40%
Faster onboarding of advertisers and internal users after removing on-prem capacity constraints
Billboard Advertising Provider Cuts Onboarding Time By 40% with Azure Migration
Modernized a legacy on-premise stack to Azure to improve scalability, harden security, and simplify governance for a nationwide billboard business.
60%
Windows and SQL workloads migrated and sustained under a standardized Azure operating model
<6 hours
Planned production cutover window with validated migration waves and controlled DNS switchover
Client Overview
Industry: Advertising
Core business: Billboard advertising and campaign management platform
Employees: 600+ employees
Geography: United States
Workloads migrated: Legacy VMware workloads – Windows servers rehosted to Azure VMs and SQL Server databases re-platformed to Azure SQL Managed Instance.
Challenges
A US-based billboard advertising company operates a nationwide billboard marketing network supporting advertisers, partners, and internal business teams. Its core campaign management and reporting platforms were built in the early 2000s and ran entirely on an on-premises VMware environment. As usage scaled, tightly interwoven infrastructure, identity, and security concerns increased operational risk and reduced the platform’s ability to absorb change safely.
Capacity bottlenecks in on-prem infrastructure
The platform ran on fixed on-prem hardware and routinely hit capacity ceilings as campaign volume grew. Provisioning was manual, onboarding slowed down, and peak advertising periods increased operational risk.
Fragile Windows and SQL dependencies
Workloads were spread across dozens of tightly coupled Windows and SQL servers. Shared databases amplified failures, troubleshooting was messy, and even routine maintenance or upgrades could trigger disruptive ripple effects.
Identity-bound database connectivity
SQL Server depended on Windows integrated authentication anchored to the on-prem domain. Those identity ties made database connectivity rigid, raised migration complexity, and increased the chance of access breaks during infrastructure changes.
Solution
Simform partnered with the client to migrate and modernize these workloads on Microsoft Azure while preserving application compatibility and minimizing operational risk. We migrated the client’s VMware-based estate to Azure using an assessment-led approach, then sustained the environment through ongoing operational ownership.
Assessment-led discovery and wave planning
Deployed an Azure Migrate appliance in the client’s VMware environment to auto-discover servers and populate migration readiness assessment data. Grouped workloads logically, planned migration waves, and validated downtime expectations by migrating dev workloads first.
Azure landing zone and connectivity foundation
Built an Azure landing zone as the base for azure cloud migration, including virtual networks, on-prem connectivity, and baseline governance controls for sustainable operations. This standardized how workloads would be hosted and governed once moved to Azure.
Phased migration of Windows and SQL workloads
Rehosted Windows servers to Azure Virtual Machines and re-platformed databases to Azure SQL Managed Instance. Preserved integrated authentication with Kerberos and Entra ID, retained SSIS packages, and completed production cutover via Azure Load Balancer.
Ongoing operational maturity through managed services
Post-migration, the environment was maintained via a managed services operating model where Simform handled day-to-day operations, maintaining stability and governing security as the platform evolved.
Business impact
The migration removed infrastructure constraints, stabilized operations across a large workload estate, and enabled controlled change without disrupting live advertising operations.
Faster onboarding
By removing dependency on on-prem capacity provisioning, new advertisers, tenants, and internal users can now be onboarded ~40% faster, without waiting for servers, storage, or environment readiness.
Consistent operations at scale
Over 60 Windows and SQL workloads now run on Azure under a standardized operating model, eliminating fragmented ownership and enabling teams to manage scale without expanding operational effort.
Controlled production change
Migration waves and pre-tested cutover steps enabled a <6-hour production cutover, validating an execution model where infrastructure and platform changes no longer require extended downtime windows.
Trusted by the World's Leading Companies
“Simform rearchitected and modernized our subscription management & billing platform as part of the multi-phase development initiative. The team quickly understood our business requirements and delivered a modern, modular architecture aligned with our scaling needs. Without disrupting our operational workflows, Simform handled complex data migration with precision and supported our legacy modernization journey with seamless ERP integrations.”
Robel Yemane, Head of Engineering
Privilee
“Simform delivered our self-serve application, including an MVP, within the agreed timeline. Their exceptional expertise and dedication continue to impress as they develop new features and maintain the application. A remarkable partner in software development.”
Technical Product Manager
AI-Driven Digital Advertising Platform
“We are satisfied with Simform’s quality work. The team manages the project well – they’ve solved issues and improved their performance. Overall, they excel in their communication; they do it frequently and effectively through Slack and Microsoft Teams. They also use internal management tools.”
Project Manager
Next-gen IoT Solutions Company
“The Simform team are extremely proactive across the full delivery life cycle whether that is reviewing conceptual designs to offer different options for our consideration or identifying areas where future enhancements could be considered to improve the application performance or end user experience.”
Product Manager
Global Consulting Company
“From start to finish, Simform delivered a great project experience, even when the requirements were a bit ambiguous with some changes, they adapted, adjusted and got the job done. Code delivered was of a high standard and the delivery team was great top work with. I recommend Simform to my own network all the time.”
CTO
Accredited Business Finance Company
“The cloud migration was a great sucess. Very satisfactory, seamless and increased our productivity. The most impressive part about Simform is their dynamic and well-versed team. Anytime there was a concern, we were able to communicate and have it rectified immediately.”
President
Trusted Community Services Organization
“Simform was an invaluable partner in our system modernization, moving beyond analysis to deliver true product engineering advisory. They analyzed complex legacy workflows into clear, validated, developer-ready user stories. The clarity and strategic consistency they introduced was foundational, directly influencing our cloud architecture and product design. Their work effectively accelerated our discovery phase and time to market.”
Director of Engineering
Datamark
“Simform led the discovery phase for our digital infrastructure overhaul, bringing a mix of deep technical expertise and a truly collaborative spirit. They took our complex requirements and turned them into a solid product blueprint and a clear, prioritized roadmap. Everything stayed on track thanks to their structured project management. The level of strategy and architecture they brought to the table gave us the certainty we needed to take the next steps.”
Department Manager
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