UDT PARTNERS WITH WILLIS LEASE FINANCE CORPORATION TO MIGRATE THEIR IT ASSETS TO THE CLOUD

Moving from on-premise to the cloud enabled Willis Lease to lower cost, increase performance and become more agile.

When Jennifer Torlone stepped into her new role as Vice President of Information Technology with Willis Lease, she saw a gap between business and technology and the need for new, innovative solutions. She knew Willis Lease Finance Corporation, a provider of aviation services and leaser of aircraft equipment worldwide, needed to consolidate their IT assets but lacked a trusted partner to help assess, execute and manage their move to the cloud.

Ms. Torlone reached out to UDT (UDT), a Microsoft Gold Cloud Partner and One-Tier Cloud Service Provider, to discuss moving Willis’ infrastructure to the cloud. “UDT conducted a three-month planning and assessment initiative to determine all environmental needs, and to accommodate the sheer size of the proposed Microsoft Azure migration engagement,” said Ms. Torlone. The assessment included how to architect Willis’ Microsoft Azure Data Center footprint, Azure Virtual Network infrastructure roadmap and determined virtual equivalents to on-premise systems.

To touch as many end users as possible, Ms. Torlone then asked UDT to help Willis Lease identify their power users and understand at how their processes were being documented. UDT fine-tuned Willis Lease’s data center to provide this level of detailed insight. UDT performed a data center refresh and redesign by replacing data centers across the world with cloud solutions, migrating from on-premise into Microsoft Azure. This helped Willis Lease to increase cost efficiencies, deliver better performance and become more agile.

“UDT completed the planning and design phase before executing the migration and upgrade of workloads from 250 servers utilizing Microsoft Azure. Upon migration completion, UDT will manage our entire cloud infrastructure,” continued Ms. Torlone. This migration helped Willis to standardize their assets under one domain and scale globally.

The next step in Willis’ consolidation efforts was to take three AD domains and consolidate into a new single domain, which was also extended into Microsoft Azure. This consolidation further enabled the merger of two existing Office 365 tenants and one on-premise Exchange Server environment into a single tenant.

“UDT was tasked with modernizing Willis Lease’s services to next generation security for Microsoft Azure, offerings consistent, multi-layered security,” said Ben Tosado, Senior VP of Enterprise Cloud Technologies. “We leveraged our engineers and cloud experts to ensure the best possible experience for Willis Lease. In the future, UDT will continue to be a trusted partner and managed service provider as Willis Lease continues their digital transformation.”

Are You Ready to Modernize Your Technology?

UDT has a long-standing commitment to providing customers with the best in technology, from hardware to managed services. Learn more about how UDT can help your company accomplish more, click here.

About Willis Finance Corporation

Willis Lease Finance Corporation leases large and regional spare commercial aircraft engines, auxiliary power units and aircraft to airlines, aircraft engine manufacturers and maintenance, repair and overhaul providers in 120 countries. These leasing activities are integrated with engine and aircraft trading, engine lease pools supported by cutting-edge technology, as well as technical and asset management, provided through its subsidiary Willis Asset Management Limited, and various end-of-life solutions for aircraft, engines and aviation materials provided through its subsidiary, Willis Aeronautical Services, Inc. To learn more, please visit https://www.willislease.com.

Download PDF

Accomplish More With UDT

Get your custom solution in cybersecurity, lifecycle management, digital transformation and managed IT services. Connect with our team today.

More to explore

The Cloud Advantage: 4 Ways Cloud Solutions Are Transforming Organizations (with Case Studies) 

By embracing cloud solutions, businesses can harness a level of flexibility, innovation, and collaboration that propels them forward, providing a decisive edge over competitors. This is called the “Cloud Advantage.”

Reliable Data Centers Have These 3 Things In Common (with Strategies for Optimizing Efficiency)

Data centers ensure that businesses have robust data storage and management capabilities to access, organize, and safeguard their wealth of information. Discover the key qualities that make your data center reliable.

The Benefits and Risks of Using AI at Your Business—How To Leverage AI Responsibly

AI is an alluring tool for business, but it comes with risks. Explore the pros and cons of using AI, including how to mitigate the potential vulnerabilities associated with this technology.

Ransomware Attacks on K12 Education are Spiking (Again)—Here’s How To Keep Your School District Safe

When it comes to cybersecurity, the last few years have been rough for Education. Hear expert insights on the top ransomware attacks facing K12 and Higher Ed—and how to avoid being the next victim.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month—Here Are 4 Actionable Strategies to Boost Your Data Security Right Now 

To help organizations stay ahead of evolving risks, sophisticated attack vectors, and the latest data security threats, UDT’s Mike Sanchez, CISO & SVP of Cybersecurity Solutions, has compiled the following risk management best practices for improving your organization’s security posture.

How To Select Your E-Rate Service Provider—An 8-Step Roadmap

To help you make an informed choice, we’ve developed a clear, 8-step roadmap to assist you in selecting the ideal E-Rate service provider for your unique situation.

Experiencing a security breach?

Get immediate assistance from our security operations center! Take the following recommended actions NOW while we get on the case:

RECOMMENDED IMMEDIATE NEXT ACTIONS

  1. Determine which systems were impacted and immediately isolate them. Take the network offline at the switch level or physically unplug the systems from the wired or wireless network.
  2. Immediately take backups offline to preserve them. Scan backups with anti-virus and malware tools to ensure they’re not infected
  3. Initiate an immediate password reset on affected user accounts with new passwords that are no less than 14 characters in length. Do this for Senior Management accounts as well.

Just one more step

Please fill out the following form,