Cloud migration refers to the process of moving applications and data from an organization’s on-premises servers to cloud storage. Cloud storage has numerous benefits, from saving physical space to increasing productivity. Most companies, nowadays, are choosing cloud systems over traditional operating systems due to several advantages offered by cloud computing.

Cloud servers are virtual servers that run on cloud computing platforms. They are typically opted for by organizations working on a high range of applications like databases, web servers, file servers, and Saas applications.

If you want to scale up your business, or looking for some cost-effective solutions, then cloud migration can be a highly effective possibility for better ROIs. So, before we talk about the steps required for successful cloud migration, it is important that you know the benefits of cloud services for your business.

In this blog, we will discuss the benefits of cloud migration and the steps required for its successful execution.

 

Why cloud migration is necessary?

Some of the reasons behind the increasing demand for cloud migration are:

• Helps to expand the business
• Increases the efficiency
• Provides a better customer and user experience
• More responsive IT toward business requirements
• Accelerates the development process and offers on-demand tests
• Better cost management, and
• Assures a secure and reliable cloud environment

 

Steps to lead a successful Cloud Migration

No matter how much cost-effective and functionally beneficial cloud migration is, it can be a daunting task for tech leaders to transfer data from one platform to another for large enterprises.

To ensure a smooth migration from traditional on-premise servers to cloud servers and to stay away from security concerns, strategizing the entire process can help from going chaotic. It must be mentioned that cloud migrations come with certain risks like data security and downtime.

1. Planning before execution

The very first step is to understand and set your goals before you actually start your execution. It can start with getting hold of the baseline metrics of your infrastructure, to mapping workloads.

Having a detailed understanding of your assets, applications, and infrastructure will help you understand the key aspects of cloud migration such as KPIs, page load times, CPU usage, response times, memory usage, and others.

2. Inventory of your assets

Taking inventory of your assets will help you to keep your important data safe even if there is a security issue. First of all, you need to identify your data center assets, and portfolio and have a clear idea about cloud assets and services. Then once the inventory of assets is done, define the dependencies.

3. Evaluation of the applications

Not all applications are cloud-friendly or require a cloud server to run efficiently. Some applications do run better on local or hybrid servers while others may require some amount of code management to fit in the migration process and the aftermath. Thus, a full evaluation of the data architecture and complexities prior hand is a better approach than learning about the issues on the run.

Some points like which applications can be moved, the level of complexity for a redesign, what is the ROI for each migration, and others to understand the status of the migration.

Related Post: Legacy System Migration: Why Your Business Should Consider It

4. Evaluate cloud costs and your ROI

All good things come with a cost and cloud computing is not an exception. Typically, you have to pay for the cloud infrastructure and engineering required for the migration. Though it might seem expensive, the ROI makes the expense worthwhile.

Hence, before you start migrating your data you have to understand the costs behind it, align it with business requirements, and look for ways such as eliminating or repurposing resources to reduce costs.

5. Ensure compliance and security

Before the actual execution of the job, you have to be knowledgeable of the relevant security norms that are required to be followed during the migration. In some cases, such as data related to healthcare or financial services, the migration process must abide by government rules.

Cloud storage and migration both must comply with the regulations involved with them. Also, you must ensure security by detecting and fixing risks and compliance gaps, verifying security and compliance policies, and increasing the visibility concerning security and compliance status.

 

Conclusion

Cloud migration is a solution to several business requirements from scaling, and cost-effectiveness, to boosted efficiency. However, smooth integration can be a challenge when it is about large sets of data.

Thoughtful planning and execution of steps would lead you to a successful cloud migration eliminating the hassle of migrating huge data chunks from one platform to another.

We at Dignitas Digital, have a team of experienced professionals who have already successfully served more than a dozen clients with cloud migration through a correct and transparent roadmap. All you need to do is decide on the migration and contact us for high-end assistance in the entire procedure.