Company Background

We recently had the pleasure of working with Chrysties Furnishing Centre Ltd, a family-run furniture and carpet business based in Hawick in the Scottish Borders, to migrate from an in-house database to Microsoft Azure SQL database. 

With over 30 years of experience, Chrysties  is known for providing exceptional quality, value, and service to its customers. Their fully trained sales staff are experts in their field and provide honest and professional advice on all core products. 

The company’s own professional flooring technicians are trained to the highest standards for all types of flooring, which allows them to provide unparalleled service to their clients. As suppliers of a stunning array of furniture and floor coverings, Chrysties delivers locally and further afield, with flooring services that include free measuring and estimating. Their 20,000 square foot showroom is a showcase of quality products, including UK-manufactured pieces and furniture sourced from the Far East. 

As an account holder of all major suppliers in both furniture and floor coverings, Chrysties  can offer goods and services for both the domestic market and contract projects. With their own excellent delivery service, after-sales care, and attention to detail, it’s no wonder that Chrysties Furnishing Centre Ltd has earned a reputation for excellence in the industry.

Q & A

What challenges were you facing with your previous IT infrastructure, and how did Optimise Solutions’ migration to Microsoft Azure help address those challenges?

Our previous on-premises server was prone to a lot of software updates and crashes which took up valuable time and resources. This led to significant downtime for the organisation, and the impact was felt by all aspects of the business, including the Optimise software used by our company. 

In summary, migrating to the Cloud helped us address the challenges of our previous server updates and crashes, something we no longer need to worry about.

Can you describe the process of migrating to Microsoft Azure with the help of Optimise Solutions? How long did it take, and what were the main steps involved?

Optimise migrated our in-house database to the cloud, seamlessly completing the process within a few hours during non-peak business hours to minimise downtime. Following that, a minor configuration adjustment was made to our machines, and we were all set to go!

How has Microsoft Azure with Optimise Solutions improved your ability to monitor and manage your infrastructure and applications, and what tools or features have been particularly useful? 

One of the most useful features of Microsoft SQL Azure for Chrysties has been its ability to automate processes, such as backups and updates. This has saved the company time and resources, as they no longer have to manually perform these tasks and there is very limited downtime caused by system updates and backup can be taken to any point in time in the last 30 days.

Another benefit has been the reduced risk to our business performance of the Optimise applications and infrastructure. With Azure SQL, the program response times are more consistent than with our in-house server and we as a company don’t need to think about hardware bottlenecks because of memory or processor speed, these things can be easily monitored by Optimise and scaled to suit our usage.  The team at Optimise are also able to use Azure Analysis Services to identify areas where storage or usage needs to be tweaked, which allows them to continuously improve the service provided to Chrysties. 

Finally, the move to the Azure platform has improved security for Chrysties Furnishing Centre Ltd. Azure provides advanced security features, such as threat detection and protection, access management, and encryption, which ensure the company’s and client data is protected at all times. With Azure Chrysties can have peace of mind knowing their critical business data is secure and protected from cyber threats.

Overall, the move to Microsoft Azure has been a game-changer for Chrysties  Furnishing Centre Ltd, allowing their infrastructure and applications and data to be managed more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Thanks to the expertise of Optimise Solutions, the transition was seamless and hassle-free, enabling Chrysties  to focus on what they do best – providing exceptional quality, value, and service to their customers.

What advice would you give to other companies considering a migration to Microsoft Azure with the help of Optimise Solutions, based on your experience with the migration process and ongoing support?

Based on our experience with the migration process and ongoing support, we would highly recommend other companies to consider migrating to Microsoft Azure SQL database with the help of Optimise Solutions. The migration process was smooth and well-planned, and we were kept informed and involved throughout the entire process. The ongoing support we have received from Optimise Solutions has been excellent, with prompt and knowledgeable responses to any issues or questions we have had.

Our advice for other companies considering a migration would be to work closely with Optimise Solutions to ensure a thorough understanding of the benefits and capabilities of Azure SQL database. Finally, be sure to take advantage of the ongoing support and expertise provided by Optimise Solutions, to maximise the value of the Azure platform and continue to improve and evolve your infrastructure and applications over time.