Cloud Services · Vancouver, BC
Cloud Services Vancouver
Hexafusion helps Vancouver businesses run on the right cloud platform with the right controls. Whether you are starting fresh on Microsoft 365, migrating workloads to Azure or AWS, or running a hybrid environment, we handle the architecture, migration, and ongoing management.
Microsoft 365 for Vancouver Businesses
M365 is the default productivity platform for most BC small and medium-sized businesses. We handle tenant setup, migration from on-premise Exchange or Google Workspace, SharePoint governance, Teams deployment, identity and access with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), conditional access policies, and security baseline configuration.
- New tenant setup with security-first defaults
- Email migration with zero downtime
- SharePoint and OneDrive governance
- Teams calling and meeting rooms
- Conditional access and multi-factor authentication (MFA) enforcement
- Canadian data residency where available
Azure and AWS
For workloads that need more than M365, we design and manage infrastructure on Azure and AWS. Cost optimization, identity federation, network security groups, backup strategy, and monitoring.
Hybrid Cloud
Not every business should move everything to the cloud. For regulated industries and specific workloads (dental imaging, legal case management, manufacturing), we design hybrid architectures that keep sensitive systems local while using cloud for collaboration, backup, and disaster recovery.
Canadian Data Residency
For clients with PIPEDA, BC's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), or contractual data residency requirements, we configure cloud services to keep data in Canadian regions (Canada Central, Canada East) where possible, and document cross-border data flows where they are unavoidable. Microsoft 365 core services (Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive) can be pinned to Canadian regions at tenant creation. Azure and AWS both offer full Canadian regions. A handful of services still transit US regions: some advanced Teams features, certain AI add-ons, and some compliance logs. We disclose those in writing before you sign.
Our migration methodology
Cloud migrations fail most often in two places: identity and dependency mapping. Our methodology is built to surface both early so you get a fixed price before anyone starts moving data.
Inventory current systems, user counts, data volume, integrations, line-of-business apps, and dependencies. Identify blockers (line-of-business apps that pin you to on-premise, compliance constraints, bandwidth bottlenecks).
Target architecture, identity model, network and security baseline, backup strategy, monitoring plan. You approve this before we start moving data, and we quote a fixed price for the migration.
We migrate one team (typically 5 to 10 users) and run them on the new environment for two weeks. Issues surface and get fixed before we touch the rest of the company.
Cutover waves on scheduled weekends. Mailbox delta sync gives zero-downtime email. SharePoint and Teams rollout follow on a published schedule so teams know what's happening.
Thirty days of hypercare with direct engineer access for any post-migration issues. This covers the tail of small problems that only surface when real users hit the new environment.
Final documentation, admin training, and transition into our managed operations. From this point the environment is covered under your monthly Hexafusion plan.
Security in the cloud
Moving to the cloud does not move security problems. It moves them to a different control plane. Our baseline for every cloud tenant we manage:
- Identity first. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts, conditional access policies, privileged access workstations for admin accounts, break-glass accounts documented and rotated.
- Encryption at rest and in transit. Configured by default, verified in monthly reviews.
- Separate backup credentials. Backups are configured with a separate identity and stored in an immutable vault. A compromised tenant cannot erase its own backups.
- Endpoint detection and response (EDR) software across every device that connects to the tenant, not just company-managed laptops.
- Audit logging to an immutable store. We ship Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace audit logs to a separate platform so a compromised admin cannot cover their tracks.
- 24/7 managed detection and response (MDR) on Enterprise plans, monitored by a human security operations centre.
Cost optimization
Cloud bills creep. Every Azure or AWS environment we inherit has waste: orphaned volumes, over-provisioned virtual machines, dev resources left running on weekends, legacy instance types no one thought to retire. We typically find 20 to 40 percent of the monthly cloud bill comes from waste we can eliminate in the first 60 days. Ongoing, we review cost quarterly with three levers:
- Right-size compute. Match virtual machine and database sizes to actual usage, not day-one estimates.
- Reserved instances and savings plans. For predictable workloads, one-year or three-year commitments cut compute cost 30 to 60 percent.
- Tag every resource to a business unit. Finance sees cloud spend the same way they see software licences. No more surprise bills.
Cost reviews are included at no extra charge in our Professional and Enterprise plans. On Essential, we flag spend anomalies and quote cost-optimization as a separate engagement.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a Microsoft 365 migration take?
For a typical Vancouver small business of 10 to 50 users, a full migration from on-premise Exchange or Google Workspace takes three to six weeks. Discovery and tenant setup run in parallel during the first week. Mailbox cutover happens on a weekend with zero-downtime delta sync. SharePoint and Teams rollout follows over the next two to four weeks.
Can our data stay in Canada?
Yes for most services. Microsoft 365 core data (Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive) can be pinned to Canada Central or Canada East regions. Azure and AWS both offer Canadian regions. Some advanced Teams features and AI add-ons still transit US regions; we disclose those in writing before you sign.
Should we move everything to the cloud?
Usually no. Most Vancouver businesses land on hybrid: email, collaboration, and identity in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace; commodity workloads in Azure or AWS; and anything with large-file access, specialty hardware, or regulatory complexity (dental imaging, legal case management, engineering CAD, manufacturing SCADA) kept on-premise with cloud backup.
How do you keep cloud costs under control?
