At LB Tech Solutions, we take pride in helping businesses navigate complex technological challenges and plan for the future. One such journey involved Home Curtains, a well-established B2B and B2C reseller of soft furnishings. Facing the end of life for their legacy hardware, Home Curtains found themselves at a crossroads, unsure of how to move forward with their technology infrastructure. With multiple options available and significant concerns about the impact of such a change, they turned to us for guidance. 

Here’s how we helped Home Curtains understand their path to the cloud and make the right decisions for their business. 

The Challenge: Modernising Infrastructure to Drive Efficiency and Future-Proof the Business 

Home Curtains was facing a pivotal moment as their legacy hardware approached the end of its useful life. However, the challenges extended beyond just aging equipment. The business was keen to explore how they could leverage modern technology to improve efficiency, enhance business processes, and build more robust redundancies into their operations. 

For years, Home Curtains had relied on local servers and legacy systems to run their business. These systems had served them well but were starting to show signs of wear—resulting in increased downtime, sluggish performance, and growing maintenance costs. The business was operating in a more demanding and competitive market, and it became clear that their current infrastructure was holding them back from optimising key areas such as customer service, order processing, and inventory management. 

In addition to these challenges, they faced the following concerns: 

Improving Efficiency Through Technology 

Home Curtains recognised that there were many new technologies available that could help streamline their operations and boost efficiency, but they weren’t sure where to start. Their legacy systems limited the business’s ability to adopt modern software tools that could automate processes, improve collaboration between teams, and enable better customer interactions. They needed guidance on how to unlock the potential of these new technologies and understand which tools were most relevant to their business. 

For example, with their legacy setup, Home Curtains struggled with effective collaboration between employees. Without the advantages of cloud-based tools, teams found it difficult to share information in real-time, which led to delays and inefficiencies. Document sharing, communication, and project coordination were fragmented, creating silos within the organisation. 

Additionally, device performance was a significant issue. As their aging hardware slowed down, it impacted the overall productivity of employees, leading to frustration and delays in completing daily tasks. The business needed a solution that would not only boost collaboration but also improve the performance and reliability of the tools and devices that employees relied on. By moving to the cloud, Home Curtains could benefit from the enhanced performance of modern cloud services, improving speed, responsiveness, and the ability to scale operations efficiently. 

Building Redundancy and Reliability 

Reliability was another major concern. The business relied on local infrastructure for core operations, and this presented a single point of failure. With no built-in redundancy, any hardware malfunction could result in significant downtime, lost productivity, and even data loss—issues that were becoming more frequent as the hardware aged. 

Home Curtains needed a more robust system that could reduce the risk of downtime and ensure they could recover quickly in the event of hardware failures, cyberattacks, or natural disasters. They wanted to move towards a solution that would not only support their existing operations but also provide future scalability, ensuring that they could adapt to growth and changes in the market without costly disruptions. 

Flexibility for Remote Work and Collaboration 

Like many businesses, Home Curtains realised the growing importance of enabling flexible, remote working for their employees. Their existing setup made remote work cumbersome, as staff had to rely on VPNs and slow remote access solutions to connect to in-office servers. They knew that cloud-based solutions would provide their employees with the ability to work from anywhere and collaborate more effectively, but they needed help in understanding how this transition could work. 

Securing Critical Business Data 

The aging hardware posed a growing risk of data loss and cyberattacks. With increased threats in the digital landscape, Home Curtains needed to bolster their security posture. However, they weren’t sure how to protect sensitive customer data, transaction records, and inventory information in a cost-effective way. A move to the cloud offered improved security measures, but they needed to understand how these protections would be implemented and managed. 

The Opportunity: Leveraging Technology for Growth 

At LB Tech Solutions, we saw the challenges facing Home Curtains as an opportunity for growth. By modernising their infrastructure and transitioning to the cloud, we could help them achieve several critical business objectives: 

• Improved Efficiency: By migrating to Microsoft 365, Home Curtains laid the foundation for future integrations, such as modern ERP and CRM systems. While the immediate focus was on improving collaboration and communication, the migration also provided a scalable platform that could support future growth and system integration. 

The move to Microsoft 365 allowed teams to collaborate more effectively with tools like Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint, enabling seamless document sharing, real-time communication, and greater accessibility. Employees could now work together regardless of their location, improving overall productivity and reducing delays caused by the limitations of their previous systems. While the full integration of other business systems like order management and inventory would come later, Microsoft 365 provided the flexibility and infrastructure to build on these capabilities in the future. 

• Enhanced Redundancy and Business Continuity: Cloud infrastructure would allow them to build redundancy into their systems, ensuring that data was backed up and recoverable in the event of a disaster. Additionally, the cloud’s inherent scalability would mean they could add resources as needed without worrying about the physical limitations of hardware. 

• Greater Flexibility: A move to the cloud would also provide the flexibility Home Curtains needed to support remote work, with easy access to all business-critical applications and data from any device, anywhere. This would improve employee productivity and collaboration, allowing teams to work together seamlessly, even from different locations. 

• Stronger Security: Moving to a cloud platform would not only help secure Home Curtains’ data against hardware failures but also offer advanced security features such as real-time threat detection, encryption, and compliance with data protection standards. 

By working through these challenges and opportunities, we were able to guide Home Curtains on their journey to the cloud, helping them adopt the right technology to improve efficiency, ensure business continuity, and future-proof their operations. 

The Options: Three Potential Paths Forward 

We worked closely with Home Curtains to explore the various options available, all while keeping in mind their existing technology infrastructure, budget constraints, and risk appetite. Together, we identified three potential approaches: 

1. Extended Warranty and Hardware Support
   One option was to extend the life of their existing hardware by purchasing extended warranties and 24/7 hardware support. This would delay a full migration or upgrade, giving Home Curtains more time to plan and manage cash flow. However, this solution was a stopgap measure, not addressing the long-term needs of the business. 

