Case study
Elastic Cloud Migration for a US IT Provider
How SquareShift migrated a US IT services provider's 7TB, 1,000-plus index Elasticsearch environment to Elastic Cloud within a 4-to-6-hour downtime window.
A U.S.-based IT services and systems integration provider specializing in Cisco networking, VMware, and Veeam infrastructure solutions.
It runs a dealer-based distribution model supporting a dynamic supply chain.
Indices migrated to Elastic Cloud. Maximum downtime window for the cutover. Frozen-tier configuration for infrequently accessed data.
Key servicesHow SquareShift delivered it.
The challenge
The client, a U.S.-based IT services and systems integration provider, needed to move an on-prem Elasticsearch environment — over 1,000 indices and 7 terabytes of data, under active live ingestion — to Elastic Cloud without disrupting daily operations. The cutover window was capped at 4 to 6 hours.
Cross-cluster replication, ILM, and Fleet configurations all carried real risk of misconfiguration if migrated the wrong way, and system and live data both had to move cleanly inside the same window.
What we delivered
SquareShift ran a phased snapshot restoration, validating each stage before moving forward: system indices first, then live and historical data. Custom scripts replicated security configurations and ILM policies precisely rather than recreating them by hand.
The team also optimized frozen-tier storage for infrequently accessed data, cutting the client’s ongoing storage cost as part of the same migration.
The payoff
The client’s Elasticsearch environment now runs on Elastic Cloud with all 1,000-plus indices, security configurations, and ILM policies intact, migrated inside its 4-to-6-hour cutover window. Cost-optimized tiered storage keeps older data accessible without paying hot-tier prices for it.
Migrating system indices before live data isn't the obvious order — but it's what lets you validate roles, alerts, and Fleet policies before a single production record moves.
Cloud Modernization Practice Lead, SquareShift
Where this work sits