Cloud & Infrastructure
Cloud-First Does Not Mean Infrastructure-Free
Mayer Networks uses two kinds of cloud together. Microsoft 365 carries email, files, collaboration and identity. Mayer Networks Cloud, our own private infrastructure in Carbondale, Illinois, carries the workloads that still require traditional servers: line-of-business applications, SQL databases, hosted desktops, legacy software and disaster recovery. Infrastructure as a Service is the service; the private cloud is the platform it runs on.
Who this fits
- Organizations deciding what belongs in Microsoft 365, what belongs on hosted infrastructure and what stays on site
- Organizations facing a server replacement decision
- Organizations with applications that cannot move to SaaS yet
- Existing Mayer Networks managed clients, and organizations entering a managed-services relationship
- Public-sector agencies needing hosted infrastructure with local accountability
The problems it removes
- Most services moved to SaaS, but one application still holds a physical server in the building
- Aging servers in a closet with no redundancy, cooling or power protection
- Capital budget cycles that do not match hardware failure
- Infrastructure rented from a hyperscaler that still has to be architected, secured, monitored and troubleshot by someone
- No offsite recovery position if the server room is lost
What the platform covers
- Infrastructure as a Service, the primary hosting service
- Legacy and line-of-business application hosting
- Disaster recovery and failover
- Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Backup and SharePoint
- Mayer Networks Private Cloud, the platform underneath the hosted services
- Virtual servers, hosted desktops, SQL hosting and multi-location hosting as configurations of that platform
- Workload placement advice across on-premises, Mayer Networks Cloud, Azure and SaaS
Cloud-first does not mean infrastructure-free
A sensible strategy is rarely one platform. Most organizations we support end up with collaboration in Microsoft 365, SaaS where the vendor supports it well, and a managed environment for the workloads that still need a server.
Modern cloud
Microsoft 365
Email, collaboration, documents and identity, delivered as a service.
- Exchange Online
- Teams and SharePoint
- OneDrive
- Entra ID identity
Where it fits
SaaS applications
Business software the vendor already runs well as a subscription platform.
- Vendor-hosted platforms
- Browser-delivered applications
- No infrastructure to own
Still needs servers
Mayer Networks cloud
Applications, databases and desktops that still require traditional infrastructure.
- Windows Server workloads
- SQL databases
- Hosted desktops
- File and utility servers
The goal is not to force every workload into the same model. The goal is to put each workload in the environment that fits it, and to keep one team responsible for the result.
What the hosted environment actually looks like
Users and offices reach a private environment over controlled connectivity. Inside it, the pieces that used to live on a server in a closet run together on infrastructure Mayer Networks operates.
Where people are
Users and offices
- Main office and branch locations
- Remote and travelling staff
- Field and after-hours users
How they get in
Controlled access
- Site-to-site or client connectivity
- Identity and multi-factor controls
- Published desktops or applications
Mayer Networks cloud
Managed private infrastructure
- Virtualisation, storage and networking
- Monitoring and patching
- Backup and recovery built in
Application server
The line-of-business application itself, on the Windows Server version the vendor supports.
SQL / database server
Placed beside the application so queries stay on the datacenter network.
Hosted desktops
Remote Desktop sessions or published applications running next to the data they use.
File and utility servers
File shares, print services, domain services, management and vendor utility roles.
Backup
Hosted workloads backed up on a schedule built around their recovery expectations.
Disaster recovery
Replication and failover capability for the workloads that justify it.
How a migration runs
Step 1
Inventory
We list the applications, who uses them, what they depend on and what the vendor requires, rather than starting from a platform preference.
Step 2
Place
Each workload is assigned a home: SaaS, Microsoft 365, Mayer Networks Cloud, public cloud or on site, with the reason stated.
Step 3
Migrate
Moves happen in planned stages with rollback positions, so no single cutover carries the whole organization.
Step 4
Operate
One team monitors, patches, backs up and supports the result, wherever the pieces ended up.
Put each workload where it belongs
We do not default every workload to one destination. Placement is a design decision, made per workload, and revisited as applications and hardware age.
On site
Still right where a workload is latency-bound to local equipment or the existing hardware has useful life left.
Mayer Networks cloud
Right where an application still needs Windows Server, SQL or Remote Desktop and the client wants it managed.
