Frontier Data
Migrate and modernize your databases and get your platform ready for AI
Database migration and modernization on Microsoft Cloud, with Azure SQL, Managed Instance, Microsoft Fabric and Azure Databricks: less risk, optimized costs and AI on governed data.
The challenge
The starting point is usually the same
What holds back your ability to innovate with data and AI shows up on three fronts that reinforce each other.
Technical debt
SQL Server on unsupported versions, components removed in each release and maintenance costs that keep rising.
- SQL Server 2016 reaches end of extended support on 14 July 2026
- SSRS removed from SQL Server 2025
- Unpatched instances: a security and compliance risk
Legacy systems
Critical applications tied to specific instances and engine versions. Changing one piece means touching all the others.
- Opaque, undocumented business logic
- Knowledge concentrated in a few people
- Talent is harder and harder to find
Scattered data
Information spread across ERP, CRM and in-house systems, each with its own definition of the same metrics.
- Reporting fragmented across departments
- Low trust in data for decision-making
- Hidden cost of duplicated integrations
Waiting has a cost too: a risk that grows with every upgrade, every license renewal and every avoidable incident.
Our approach
A service that starts with migration and ends with AI
Frontier Data is the ENCAMINA service for migrating and modernizing databases on the Microsoft ecosystem. We choose the approach based on your starting point, the risk you can take on and the destination you are aiming for.
You can contract each service separately or as a complete programme. That way you never commit beyond what you have already seen working.
Approaches
Five migration approaches
Lift and shift
Fast migration to SQL Server on Azure VMs. Keeps your current architecture with minimal initial friction.
Modernization to PaaS
Azure SQL Database or Managed Instance: less operational overhead and native high availability.
Evolution to Microsoft Fabric
Unified analytics, BI and AI on OneLake, for organizations that want a single platform.
Evolution to Azure Databricks
Open lakehouse or Spark-intensive workloads, as an alternative or complement to Fabric.
Hybrid strategies
Workloads already in Azure coexisting with on-premises systems during the transition, without stopping operations.
Benefits
What each role gains
Each area of the organization sees the results differently. We work on these benefits from day one.
IT, DBA and infrastructure
- No end-of-support risk
- From fixed licenses to pay-as-you-go
- No manual maintenance windows
- One managed platform instead of N servers
Data and BI
- Unified reporting: a single version of the truth
- Git-versioned pipelines with automatic lineage
- Elastic compute that scales without redesign
Leadership and innovation
- AI applied to the business: agents, Copilot and natural language queries
- Risk mitigated before end of support becomes an incident
- Faster time to market
How we work
From the first conversation to the first result
Each step validates the next: you only move forward once the previous one has proven its value.
Frontier Firm diagnostic
Free session to assess the maturity of your data and AI.
Technical assessment
Inventory and compatibility analysis with SQL Server Migration Assistant and Azure Migrate.
Roadmap
Prioritization by impact, risk and cost.
Proof of concept
Technical validation before scaling to the full project.
Migration in waves
Patterns and accelerators on a first real batch, then full execution with controlled cutover and active rollback.
AI readiness
AI enablement and support after go-live.
Experience
Projects in production
Data platforms where ENCAMINA has already applied this approach.
- Analytics platform migration. To Microsoft Fabric, with automated schema analysis: reports are generated in much less time.
- Data platform modernization. Silos unified with Synapse, Data Factory and Power BI so the business gets answers sooner.
- Legacy databases. Migration to Azure SQL with recovery, validation and cataloguing of historical data, without losing continuity.
- Agents on enterprise data. Dataverse connected to Fabric and a query agent that automates previously manual processes.
Packages
Five packages of increasing commitment
Pricing depends on scope and organization size. Azure Migrate & Modernize credits and co-investment agreements with Microsoft may apply.
| Package | What it includes | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Frontier Firm diagnostic | Diagnostic session and maturity benchmark | First contact, free of charge |
| Assessment | Inventory, compatibility analysis and roadmap | Validate technical feasibility |
| Standard migration | Pre-migration, migration and basic validation | Medium-complexity environments |
| Full migration | End-to-end execution, HA/DR, AI readiness and 30 days of support, with on-premises ETL and reporting where applicable | Critical environments |
| Ongoing support | Support SLA, monitoring and optimization | A long-term relationship |
After migration
Our support continues after go-live
Enhanced support
Intensive support for the first 48 to 72 hours and an ongoing support SLA.
Active monitoring
Azure Monitor, alerts and dashboards for performance and replication lag.
Regular optimization
Review of indexes, statistics and configuration as the workload evolves.
Evolution
From a one-off migration to an ongoing relationship: from HA/DR to generative AI.
ENCAMINA
Why ENCAMINA
Microsoft specialization, AI-driven automation and a service that goes beyond moving data.
Microsoft specialization
Deep focus on Azure SQL, Microsoft Fabric and Azure Databricks instead of covering every technology on the market superficially.
AI-accelerated migration
Automated schema analysis and code conversion with SQL Server Migration Assistant, and dependency detection before migrating.
Our own methodology for legacy
Spec Driven Development and AI-DLC for SSIS: we document the business logic before migrating it.
Migration is just the beginning
Every project leaves your data ready for Copilot, agents, anomaly detection and natural language queries.
Over 20 years with Microsoft
Two decades in Microsoft technologies and an active partnership for co-investment and early access to its roadmap.
Technology
Technology coverage
The Microsoft ecosystem is our core engine. We cover other technologies when the project requires it.
Microsoft ecosystem
- SQL Server and Azure SQL
- Azure SQL Managed Instance
- Microsoft Fabric and OneLake
- Azure Databricks
- Azure Cosmos DB
- Power BI
- SSIS and SSRS
- Azure Migrate
- SQL Server Migration Assistant
- Copilot Studio
- Azure AI Foundry
On demand
- MongoDB
- Oracle
- MySQL
- PostgreSQL
Shall we talk?
Book your Frontier Firm diagnostic: we assess the maturity of your data and AI, benchmark you against your industry and prioritize what to tackle first. Free of charge and with no commitment.
You can also email us at info@encamina.com or call +34 917 893 823.
Can't see the form? Open it in a new tab.