Bianca Visagie
8 June 2023
Migrating to the cloud can be a daunting, but necessary, task for any business and has become vital to achieving transformative innovation. Businesses are becoming more efficient, innovative, and agile thanks to cloud migration. According to Gartner, more than half of all IT spending will have shifted to the cloud in 2025, making it the ideal time to migrate.
What is cloud migration?
Cloud migration refers to moving a company’s digital assets, services, databases, IT resources, and applications into the cloud, either partially or fully. Moving from one cloud to another is also part of cloud migration.
Why should you consider migrating to the cloud?
There are several reasons you might consider moving to the cloud, such as agility and flexibility, both of which are crucial to meeting the changing demands of customers. Here are some reasons why you should consider migrating to the cloud:
Cost Efficiency
The real cost benefit of the cloud comes from its elasticity. The spin-up and tear-down principles provide organisations with the flexibility and agility to allocate resources on-demand and efficiently manage their infrastructure. By dynamically provisioning resources when required and de-provisioning them when no longer needed, you can optimise resource utilization, enhance scalability, and effectively control costs in the cloud environment.
Enhanced Collaboration and Remote Work
Cloud computing allows seamless collaboration among teams, regardless of their physical location. Employees can work on documents in real-time using cloud-based collaboration and communication tools and platforms, increasing productivity and efficiency. Cloud computing also supports remote work with secure access to business applications and data from any internet-connected device or location. By doing this, your business is empowered to embrace flexible work schedules.
Improved Security and Data Protection
Security is a priority for cloud providers, and they invest heavily in robust security measures to keep their data and infrastructure secure. Cloud platforms offer advanced security features, including encryption, access controls, authentication mechanisms, and regular security updates. For example, Azure security centre provides this feature, which would evaluate the vulnerable resources across the cloud and share the report with a remediation guide.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
In the event of a disruption or disaster, cloud-based disaster recovery solutions ensure continuity of operations. Businesses can securely store and recover data in the cloud in case of system failures or unforeseen incidents. This helps you minimise downtime, recover quickly, and maintain business continuity without complex and expensive on-premises disaster recovery solutions.
What are the different types of cloud migration?
Depending on what services your business requires, cloud computing can be deployed in different ways. The cloud migration options are:
Re-host: a basic lift & shift which involves transferring data and applications from an on-premises data centre to the cloud without changing the underlying code.
Replatforming: modifying your current code to be compatible with the cloud environment. This improves performance but does not drastically change your application.
Repurchase or replace: involves moving your applications and data to a ready-made, cloud-native product. The process entails switching from an existing legacy app to adopting a third-party Software-as-a-Software (SaaS) platform.
Refactoring: rewriting your application components in accordance with new standards.
Retaining: it might not be possible to move some applications to the cloud, so your on-site operation keeps going.
Retiring: switching off or retiring some of your applications that are no longer in use.
How to choose the right type of cloud migration
Choosing the right type of cloud migration might seem like a complicated process, so here are a few steps to follow to help you make the decision:
Assess your current infrastructure: Start by evaluating your existing IT infrastructure, applications, and data. It’s crucial to understand the dependencies, complexities, and interconnections within your systems.
Determine your migration goals: Identify your specific migration goals and priorities. Consider factors such as cost optimization, scalability, security, performance, and business continuity.
Understand cloud deployment models: Familiarise yourself with different cloud deployment models, such as public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, and single -or multiple cloud models. Look at the pros and cons of each model based on your migration goals.
Evaluate migration strategies: Decide which type of cloud migration (see previous section) matches your goals.
Consider migration challenges: Evaluate the potential challenges and risks associated with each migration strategy. Take factors such as application dependencies, data transfer complexity, downtime tolerance, and user impact into consideration. Then choose a migration strategy that minimises disruption to your operations and addresses these challenges effectively.
Seek expert advice: If you’re unsure about the right cloud migration strategy, it can be beneficial to consult with cloud experts or engage with a cloud migration service provider. As a top cloud solutions provider, Integrove can offer guidance based on our experience and help you select the most appropriate migration approach for your specific needs.
What are the risks of cloud migration?
While cloud migration has many benefits, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks, and how to mitigate those risks. Here are some of the common cloud migration risks, and how to mitigate them:
Data breaches and security risks
Moving data to the cloud comes with the possibility of unauthorized access, data breaches, or security vulnerabilities. In order to avoid these types of security risks, you should implement measures such as encryption, multi-factor authentication, robust access controls, security policies, and vulnerability scans.
Downtime and service interruptions
Cloud service outages or downtime can impact your business operations, leading to the loss of productivity and revenue. It is crucial to minimise downtime by choosing a reputable cloud service provider with a strong track record of uptime and reliability.
You should also make use of tools which allow you to maintain normal business operations throughout the replication process while you migrate. This limits performance impact while you simultaneously move operations to the cloud.
Compliance and regulatory issues
If you’re storing sensitive data in the cloud it may raise compliance concerns regarding data protection, privacy regulations, and industry-specific requirements. You should thoroughly understand the compliance requirements applicable to your industry and choose a cloud provider with relevant certifications and compliance frameworks.
Performance and latency challenges
Cloud migration may introduce performance issues, especially if applications have high-latency requirements or require proximity to end users. That’s why it’s necessary to perform thorough performance testing and monitoring during the migration process to identify and address potential bottlenecks.
You can also leverage content delivery networks (CDNs) to optimise the delivery of static content. Consider cloud providers with data centres located geographically closer to your target audience, and implement caching and load-balancing mechanisms to improve your application performance.
Lack of cloud expertise and skill gaps
Insufficient knowledge and expertise in managing cloud environments can lead to operational inefficiencies, security vulnerabilities, and suboptimal resource utilisation.
The success of your cloud migration hinges on the right expertise. That’s why you should invest in training and upskilling your IT team to build expertise in cloud technologies and best practices.
You could also leverage Integrove’s cloud consulting services to fill skill gaps and ensure proper guidance and training for your cloud migration.
Move to the cloud with Integrove
There are many things to consider when moving to the cloud, such as the benefits, risks, platforms, and strategies. As a Top Cloud Solutions Provider, our experts can become your trusted advisors, providing you with insights and strategic vision on everything cloud-related. With more than 13 years of experience, our consultants leverage agile processes and are certified in the latest technology platforms.
Want to know more about tech consultants? Check out this blog post!
Let us help your business succeed in the cloud!