Cloud migration can be a daunting term. You might be worried about cost or interruption to business activities, not to mention the amount of time it would take to transfer all your data. But with an enterprise-level cloud migration strategy, all these worries can be put to rest.
What is a cloud migration strategy? It’s a plan to ensure that your organization’s migration to the cloud is seamless and cost-effective. You must determine your unique business needs, what data and applications are critical, if anything needs to be adjusted or replaced, and best practices for reducing cost and time commitment.
The final goal is a seamless transition of applications and data from on-premises to the appropriate cloud infrastructure without impacting daily operations. There are five commonly-used methods that can help you determine your needs.
1. Rehosting
Rehosting is the easiest migration strategy. It is ideal for businesses that are less familiar with cloud services. It’s also a good option for organizations where modifying coding is challenging and you want to keep your applications intact throughout the migration process. It employs Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). You deploy all your existing data and applications on the cloud server. It’s as simple as that!
2. Refactoring
Refactoring your company’s data and applications means optimizing everything with small changes. For this strategy, Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is utilized. The core architecture of the applications does not change, but small adjustments are made to ensure better use of cloud-native tools.
3. Revising
Revising is a little more complicated. It requires more significant changes to the landscape and coding of the systems being migrated to the cloud. Planning and advanced knowledge of migration are required for this strategy. Major code changes are usually needed to enable applications to take full advantage of the multitude of services available in the cloud.
4. Rebuilding
If your company needs IT modernization, you may consider a complete rebuild. The existing code is discarded and replaced with new coding. This is recommended for businesses where their existing data centre solutions are not meeting current needs. Rebuilding takes more time and planning but can significantly improve company performance.
5. Replacing
This takes rebuilding even further. The difference is that your company would not rebuild its own native application from scratch. Instead, you would migrate to a third-party prebuilt application provided by a vendor. The only thing that would move from your existing centre would be your data — everything else about the system would be new.
The Cloud Migration Process
Cloud migration can be intimidating and time-consuming, but if you have a strategy in place, the procedure can be less overwhelming.
The first step is creating a plan with clear intentions. Why are you migrating to the cloud? What purpose will the cloud serve for your company? The other important question to answer surrounds your data requirements: Do you have data that needs to be resynced regularly, non-critical data that can be moved easily at the beginning of the migration, or do you have data compliance requirements? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you create the right plan for your company.
The next step is determining the cost of the migration and finding ways to save on these costs. For example, what is the expected total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to the current TCO? You can utilize cloud cost calculators to estimate your future cloud costs. You’ll need to consider specific performance and networking requirements, such as the amount of data storage, computing resources, and different operating systems that will be required. Working with a cloud provider to understand the different options for cost savings will help. A good cloud provider will offer multiple pricing models and discounts in exchange for long-term commitment.
The third step for cloud migration is execution, and the goal here is to have minimal disruption to business operations during the process. This is another reason why a detailed plan is paramount. You want the shortest time period for the lowest cost with the smallest amount of interruptions to operations. The final step in the migration is ensuring your cloud centre is optimized, secure, and accessible moving forward.
The Benefits of Cloud Migration
There are several benefits to having your data centre moved to the cloud. First and foremost is the cost savings. Hardware is almost always more expensive than software, so moving to the cloud shifts costs from capital expenditure. A high-level plan of migration will save your organization money in the long run by improving operations, creating consistent infrastructure, and increasing accessibility.
Modernizing your organization’s overall IT is another massive benefit. Removing legacy systems and replacing them with cloud-native applications can increase productivity. Cloud providers use the most modern servers and storage. What does this mean for your company? You no longer need to stress about advancing technology, leaving you free to work on other business projects without worrying about upgrading memory or operating systems in a server.
Another positive aspect of public cloud providers is their scalability. It’s instant! This will enable your enterprise to meet changing demands at will. Fluctuations can be caused by seasonal changes, business growth, or other unforeseen factors, and cost savings are automatic when you only pay for the services and sizes you need.
Security is a factor that is always at the forefront of an IT director’s mind. Moving to the cloud can improve and increase the security of your data. Cloud infrastructure tends to be superior to a company’s on-premises infrastructure by offering security analytics, blocking unwanted traffic, and ensuring your operating system (OS) and security are always up to date. It also ensures that your cloud-based applications are consistently accessible regardless of the status of end-user hardware.
Finally, the most important benefit of the ever-changing hybrid and remote working environments is accessibility. Since applications and data can now be accessed from anywhere, employee productivity can improve. They can access business-critical applications and data from home, the road, or in the office with ease. Additionally, having your data and applications in the cloud eliminates downtime caused by machine malfunctions or repairs. This also allows different applications to communicate seamlessly through the cloud, and your data is no longer siloed into one application. It can be shared among multiple applications in a predictable manner.
Ironcloud Can Protect You
The cloud offers a more flexible way for businesses to utilize IT. Therefore, creating your company’s unique cloud migration strategy requires careful planning, testing, and researching. A good strategy will ensure that both your business and its operations are secure for the entire process. You need a cloud provider that will ensure your organization leverages the cutting-edge technology of the cloud to surge ahead. Ironclad Tek’s hosted cloud services can help you design and implement the perfect cloud migration strategy for your organization. Contact us today to get started.