Microsoft Azure
Right where a workload benefits from hyperscale services or an application is built for them.
SaaS
Right where the vendor runs the platform better than anyone else can run it for you.
What the decision weighs
- Application architecture
- Performance and latency
- Security requirements
- Compliance obligations
- Vendor requirements
- Cost over the life of the workload
- Supportability
- Connectivity at each site
- Business continuity expectations
- Where the workload is in its lifecycle
Different from public cloud by design
Azure, AWS and Google Cloud are excellent platforms, and we design workloads onto them when they fit. The difference here is not scale. It is who is responsible.
Public cloud
Rent infrastructure at enormous scale
The platform supplies compute, storage and network. Someone still has to do the following:
- Architect the environment
- Configure networking and access
- Secure and harden workloads
- Patch and manage operating systems
- Monitor performance and capacity
- Configure and verify backups
- Control and forecast cost
- Troubleshoot the application when users call
Mayer Networks cloud
Infrastructure inside a managed relationship
The environment is delivered as part of ongoing managed services, which means we carry the following:
- Infrastructure design and capacity
- Networking and secure access
- Operating-system patching and maintenance
- Monitoring and alerting
- Backup, verification and recovery
- Security controls appropriate to the workload
- User support for the people using it
- Coordination with the software vendor
We are not trying to be the world’s largest cloud. We are trying to be accountable for yours.
What this environment is not
Being clear about scope saves everyone time. Mayer Networks Cloud is built around managed client workloads, not around selling capacity to anyone with a credit card.
- Shared website hosting
- Public VPS hosting
- Commodity cloud compute
- Self-service infrastructure
- Anonymous hosting
- A public developer cloud
It is intended for workloads connected to organizations Mayer Networks actively supports, where we can be responsible for the whole path from the user’s workstation through the application and the infrastructure underneath it.
Cloud-first does not mean infrastructure-free
Cloud-first adoption moved a great deal of work into subscription platforms, and mostly that has been good. Email moved to Microsoft 365. Documents moved to SharePoint. Collaboration moved to Teams. Identity became cloud-based. A growing share of business software is simply a browser tab now.
But many organizations still run applications that require traditional infrastructure: accounting packages, ERP systems, medical and practice-management software, government applications, SQL-backed line-of-business tools, document-management platforms, manufacturing systems and custom software written years ago. Those systems still expect Windows Server, SQL Server, Remote Desktop Services, file storage, private networking, vendor-specific configuration and a client/server design.
Mayer Networks Cloud exists to give those workloads a managed home when maintaining physical server hardware in the building no longer makes sense.
Two clouds, used for different things
Microsoft Cloud is where we put email, documents, collaboration, identity and the SaaS services built around them. It is the right home for work that does not need a server, and we manage tenants, licensing, security posture and backup there.
Mayer Networks Cloud is where we put applications that still need servers, virtual servers replacing aging onsite hardware, hosted desktops, SQL databases, legacy applications and disaster-recovery capability. The two are designed to work together, with identity, backup and monitoring spanning both instead of being built twice.
How the Cloud section fits together
Infrastructure as a Service is the primary service. Mayer Networks Private Cloud is the infrastructure that service runs on. Virtual servers, hosted applications, hosted desktops, SQL hosting and multi-location hosting are configurations and use cases delivered through IaaS rather than separate products a client has to choose between.
Two topics get their own pages because they are distinct buying decisions rather than configurations: Legacy Application Hosting, which is about retiring hardware without replacing software, and Disaster Recovery & Failover, which is about how fast the organization comes back after an outage.
- Infrastructure as a Service — the service
- Mayer Networks Private Cloud — the platform underneath it
- Virtual servers, hosted desktops, application and SQL hosting — configurations of that service
- Legacy Application Hosting — a dedicated scenario page
- Disaster Recovery & Failover — a separate service with its own design
Scale is not the differentiator, responsibility is
Public cloud provides raw infrastructure at a scale no regional provider can match, and for the right workload that is exactly what an organization should use. What it supplies is capacity. Architecture, networking, security, operating systems, backup, monitoring, cost control and troubleshooting still belong to someone.
Mayer Networks Cloud is built for organizations that want that responsibility to sit with the team already managing their users, network, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365, backup and vendors. We are not trying to be the world's largest cloud. We are trying to be accountable for yours.
