If we are going to move our on-premises virtual machine to Azure, we might run into capacity issues when transferring especially when we are connected to Azure using a VPN. If the VPN has a low bandwidth, it might take an unacceptable amount of time to transfer the data. Azure ExpressRoute could be used but might not be an option in your scenario because of availability or costs.

To overcome this, Microsoft offers an Import/Export service that allows us to transfer large amounts of data to or from an Azure datacenter using external hard drives. For security reasons, all data needs to be encrypted using BitLocker. The service is currently only available when the hard disks sent to Azure originate from a US location. Exported data is limited to shipments to US locations only. An import job is free of charge. When data is exported from an Azure location, Microsoft will charge for data leaving the datacenter.

Import and export jobs can be created using the Azure Management...