Our Windows business software hosting experience goes back to 2000, through our parent brand, CloudTop Office. The short version of what those years taught us fits on one checklist.
CloudTop SaaS is the newer brand. The track record belongs to the parent, and we’ll say so wherever it matters.
500+
businesses onboarded
U.S.-based
engineers, no offshore support
Checklists run Mission Control, where our founder, Jon Klubnik, spent eight years supporting 38 Space Shuttle flights. We borrowed the habit.
Windows Business Software Hosting Experience, Boiled Down to a Checklist
None of it is clever. It’s the same things, checked in the same order each time. The timings below are for a typical single-app, single-database setup.
PHASE 1 Before we build · Hour 0 to 4
Map the app, the users, the integrations, and how people sign in.
Surprises hide in the integrations and the login setup, so we ask about them first.
Confirm the software vendor allows hosting.
Some vendors want a hosting addendum and some don’t. We sort that out with them before your environment goes live.
Decide which case this is.
One app with one database fits the 48-hour timeline. Multiple databases, custom integrations, and vendor licensing take longer, and you should hear that on the first call.
PHASE 2 Building the environment · Hour 12
MFA enforced for all users at each login.
It’s on before anyone signs in, not added later.
Daily backups running, with monitoring reporting in.
Your team shouldn’t touch the system before we can see it.
Region chosen.
East US or Central US by default, with data residency on request.
PHASE 3 Moving the data · Hour 24
Load the production database and verify its integrity.
A database nobody checked is a risk you’d carry straight into go-live.
Reconnect integrations, then give each user the right role.
PHASE 4 Testing with your staff · Hour 36
Real workflows, real data, supervised.
Your staff will find in a few hours what a demo would miss.
Print, scan, signature pads, and integrations.
Nobody thinks about the printer or the signature pad until day one, so they’re on the list.
PHASE 5 Going live · Hour 48 and after
The old environment stays until you’re ready to retire it.
That’s your call and your schedule.
Backups come with a tested point-in-time restore.
A scheduled backup proves nothing until somebody restores from it.
The software tends to work fine. The infrastructure around it is what needs fixing, so that’s where the checklist spends its time. The hour-by-hour version lives in our on-prem to Azure migration walkthrough.
What a Checklist Can’t Promise
Windows business software hosting experience can’t make each application a fit. If the software vendor won’t allow hosting, or the application itself has been abandoned, a migration may serve you better than a move. Our lift and shift decision framework helps you work out which side you’re on, and we’ll tell you on the first call if hosting isn’t the answer.
It can’t promise 48 hours for setups that are more complex than one app and one database either. Those take longer. We’d rather say that up front.
FAQ
How long has CloudTop SaaS been hosting Windows business software?
CloudTop SaaS is a newer brand. Its parent, CloudTop Office, has hosted Windows business software since 2000 and has onboarded more than 500 businesses. CloudTop SaaS extends that work to any vertical or legacy Windows application and to software vendors.
Who answers support tickets?
U.S.-based engineers, with no offshore support. The people who provisioned your environment answer your tickets.
Is 48 hours realistic for my setup?
It’s the typical timeline for a single application with a single database. Multiple databases, custom integrations, and vendor licensing take longer. We tell you which case you’re in on the discovery call.
What if my software isn’t a fit for hosting?
We’ll say so. If the vendor doesn’t allow hosting, or the application is no longer supported, a migration may serve you better. We’d rather tell you that on a 15-minute call than host something you’re planning to leave.
Want to see how your software would run through this checklist?
A 15-minute call walks through your setup and tells you which case you’re in.
Book a 15-min consult
