Cloud migration moves an organization’s digital information, including applications, data, software, and services, to a cloud environment. There are multiple types of cloud migrations; for example, migration can occur from one cloud service to another or from an on-premises environment or on-premises data centers to the cloud, also called cloud adoption. The specific reasons for conducting a cloud migration may vary, but there are always advantages to such a transformation.
Cloud adoption can allow for cost savings, optimization, improved disaster recovery, and increased computing power. One of the most common methods of cloud adoption is lift and shift, also known as rehosting. This is when an organization moves an entire application and associated data to the cloud. This can help reduce costs and improve disaster recovery, as the data is now stored online and would not be subject to harm from a catastrophic event on location.
Hybrid cloud models can also be utilized in cloud migration. A hybrid model can include when a company uses on-premises resources, such as a data server, while the application moves to the cloud. A typical example of this hybrid approach would be Microsoft Azure, which allows the integration of on-premises data to cloud services and applications. Hybrid models can enhance the security of the data by limiting access to only authorized individuals while benefiting from the availability of cloud services.
While the cloud presents many benefits including operational scalability and flexibility, migration can also lead to challenges including:
- Increased costs in the cloud due to ill planning and managing of cloud computing costs.
- Long timelines and complex efforts, especially if the migration requires significant workload changes.
- New operational challenges due to being in a new environment and having to learn and deploy new operational processes, tools, and tasks.
Best practices
While best practices for cloud migration may vary for the individual structure and business objectives of an enterprise, some overarching practices can apply to any business:
- During pre-migration, outline a transparent cloud governance model and clearly outline where IT and business should overlap. By broadly communicating this strategy, you can share with your organization the importance of why you’re doing this, to begin with.
- The earlier your teams are trained in and knowledgeable about your cloud migration strategy, tools, and platforms, the smoother your migration transition will be.
- Identify your current IT assets and which assets will be included in the migration. Invest time in adopting the proper discovery tools and update your applications as needed to streamline your migration planning efforts, minimize risk, and ensure business continuity.
Cost management
Many factors can impact the overall costs of your cloud migration process, including the scale of your migration – how large and complex will your project be? Larger companies with more extensive and complex on-premises infrastructures will likely face higher migration expenses than smaller businesses. Consider the number of applications, servers, and databases that need to be migrated.
Select a cloud service provider with the best pricing and package for your migration scale. Your company should compare the pricing models of different providers and consider both long-term and short-term migration goals to help you select the best pricing option and provider for you. Consider cloud storage costs, data transfer fees, and discounts for long-term commitments.
Be aware of hidden costs. When budgeting for cloud migration, keep an eye out for additional fees that may accrue due to:
- Unexpected downtime can impact business operations and delay timelines.
- Change management and training: Include room in your budget for formal training programs and upskilling your teams on new systems, programs, and organizational changes that come with the cloud.
- Overlapping services and systems: During the transition, you may run services and platforms in the cloud and on-premises. This overlapping service can sometimes last weeks or months until the cutover processes are fully transitioned, scheduled, and tested. Be sure to include room in your budget for potential overlapping costs of running on-premises and cloud services simultaneously until your transition process is complete.
Overall, businesses can benefit from cloud migration in several ways:
- Data consolidation: By moving to the cloud, businesses can ensure that all their data is available from a centralized application. Cloud providers also offer data analytics tools that can process big data quickly, enabling companies to pull relevant information and analyses in real time.
- Increased computing power: Once an application moves to the cloud, it can access many cloud environments that are in support. Rather than being limited to the computing power of a single device, cloud computing platforms enable businesses to access an extensive array of networked devices to increase computation ability.
- Scalability: Cloud platforms are designed to be scaled upwards or downwards as trends dictate. It is easy to make changes if a business needs extra bandwidth or storage for one month but then needs to decrease it the next.
- Increased stability: Disaster recovery is significant for on-premises solutions, as a fire or heavy water damage can be catastrophic. However, redundancies and backups are often built into cloud solutions. It is possible to back up data and applications across multiple geographic locations while allowing for changes to be written in real time across all sites.