Three levers: right-size compute by reviewing usage quarterly, use reserved instances for predictable workloads, and tag every resource to a business unit so you can trace spend. Most new Azure and AWS environments we inherit have 20 to 40 percent of monthly bill in waste we can retire in the first two months.
Do you handle Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) setup?
Yes. Identity is the single most important control in any cloud environment. We configure Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) with conditional access policies, multi-factor authentication (MFA) everywhere, privileged access protection, break-glass accounts, and device compliance. For organisations with existing on-premise Active Directory we set up secure hybrid identity with Entra Connect.
Can you manage our AWS environment?
Yes. We manage small and mid-sized AWS environments: EC2 and containers, VPC design, Route 53 DNS, identity through IAM with federation, S3 storage lifecycle, CloudWatch monitoring, Backup vaults, and cost controls. We focus on environments in the 1,000 to 30,000 dollars per month AWS spend range.
Planning a cloud move?
Talk to a Hexafusion consultant about your cloud strategy. We will scope the project, flag the risks, and give you a fixed price.
Request a cloud assessmentRelated services
Service areas across Metro Vancouver
Related Hexafusion resources
Deep-dive pages on the cybersecurity and compliance topics referenced above.
Compliance baseline behind every Hexafusion engagement
Cloud migration and hybrid-cloud operations is delivered against a documented baseline aligned to the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security baseline controls and current cyber-insurance underwriting expectations. The same baseline applies whether you are a five-person clinic or a 200-seat manufacturer.
- Identity and access: Microsoft Entra ID with Conditional Access, multi-factor authentication (MFA) enforced on every account, compliant-device sign-in.
- Endpoint protection: Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) on every device, deployed before the user receives the laptop.
- Disk encryption: BitLocker on Windows, FileVault on Mac, with central key escrow.
- Backup and recovery: Managed backups with documented retention and quarterly restore tests.
- BC PIPA and PIPEDA aware: Audit logging, role-based access, and breach-notification process kept current with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada guidance.
Hardware lifecycle and responsible disposal
Hexafusion is a Dell authorized reseller with Canadian distribution channels for Lenovo, Apple, Microsoft Surface, and networking gear. At end-of-life, drive sanitization follows NIST Special Publication 800-88, every retired device generates a serial-numbered certificate of destruction for your PIPEDA records, and devices are recycled through programs accredited by the Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA Canada).
Who you actually work with
Hexafusion is led by founder Alex Barari, a former PCI DSS Internal Security Assessor with 15+ years in enterprise IT and cybersecurity. Every engagement is supported by the same Vancouver-based team that designs the security baseline, reviews the alerts, and shows up on-site when remote troubleshooting reaches its limit. Our quarterly business review (QBR) turns the relationship into a real strategic conversation with cited numbers, not a marketing newsletter.
What our cloud services engagement actually looks like
Every new cloud services client follows the same documented onboarding. Day one is an environment discovery call where we map every account, device, license, and dependency. By the end of the first week we have a written security baseline diff (what is currently in place, what is missing, what gets remediated in which order). By day 30 you have a complete documentation bundle: network diagram, asset register, license inventory, MFA coverage report, backup test results, and incident response runbook. None of that is sold as an extra; it is the starting condition for every managed engagement.
During steady-state operations you can expect a 60-second initial ticket response and a 15-minute engineer reply during business hours, with after-hours emergency coverage available on Professional and Enterprise plans. Every quarter we deliver a Quarterly Business Review (QBR) as a PDF: engagement health score, financial recap, onboarding progress, renewal calendar, and an AI-summarized executive paragraph. The QBR makes drift impossible to hide: if a metric slides for two quarters in a row, you see it before we do, and we are already working on it by the time you read it.
Commitments we make in writing
- Flat monthly pricing. No hourly billing for in-scope work. The price you sign for is the price you pay until annual renewal.
- Documented service level agreements (SLAs). Initial response, engineer engagement, and resolution targets in writing for every plan tier.
- Transparent offboarding. If the relationship ever ends, you receive 30 days of transition support and full documentation handover. No hostage data, no exit fees.
- No surprise project invoices. Work outside scope is quoted in advance, with the option to approve, defer, or decline before any billable time accrues.
- Vendor-coordinated escalations. When the issue is on Microsoft, Telus, Rogers, Veeam, or any other vendor we manage on your behalf, we own the support case from open to resolved, not you.
- Continuity of the same team. The engineer who onboards you is the engineer who answers your tickets in month 12, barring unusual staff changes that are communicated in writing in advance.
Cloud questions Vancouver businesses ask us
How long until we are fully migrated to the new cloud services setup? Most cloud services engagements complete environment discovery, security baseline, and the bulk of remediation work within the first 30 days. Larger or more regulated environments (legal, healthcare, financial services) may stretch baseline tasks into a 60- or 90-day window so audit-quality documentation is built alongside the changes.
What if our existing IT person stays involved? Co-managed engagements are common. We document the boundary in your Statement of Work (SOW): which tickets we own, which they own, what escalation looks like, and which systems we both have administrative access to. The split shows up in your monthly invoice as named workstreams so nobody pays twice for the same coverage.
How do you measure whether cloud services is actually working for our business? The engagement health score on every QBR rolls up signal from invoice payment timing, ticket response adherence, backup test pass rate, MFA coverage, patch latency, and renewal cadence into a 0-100 indicator. Green is above 80, yellow is 60 to 79, red is below 60. If your score drops below 80 for two consecutive quarters we trigger an internal review and reach out before you do.