How we decide where a workload goes
We do not default every workload to on-premises, to our cloud, to Azure or to SaaS. Placement depends on application architecture, performance, cost, security, compliance, vendor requirements, supportability, connectivity, hardware lifecycle and business continuity.
A hybrid result is usually the honest one. Being willing to say a workload should stay where it is, or belongs on a platform we do not operate, is the point of asking us rather than a cloud salesperson.
Start with Infrastructure as a Service
Infrastructure as a Service is the primary hosting page in this section. It covers virtual server hosting, hosted applications, hosted desktops and Remote Desktop Services, SQL and database hosting, multi-location hosting, vendor application hosting, the private cloud platform underneath, and Microsoft licensing for hosted environments.
Infrastructure as a ServiceWhy Mayer Networks
- Private infrastructure Mayer Networks owns and operates, not a public platform resold under our name
- The same team manages your users, network, security, Microsoft 365, vendors and the hosted infrastructure
- More than a decade of experience hosting production business and government workloads
- Redundant datacenter capability supporting both hosting and disaster recovery
- Responsive remote and onsite support from engineers based in Southern Illinois, not a queue in another time zone.
- One organization accountable for support, engineering, security, infrastructure and communications.
Security considerations
- Administrative access to hosted infrastructure is restricted and multi-factor protected
- Hosted environments are segmented from one another
- Protected power, generator-backed operation and multiple connectivity paths
- Backup and recovery designed with the environment rather than added afterwards
- Capability described without publishing sensitive architecture detail
What is the difference between Microsoft Cloud and Mayer Networks Cloud?
Microsoft 365 is where cloud-native work belongs: email, documents, collaboration and identity. Mayer Networks Cloud is private infrastructure for workloads that still require servers, such as line-of-business applications, SQL databases, hosted desktops and disaster recovery. Most of our clients use both.
Which page should I start with?
Infrastructure as a Service. It is the primary hosting service and explains every configuration we deliver, including virtual servers, hosted applications, hosted desktops, SQL hosting, multi-location hosting, vendor application hosting and Microsoft licensing for hosted environments.
Is Mayer Networks Cloud a public cloud service?
No. It is managed private infrastructure for organizations we actively support. It is not shared website hosting, public VPS hosting, commodity compute or anonymous self-service infrastructure.
Do you compete with Azure or AWS?
No. Those platforms are excellent, and we design workloads onto them when they fit. The difference is not scale, it is responsibility: on our infrastructure the architecture, security, monitoring, backup and troubleshooting are ours.
Do we have to be a managed client?
Effectively yes. Hosted infrastructure is part of the managed relationship and is available to organizations under an active managed-services agreement or entering one.
Does everything have to move?
No. Some workloads still belong on site, particularly where they are tied to local equipment or the existing hardware has useful life left. We evaluate per workload.
Industries that rely on this
Related services
- Cloud & InfrastructureInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS)Many organizations have already moved email, collaboration and files into modern cloud services, and still depend on applications that require Windows Server, SQL Server, Remote Desktop or traditional infrastructure. Mayer Networks provides managed private infrastructure in Carbondale so those systems keep running without the organization purchasing and maintaining another generation of physical server hardware.
- Cloud & InfrastructureLegacy Application HostingMany organizations depend on software that cannot move to SaaS right now. Mayer Networks can host appropriate legacy applications in its private cloud so you can retire aging physical servers while you plan application modernization properly.
- Cloud & InfrastructureDisaster Recovery & FailoverBackup answers whether the data can be recovered. Disaster recovery answers how the organization keeps operating when production is unavailable. Mayer Networks' Carbondale infrastructure can serve as a disaster-recovery and failover destination for customer workloads that require replicated recovery capability.
- Cloud & InfrastructureMicrosoft 365Mayer Networks helps organizations across Southern Illinois deploy, administer, secure, support and continuously manage Microsoft 365. That includes email, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, licensing, identity, security, migrations, governance and day-to-day support for the users who depend on it.
- Managed ITBackup & Data ProtectionMayer Networks protects critical business and government systems with managed backup, protected offsite copies, restore testing, and disaster-recovery options designed around how quickly the organization needs to recover. For organizations that cannot tolerate extended downtime, we can go beyond backup and design replication and failover so critical workloads stay available even when production infrastructure is not.
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