What is Cloud Migration? Why do businesses need to migrate to Cloud? Despite the significance that comes with cloud migration, there are main things you need to consider.
Cloud computing, popularly referred to as ‘cloud,’ simply refers to the simple storage and access of data via the internet as opposed to the traditional storage that only utilized the computer hard drive. Over the internet, countless data centers together form what is unanimously referred to as the cloud.
Cloud computing is the basis of data science, a very significant pinnacle of the growth of organizations in today’s economy. Cloud is benefitting business with barely any IT infrastructure in place. The existence of cloud computing has led to the creation of so many cloud-based solutions such as Microsoft Azure and Office 365, which have helped businesses improve their productivity. Learn more about Azure Migration Services and Office 365 Tenant to Tenant Migration.
Cloud-based solutions for businesses help in enhancing accessibility, flexibility, and cybersecurity in a cost-effective manner. Instead of spending loads of money buying needless machines, contact organizations such as Alpacked.io for cloud consulting and take a step into cloud transforming your organization.
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What is Cloud Migration?
The term cloud computing is not so alien to most people. As more people get acquainted with technology, they have slowly turned to more advanced solutions to their different activities. Business operations have benefited massively by the wonders of cloud computing and cloud-based solutions. Turning to the cloud for business solutions has been tested and proven by almost every facet of the business world. This evidenced success has triggered the need for existing and founding businesses to base their solutions to cloud-based solutions. As a result, more and more businesses are migrating to the cloud to answer some of the most intricate business matters.
This processing of moving operations to, from, or across the cloud is referred to as cloud migration. Cloud migration involves the transference of applications, databases, and IT processes into the cloud, from the cloud, or from one cloud to another. However, despite it being referred to as a move, the actual migration does not involve the physical hauling pieces of equipment from one data center to another.
The actual transfer, however, is not as simple as it sounds as it requires extensive planning. There are several types of cloud migrations that an organization can carry out. The first one is the movement of data from a local, on-premise data center to the public cloud. This migration could also be the movement of applications and data from one cloud provider or platform to another. This is the movement across the cloud, referred to as cloud-to-cloud transference. The third mode of migration is where an organization exits the cloud. This can also be referred to as cloud repatriation or reverse cloud migration. This is basically the opposite of the first type of migration. In this mode of migration, the applications, the data, and the IT operations are transferred from the cloud back to the local center.
Why do Businesses need to Migrate to Cloud?
Cloud computing is all about access to data. Amazon and Microsoft and some of the leading companies in the arena of cloud computing and delivery of cloud services. Without the cloud, businesses would have to buy, run, and maintain very sophisticated machines. The cost of such, not to forget the amount of skilled labor it demanded, was shocking. This was going to be a massive challenge for small and medium businesses to store, manage, and cost-effectively access their data. With cloud computing, this cost has been cut down and in its place access to raw and massive data that can be cost-effectively stored and retrieved at any time.
The data is easy to group as well. This is because businesses can now have all the teams from sales, accounts, marketing, and customer services gathering their related data into the saver reservoir that can be retrieved in an organized manner. This allows the different segments of the business’s stakeholders to access the same data in a coordinated and less cumbersome way. Cloud computing has contributed to this so much that one does not have to be on-site to access the information they need. Cloud computing in today’s business world is no longer a luxury but pretty much a necessity for competition and success. Below are some of the significant reasons for businesses to migrate to the cloud.
Scalability
Just as cloud computing is useful to small and medium businesses, it is equally applicable to large organizations. This adjustment to the size of data being handled is easy and less costly.
Cost
As soon as a company migrates to the cloud, their IT operations’ budget reduces since they no longer have to provide the storage machines, maintain them, or even upgrade them. This surplus cash can be channeled into other business needs.
Performance
Moving to the cloud will help the business perform better and even improve your customer experience. As a result of reduced travel of data, the business websites are going to experience lowered latency.
Flexibility
This is the benefit of allowing all business stakeholders to access data from anywhere. As a result, businesses have a bigger chance of growing and increasing the flexibility of their employees.
6 Key Considerations to Make Before Cloud Migration
Almost every forward-thinking organization is moving to the cloud to lower their cost and increase efficiency. This wise management of two crucial resources is all it takes for a company before deciding how to migrate to the cloud. Time and money will control some huge decisions as far as the infrastructure of the business. Migrating to the cloud is one major infrastructure decision that will have to take into account a list of essential considerations before the migration plans commence.
Business plans
This is typically the main consideration for any big business decision. In this case, the management needs to consider how the business will benefit from this migration. A risk-benefit assessment can help reveal these results.
Security
Public cloud providers have been revered for their tight security strategies. However, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) needs to consider the security frameworks of the specific cloud provider the company is going to be working with.
Compliance
Compliance relates to the domestic and international regulations that govern the type of data you are planning to store. These regulations might require that you store your data in some regions or not migrate it to the cloud at all. Discuss with the cloud provider to get the entire picture as far as compliance goes.
Disaster recovery and business continuity
Plan a disaster recovery procedure before starting on this migration. Study how you plan to recover your data and keep the business alive in the event where your loud provider is facing downtime or is hit by a disaster. These are some specifics your provider should be able to avail.
Return on Investment and cost
Even with a reduced cost of operation, there still are charges paid to the cloud provider for the storage services. Consider how much your subscription to the cloud is going to cost.
Verification and support
This is where you consider an independent party that will help your business monitor and maintain a cloud environment. Businesses should decide between Cloud Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Cloud Management Platform (CMP) to help manage and optimize cloud assets. This provides all the costs required.
Alpacked and Cloud Migration
Alpacked is a DevOps agency that provides professional management and advisory services. According to Alpacked Company, the benefits of cloud migration are as follows:
- Full power of automation.
- Modern IT delivery.
- Risk Management
- Workforce productivity
Bottom of the Line
In the future, cloud migration will be a massive project for mid and large-sized organizations. In that case, it will not be an issue that can easily be approved by the senior management. Such attempts require proper guidelines and significant considerations. You need to present everything concisely and clearly before you migrate to the cloud.
