About the Client

The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) is the professional and examining body for patent attorneys in the United Kingdom. As a membership organization, CIPA represents and supports IP professionals through advocacy, education, and regulatory oversight.

Client Challenge

CIPA faced a common challenge: ageing Microsoft infrastructure that had become a security liability and operational burden. Running Windows Server 2008 R2 and 2012 R2 across their VMware environment, CIPA needed to modernise without disrupting business-critical services including their CRM platform, terminal services, and web applications.

The Microsoft Challenge

CIPA’s environment consisted of legacy Microsoft servers running:

• Windows Server 2012 R2 providing IIS and Remote Desktop Services
• Windows Server 2008 R2 hosting IIS, FTP, and SQL Web components
• Ubuntu 14.04 with SQL Server dependencies
• Linux-based CRM application servers

End-of-support operating systems meant mounting security vulnerabilities, whilst the monolithic architecture created migration complexity. The terminal server presented particular challenges, hosting active Sage data and user sessions that couldn’t tolerate extended downtime.

The Migration Approach

Dudobi executed a phased migration using AWS Application Migration Service (MGN):

1. Test replication: Initial CRM server was migrated first to validate the MGN process and AWS configuration
2. Terminal server rebuild: Rather than lift-and-shift the outdated Windows Server 2012 R2 environment, we built a fresh Windows Server environment in AWS, migrating users and Sage data systematically
3. Coordinated cutover: Remaining CRM and web servers were migrated alongside the terminal server to maintain application dependencies
4. Clean decommission: Legacy domain controllers were retired once AWS-based services proved stable

This approach eliminated the risk of migrating unsupported operating systems whilst ensuring Microsoft workloads benefited from AWS’s security and resilience features.

Microsoft Workload Outcomes

• Security modernisation: Windows workloads now benefit from encryption at rest and in transit, AWS GuardDuty threat detection, and IAM-based access control
• Cost optimisation: Reserved Instances delivered up to 70% savings on Windows Server licensing and compute costs
• Performance: Auto-scaling capabilities ensure Microsoft applications respond dynamically to demand
• Compliance: UK-based hosting (eu-west-2) maintained data sovereignty requirements for member data

By replacing end-of-life Microsoft infrastructure with modern AWS-hosted Windows environments, CIPA eliminated legacy risk while gaining the flexibility to scale its services for future growth.