Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a leading enterprise Linux platform. Microsoft Azure is trusted by enterprise class customers with their business-critical applications, and it offers a range of services and solutions to help them innovate and modernize in the cloud. Together, RHEL and Azure deliver a powerful combination of stability, security, scalability, agility, and cost-efficiency. 

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But don’t just take our word for it. Microsoft and Red Hat commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact^TM (TEI) study of Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Azure, based on interviews with customers who have migrated their RHEL workloads to Azure. Using the data derived from these interviews, Forrester analysts created a composite organization representative of actual customers and their economic realities. 

Grounded in a composite organization, trusted financial model, and interviews with decision-makers, the new Forrester study shows how Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Microsoft Azure resulted in a 192% return on investment and $11.94 million in benefits present value over three years. Forrester breaks this big number down into tangible value by category, calculating $3.9 million from business continuity savings and $4.4 million in data center cost savings.

Boost performance and business resilience 

One of the most significant benefits highlighted in the study is the improved business continuity that results from a reduction in both the frequency and duration of outages. Prior to deploying Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Microsoft Azure, the composite organization experienced 12 outages per year due to hardware failures and natural disasters, with each outage lasting an average of 4 hours. After migrating to Azure, the organization saw a 50% reduction in outage frequency and an 85% reduction in outage downtime. The quantified benefits include a 60% reduction in legacy solution costs, and 40% Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) reallocation towards value-added business initiatives.

Remember, this isn’t theoretical modeling based on unrealistic assumptions: these numbers are derived from data provided by Red Hat and Microsoft customers, based on their actual experiences, direct to Forrester’s seasoned analysts. 

“There are a number of reasons that sold us. First, we have flexibility to use our Red Hat subscriptions on Azure so we can mix and match, which is huge for us. Second, we have guaranteed compatibility with Microsoft running Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Azure. Third, we have access in the different markets, so our facilities can get access to core systems that are locally deployed.” 

— Global director of IT, Wholesale retail

Mitigate security risks  

Security is often considered table stakes and a top concern if not a potential barrier to cloud adoption. Azure provides comprehensive security from code to cloud. Migration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux to Microsoft Azure ensured seamless workload transition, efficient data recovery, resource scalability, proactive issue detection, and faster deployment and updates for the interviewees’ organizations. Furthermore, integrated support for RHEL on Azure between Red Hat and Microsoft ensures a single point of contact for comprehensive support and issue resolution.  

“Azure provides all the tools to make your life easier. Microsoft goes out of their way to provide all the security tools and dashboards so you can see what your servers are. We use Defender for Linux, Automanage, and Azure Update Management, which is the patching mechanism that we use.” 

—Product owner for Operating Systems, Energy 

Simplify procurement  

Forrester’s interviews with executive decision makers also highlighted the advantages of Azure Marketplace, which simplifies the procurement process by providing a range of prebuilt solutions and services that can be easily deployed. You can quickly find and purchase the necessary tools and applications to meet specific business needs, accelerating time to market and reducing procurement complexities. 

“With Azure Marketplace, the actual time to market is much faster because you’re not trying to come up with solutions. The solutions are already there for you. You just use the native tools to be able to migrate and build out and those are tools we are already familiar with.”

—Global director of IT, wholesale retail 

The road ahead with RHEL

We often talk about technology as a journey, and in this journey Red Hat on Azure propels organizations in their digital transformation initiatives. This collaboration offers a holistic solution for modern businesses. Munich Re realized increased flexibility with their SAP on Azure migration which includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Apps. It used to take from four to six months to add resources, but with SAP on Azure and infrastructure automation, they can now do it within an hour. AIA, a Hong Kong based insurance and financial services provider, delivered more than 100 major AI and analytics projects, enhancing multiple areas of their business by moving to Azure and running its Enterprise Service Bus solution, which is core for the entire company, on Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Azure. 

To learn more, register to attend the webinar and listen to our guests from Forrester, Microsoft, and Red Hat discuss the benefits of running Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Azure.

The post The business impact of migrating Red Hat Enterprise Linux to Azure appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.