1. Staged Migration to the Cloud
   The second option was a staged migration to the cloud. This would involve migrating their local systems and services to Microsoft Cloud services in phases. A staggered approach would allow Home Curtains to slowly transition, giving end users time to adapt to the new tools and workflows while maintaining business continuity. 

1. Big Bang Migration
   The third option was to move all systems and services to the cloud at once. This “big bang” approach would involve decommissioning their local infrastructure and migrating all servers, applications, and services to the cloud in a single, comprehensive migration. While more disruptive in the short term, this would allow Home Curtains to modernise quickly and reduce the ongoing costs associated with maintaining legacy systems. 

Assessing Risk and Cost: A Holistic Review 

Before making any recommendations, we conducted a comprehensive review of Home Curtains’ existing technology environment, including their infrastructure costs, licensing fees, and connectivity expenses. We signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to ensure complete confidentiality, giving the business confidence that their financial and operational data was secure. 

Our analysis also included reviewing all internal systems and services to understand the risk each posed to the business. We evaluated the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) for each platform to assess how long the business could afford to be without specific systems in the event of an outage or failure. 

This risk assessment helped Home Curtains understand not only the costs of maintaining their legacy infrastructure but also the potential risks and financial impacts associated with each platform if they chose not to migrate. 

Taking the Fear Out of Cloud Migration 

For a business that had been using legacy systems for many years, the idea of moving to the cloud was understandably daunting. Home Curtains had heard about cloud solutions but didn’t fully understand how these services would integrate with their current operations or how their end users would adapt to the new technology. 

We worked closely with their team to walk through each of the cloud technologies, explaining how the migration would work and how it would benefit their business. We made sure to bring their employees along on the journey, offering detailed explanations and demonstrations that showed how the cloud services would fit seamlessly into their existing workflows. 

Learning from a Real-World Example: Bennington Foods 

One of the most impactful steps in the process was introducing Home Curtains to Bennington Foods, a current customer of ours in the production and manufacturing sector. Bennington Foods had implemented a nearly identical cloud-first setup to the one Home Curtains was considering, making them the perfect case study for how the migration could work in real life. 

We arranged an on-site show and tell at Bennington Foods, where Home Curtains’ team could see the cloud setup in action. Bennington Foods’ Managing Director met with the Home Curtains leadership team to discuss the entire process—the pros and cons, the challenges, and the unexpected benefits of moving to the cloud. 

Real-Life Benefits of Cloud Migration 

During this session, Bennington Foods was able to share several key benefits of moving to the cloud that exceeded their initial expectations, including: 

• Increased Flexibility: With cloud-based systems, their employees could work from anywhere, offering more flexibility and improving productivity. 

• Cost Savings: While the initial migration required investment, they saw significant cost reductions over time by eliminating the need for local infrastructure, maintenance, and hardware upgrades. 

• Scalability: As their business grew, adding new users and services was simple, allowing the technology to scale with the business. 

• Enhanced Security: Moving to the cloud provided more robust security features, including real-time threat detection, encryption, and compliance tools, without the need for additional in-house resources. 

The experience of Bennington Foods helped Home Curtains see that while the migration process had its challenges, the long-term benefits were well worth it. 

The Final Decision: A Big Bang Migration 

After thoroughly reviewing the options and gaining valuable insights from the Bennington Foods example, Home Curtains chose to proceed with a Big Bang migration to the cloud. This decision was driven by the identification of local support initiatives and grants available within the community, designed to help businesses modernise, become more competitive, and leverage technology to secure their future. 

By transitioning all systems and services to the cloud at once, Home Curtains seized the opportunity to enhance their competitiveness in the marketplace and support continued job prospects in their local area. The funding and resources available made this option not only feasible but also advantageous for the business. 

At LB Tech Solutions, we acted as agnostic advisors, helping Home Curtains navigate their options rather than pushing a specific solution. Through a thorough understanding of their business needs, available resources, and long-term goals, we supported them in making the best decision for their future. 

Our Role: Guiding the Process, Empowering the Client 

Our role was not to choose a solution for Home Curtains but to provide them with the insights and understanding needed to make an informed decision. We worked closely with their leadership team to: 

• Present all available options—from extending hardware support to staged migrations and the big bang cloud approach. 

• Help them understand the financial and operational implications of each path, including the potential local grants and support. 

• Navigate the risks and benefits associated with each option, ensuring that Home Curtains could align their decision with both their financial situation and their vision for future growth. 

By collaborating with Home Curtains, we ensured that they made the best decision for their unique needs, rather than being driven by the preferences of a third-party vendor. 

Conclusion: A Successful Cloud Transition 

Thanks to our comprehensive assessment, guidance, and support, Home Curtains was able to confidently make an informed decision on transitioning to the cloud. After exploring multiple options and considering their unique business needs, they chose the Big Bang migration—a decision strongly influenced by available local funding and grants. This path allowed them to modernise rapidly while taking full advantage of external financial support. 

While a local business was awarded the implementation project as part of the funding process, we at LB Tech Solutions are incredibly proud of the role we played in helping Home Curtains through this journey. By providing in-depth analysis, risk assessment, and a clear understanding of their technology landscape, we empowered Home Curtains to make the best decision for their future. 

We remain committed to supporting Home Curtains throughout this entire process, offering ongoing guidance and expertise. We’re delighted to have helped them lay the foundation for a scalable, secure, and flexible cloud-based infrastructure that meets the evolving needs of both their B2B and B2C customers. 

At LB Tech Solutions, it’s our mission to provide businesses with the insights and tools they need to succeed, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Home Curtains as they take full advantage of their new cloud capabilities.