Case study | Infrastructure migration

Phased migration of 47 business-critical servers and a Citrix environment to a Swiss cloud platform

A Swiss nonprofit organization needed to move critical infrastructure away from aging on-premises systems while maintaining access to business applications, adapting backup operations and managing complex Citrix and network dependencies.

47 servers migrated
Phased after-hours execution
Citrix continuity
Veeam adaptation
Operational handover

Client context

A mixed Windows Server, virtualization and Citrix environment running business-critical applications.

The migration affected application servers, databases, delivery infrastructure, virtual desktop workers, network services and backup processes. Downtime had to be controlled and the internal team required a clear transition into the new operating model.

The challenge

Move 47 servers from the existing on-premises environment to a Swiss cloud platform.
Preserve access to business-critical applications throughout the transition.
Adapt a Citrix environment to target-platform constraints and a different worker lifecycle model.
Maintain backup coverage during and after the migration.
Coordinate network, DNS, authentication and service dependencies.
Complete high-impact changes during controlled after-hours windows.
Document the resulting environment and prepare further automation.

Constraints

The conditions the migration had to work within.

Limited platform integration

Traditional hypervisor-level Citrix provisioning capabilities were not available in the target environment, requiring a different worker-lifecycle approach.

Business continuity

Critical services could not be moved as a single untested big-bang event.

Mixed ownership

Migration activities depended on the client, cloud provider, application owners and multiple infrastructure components.

Backup transition

Protection had to continue while workloads moved and network architecture changed.

Hopp Solutions approach

Inventory and dependency review

Identify workloads, roles, owners, network dependencies, Citrix components, backup relationships and migration order.

Pilot and phased migration

Move representative systems first, validate the process and migrate remaining workloads in controlled waves.

Citrix adaptation

Bring delivery components and workers online in the target environment, resolve registration and access dependencies, and establish a non-MCS lifecycle approach.

Backup adaptation

Maintain interim protection and align the backup model with the target environment and available network paths.

Validation and issue resolution

Confirm application access, Citrix launch paths, networking, backup and system behavior after each migration wave.

Handover and automation roadmap

Document the environment, explain the new operational process and prepare automation for repeatable worker provisioning.

Outcome

The 47-server environment was moved in controlled stages to the Swiss cloud platform.

Critical services and Citrix access were re-established on the target infrastructure, backup operations were adapted and the client received an operational handover and a roadmap for further worker-lifecycle automation.

Outcome by area

Outcome area	Result
Migration	47 servers migrated in planned waves
Availability	Critical services validated after each migration stage
Citrix	Delivery environment adapted to target-platform constraints
Backup	Protection model maintained and adjusted for the new environment
Operations	Documentation, handover and automation next steps established

What made the project work

Phased execution instead of a single irreversible event.
Direct coordination between engineering teams and system owners.
Validation of real application and user paths, not only virtual machine status.
Adaptation to provider limitations rather than assuming traditional tooling would be available.
Backup and recoverability treated as part of the migration.