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Customer FAQs – We are expanding our cloud offering

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What is happening?
EQ is adding Azure to its cloud hosting strategy . We have
previously communicated we are closing its on-premises
datacentres and transferring the data to the Public Cloud
services Which now Includes MS Azure as well as Amazon Web
Services (AWS). UK Migrations will continue through the balance
of 2026 .
Why are you
adding a new
Cloud provider?
Moving to a Cloud-based data hosting solution will:
• Leverage the strengths of leading cloud platforms
• Reduce dependency on any single provider
• Future options to enhance operational resilience
• Future options to improve business continuity
• Expand services available from multiple cloud providers
•
Generate greater opportunities to deliver change;
Why MS Azure?
Selecting MS Azure and AWS hosting provides services from both industry
leaders. Our partnership with Microsoft is a key component of this
strategy. Microsoft Azure is an enterprise-grade cloud platform with deep
capabilities in security, compliance, data, and global scale. Just as
importantly, Microsoft is at the forefront of artificial intelligence
innovation, with Azure serving as the foundation for advanced AI,
analytics, and machine-learning technologies. This position allows us to
responsibly adopt and integrate AI-driven capabilities that can enhance
our products and services over time, while maintaining the trust and
security our customers expect.
Where will data
be stored?
All data will remain within the original countries of origin and will
not be allowed to move outside those jurisdictions. This will be
provided by leveraging Azure’s geo-local facilities and rigorous
access and data movement controls. As happens today, some
business processing will take place in India using secure sessions
back to the services operating in the country of origin of the
data. These secure sessions prevent the download / persistence
/ printing of any data to the operator’s location.
We are expanding our cloud offering
Cloud
When is the migration
taking place?
UK Migrations will continue through 2026 US Migrations will
continue in 2026 and conclude in 2027. It’s important to note
that we are methodically targeting applications into multiple
migration groups and staging them to minimize any client
disruption. To date we have migrated about half of the servers
population with almost no disruption. Exact migration event
dates will be defined as the project progresses.
How will data security
be assured?
Equivalent measures that EQ already apply to our on-premises
systems have also been applied to all cloud environments.
Although Public Cloud is the term applied to this industry these
are dedicated to one business, clients can be assured that this in
no way implies any less security for their data. In fact, AWS and
Azure have the highest level of operational certifications
available. The mechanisms that we will continue
to apply include (i) encryption of all data in transit and at rest;
(ii) rigorous access control; and (iii) constant monitoring for
security events across the cloud environment. All EQ systems
will continue to operate in a secure environment certified
against the ISO27001:2022 international standard. We are
also benchmarking the AWS cloud environment against the
Cloud Security Alliance Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) to
provide additional assurance. Where clients currently receive
independent System and Organisation Controls (SOC 1 and
SOC2) reports, and/or summarised security penetration testing
reports, they will continue to receive them. All of these will be
adjusted to take account of use of the Cloud environment. The
EQ Group ISO27001:2022 certificate is also available to clients
as required.
EQ will, as a minimum, maintain the same backup and recovery
capabilities, Recovery Point and Recovery Time Objectives
(RPO/RTO) as specified for the existing services provided to you.
The AWS Cloud environment provides additional capabilities
that EQ will use to progressively enhance service resiliency over
time.
EQ is satisfied, following our risk assessment, that Azure and
AWS’s information security governance adequately conform
with relevant Data Protection Laws.
Will there be any
performance impact
during the migration
project?
No performance degradation will occur as part of this migration,
but instead it will result in an overall improvement due to
advancements in environmental capabilities. Any planned
maintenance windows will also be communicated well in
advance.
When the migration to Azure has successfully completed, EQ
will then be able to utilise exciting new capabilities to enhance
the services we currently provide to you. We will only deploy
technologies that meet our stringent requirements and our
strategic approach to data security and compliance as set out
above.
What will happen
to the data currently
held in the on-premises
datacentres?
All physical infrastructure no longer required after Cloud
migration will be securely decommissioned by a preferred
specialist supplier under close EQ supervision. All client data
remaining in those systems will be removed beforehand and
storage media still retaining data will be securely destroyed
onsite.
Do I or my company
need to do anything
as a result of this
migration?
Clients will need to update any IP addresses they whitelist for
EQ (not all clients will have IP address whitelists) and EQ will
advise of IP address changes. An example of Whitelists is SFTP
file transfers inbound and outbound are usually IP based
controls