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Azure Migrate cost?
Azure Migrate itself is a free service. Costs arise for the target resources in Azure and, where applicable, for partner tools that may charge their own fees.
Which source environments are supported?
Azure Migrate supports discovery and migration of VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V VMs as well as physical servers. Virtualized servers and VMs from other public clouds can also be migrated using the physical-server migration path.
How accurate is the cost estimation?
Cost estimation is based on discovered workloads and the resulting sizing recommendations. Accuracy depends on the quality of performance data collected over an extended period.
Can I automate migrations?
Yes, many workflows in Azure Migrate can be automated via PowerShell and REST APIs. For larger projects, migrations can be planned and executed in coordinated waves (batches).
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, innFactory supports you with Azure Migrate: migration planning, assessment, execution, and post-migration optimization.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of Azure (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by Azure.
