Although cloud migration offers multiple benefits, it is always a major decision for any business, regardless of size or nature. You need to plan meticulously from the outset and consider everything from hardware, network architecture, to application portfolio, and many other aspects. In addition, there are budgetary issues and the need to choose a cloud service provider that can cater to your specific business requirements by chalking out the best cloud migration and hosting strategy. Through this blog post, we list four key considerations for every business before it migrates to the cloud platform.
What is Cloud Migration
The process of partially or completely transferring a company’s digital assets, services, databases, IT resources, and applications to cloud infrastructure is known as cloud migration. It can also mean moving from one cloud to another (cloud to cloud migration). More and more businesses are turning to the cloud to experience the advantages of cloud computing, replacing outdated and increasingly inefficient legacy infrastructures, such as aging servers and potentially unreliable firewall appliances. Another crucial reason why enterprises are turning to cloud migration solutions is to get rid of their existing hardware or software solutions that are no longer offering optimal performance. By turning to AWS cloud migration, organizations can stop worrying about ever-changing upgrade requirements, and instead, focus on what they do best; business.
11 Benefits of Cloud Migration
The cloud can have a huge positive impact on your business. There are numerous benefits associated with cloud data migration. For instance, the total cost of ownership (TCO) will be lower; delivery can be deployed quicker; and there will be more options for innovation. Agility and flexibility, two qualities that are essential to satisfy shifting customer and industry expectations, are two of the biggest features that come with cloud access. Businesses are moving their services and data to the cloud as they transform into flexible digital workplaces to handle a surge in online demand and remote working. If you are not on the cloud yet, you are missing out on massive opportunities. But what does the cloud have in store for you? Here are the most important benefits of cloud migration:
- Increased agility and flexibility
- Ability to innovate faster, thanks to ready-to-deploy state-of-the-art modern legacy infrastructure
- Easing of increasing resource demands
- Better managing of increased customer expectations
- Reduction in infrastructure costs
- Deliver immediate business results
- Simplify your IT processes
- It gives you the ability to shift your operations to AAS (as-a-service) model
- Better consumption management
- Cloud scalability
- Improved performance
4 Reasons Why Cloud Migration May Fail
As the digital tsunami gallops through the world like never before and more and more people adopt the internet as their mainstream lifestyle, there is no doubt that business processes today will mostly happen in the cloud. Today, the majority of businesses are either migrating to the cloud already or feeling the need to do so. Nevertheless, despite better software infrastructure and insights, some businesses continue to frequently struggle to realize their anticipated return on investment (ROI) from cloud migration. Why does that happen? According to a report by the Cloud Security Alliance, 90% of CIOs have seen data migration initiatives fail or be interrupted, primarily because of the difficulty of moving from on-premises settings to the cloud. However, that’s not the only reason why cloud migrations often fail. Below, we have explained the four most common reasons behind cloud migration failure.
- Lack of preparation: Improper application migration to the cloud can be expensive and disruptive. It can result in problems including performance decline, exploitable vulnerabilities, work halts, and a strain on IT and company resources.
- Failure to implement best practices: For instance, when you move to the cloud, a lack of a complete understanding of your application may result in a prolonged outage or performance degradation. Fewer issues will arise later if the proper data and baselines are gathered early in the process.
- Short-sighted vision- It’s necessary to understand how you will utilize the cloud today, but it’s also crucial to plan for growth or new business models in the future. Many organizations hire the best cloud migration service providers to help them with the migration processes, but eventually, they fail because of their lack of vision. Once your migration happens successfully, there will be a newer set of challenges waiting for you. You should have an eye on them beforehand so that you can mitigate them as soon as you encounter them.
- Security pitfalls – Problems with governance and security rules can go unnoticed until they are exploited, at which point it is too late. It is always advised to hire experts to assist your IT team with the design, construction, and evaluation of cloud environments. It is always less expensive and less time-consuming to fix things beforehand than trying to rectify errors after your digital security is compromised.
Key Considerations before Initiating Cloud Migration –
1. Infrastructure
The process of moving to the cloud platform needs to be hassle-free, cost-effective, and ensure business’ continuity. Choose a cloud service provider that can fulfill your exact IT infrastructure needs. Does your service provider offer ample archive and block storage? Can they configure your systems with adequate RAM? Do they offer the same OS you use, so that you don’t have to make a lot of application code changes? Consider each element starting from RAM in the CPUs to the storage space for accessibility after moving to the cloud.
2. Data Center Virtualization
Virtualizing the data center can save a significant amount of money. It’s because traditional on-premise servers add up to costs due to investing in licensing and hardware. On top of it, there are ongoing maintenance costs. Virtualization, on the other hand, ensures substantial savings and drives efficiency through consolidation and optimum utilisation of resources. It is, therefore, important to remember that migration to cloud involves both on-premise and virtual resources or hybrid clouds to increase reliability and speed. In order to get the benefits of data center virtualization, and access enterprise-grade features at cost-effective prices, consult a leading cloud service provider.
3. Security and Data Recovery Services
One of the biggest concerns when migrating to the cloud is about security. Therefore, learn about your service provider’s protection strategy to ensure that your business data is encrypted, available, and secured. Ask about their disaster recovery strategy and ensure they have the ability to roll back running systems to particular restore points. In addition, find out how much cost you need to bear to build a secondary website, in the case of contingency.
4. Workload Analysis
What all applications are to be moved to the cloud is another key consideration. You need to analyze if all of your applications are capable of performing with the same efficiency or better if you move them to the cloud? Are they completely secure and available 24*7? What about the compliance issues post-migration? Also, if the service provider is able to cater to your business’ growing workload in the long run.
Related Read – Cloud Infrastructure: 5 Ways to Keep It Secure
Conclusion
Besides the four key pointers mentioned in this write-up, you also need to check the way your service provider administers its ecosystem and if they offer appropriate guidance and support services before moving your workload to the cloud. To sum it up, choose a cloud migration service that is cost-effective, scalable, and can cater to your specific business requirements. This is where you can trust i2k2 Networks, the leading web hosting company in Noida. We are associated with global leaders in IT technology, including AWS and Microsoft Azure, and offer the best cloud platforms to help meet your business objectives. To learn more about our services, call us at +91-9711774040/120-466 3031. You can also send an email to sales@i2k2, or request a callback, and we’ll be glad to assist you.