Change is on the horizon for Microsoft Azure users. Two significant retirements for Azure Disk Encryption (ADE) and Unmanaged Disks will require enterprises to not only update but significantly adapt their environments. Both retirements will lead to a complete loss of function for these applications, requiring rebuilding for your workflows. While these changes can obviously feel inconvenient, they also present a rich opportunity to modernize, optimize, and strengthen your cloud operations.
The Upcoming Azure Changes: What You Need to Know
Two core Azure features are being retired, and understanding the details is the first step toward building a successful migration and mitigation plan.
- Retirement of Azure Disk Encryption (ADE)
Azure Disk Encryption (ADE) provides volume encryption for the OS and data disks of Azure virtual machines (VMs) using BitLocker for Windows and dm-crypt for Linux. This feature is slated for retirement.
- Retirement Date: September 15, 2028
- What's Happening: After this date, ADE will no longer function. Any VM that has not been migrated away from ADE may fail to start, resulting in significant service disruptions.
- Key Consideration: There is no in-place migration path. Customers must create new VMs and disks and transfer data to a new, supported encryption method.
- Recommended Alternatives: Microsoft recommends migrating to Encryption at Host, which encrypts data from the Azure host all the way to the storage cluster, or using Server-Side Encryption with Customer-Managed Keys. These modern alternatives offer end-to-end encryption without consuming VM CPU resources, improving performance.
- Retirement of Azure Unmanaged Disks
Unmanaged Disks are an older storage model where users manually manage the storage accounts that hold the virtual hard disks (VHDs) for their VMs. The more robust Azure Managed Disks are replacing this model.
- Retirement Date: March 31, 2026
- What's Happening: After this date, you will not be able to create new VMs with unmanaged disks. More critically, any existing VMs still running on unmanaged disks will be stopped and deallocated.
- Key Consideration: While Azure tools support the conversion process to Managed Disks, it requires careful planning, data backups, and a brief period of downtime for each VM.
- The Advantage of Managed Disks: Migrating to Managed Disks offloads the complexity of storage account management to Azure. It provides superior reliability, scalability, larger disk sizes, performance bursting capabilities, and simpler security management.
Turning a Mandate into an Opportunity
We believe these Azure updates are a catalyst for positive change. Our approach is built on a foundation of partnership and deep expertise, designed to guide you through every stage of the process while improving your overall cloud operations.
- Assessment and Auditing
Clarity is the first step. We begin with a comprehensive audit of your Azure environment to provide a complete and actionable inventory of all affected resources.
- Our team uses advanced scanning and analysis to identify every VM and Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) using ADE and every VM running on Unmanaged Disks.
- This provides a definitive roadmap for your migration project. You gain a clear understanding of the scope, can identify and prioritize critical workloads, and mitigate the risk of overlooking assets that could fail after retirement.
- Migration Planning and Execution
With a clear inventory, we collaborate with your team to design and implement a tailored migration strategy that minimizes risk and business disruption.
- We develop phased migration plans, starting with non-production environments for validation and testing purposes. We leverage proven workflows using Azure CLI, PowerShell, and the Azure portal to execute data transfers, VM recreations, and disk conversions efficiently and safely.
- Our structured, phased approach ensures minimal downtime. By thoroughly testing non-production environments, we validate the process and build confidence before deploying it to business-critical systems, providing a seamless and predictable transition.
- Optimization and Performance Tuning
A successful migration isn't just about moving from point A to B; it's about arriving at a better destination. We focus on optimizing your new configuration for performance, cost, and manageability.
- For ADE Migrations: We help you implement Encryption at the host, which eliminates the CPU overhead previously consumed by ADE, freeing up resources and improving VM performance.
- For Unmanaged Disk Migrations: We analyze your workload patterns to right-size your new Managed Disks, leveraging different performance tiers (Standard, Premium, Ultra) and features like performance bursting to balance cost and speed.
- You achieve more than just compliance. You gain a more efficient, higher-performing, and cost-effective cloud environment. This process reduces operational costs and enhances the reliability and scalability of your applications.
- Training, Enablement, and Ongoing Management
We are committed to empowering your team for long-term success. Our engagement extends beyond migration to ensure your organization is equipped to manage the new environment effectively.
- We provide training on the new encryption methods and Managed Disk features. For organizations seeking to outsource day-to-day operations, Redapt's Azure managed services offer ongoing monitoring, compliance management, and continuous optimization.
- This builds self-sufficiency within your team while providing a safety net of expert support. Our managed services offer peace of mind, ensuring your environment remains secure, compliant, and future-proofed against the next wave of cloud evolution.
Partner with Redapt to Secure Your Azure Future
The upcoming retirements of Azure Disk Encryption and Unmanaged Disks are not obstacles to be feared but milestones to be planned for. With the right partner and a proactive strategy, your organization can confidently navigate these changes, strengthening its security posture, improving performance, and optimizing costs along the way.
Don't wait for deadlines to approach. Let's work together to build a clear, strategic plan for your Azure environment.
Schedule an assessment with a Redapt cloud expert today to understand your exposure and build a migration roadmap that aligns with your business goals.
