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Enterprise cloud migration brings innovation to IT operations and takes enterprises one step closer to agility. After all, it’s all about streamlining processes, increasing efficiency, and reducing costs. But if not done right, cloud migration can prove to be a nightmare for enterprises. They have to move a large amount of data without which the organization cannot function properly.
If you are stuck with the intricate dilemma of cloud migration, be ready to decode the myths. This article is all about decrypting and implementing enterprise cloud migration. You’ll be learning the best practices to migrate your existing data from your previous infrastructure to the cloud.
What is cloud Migration?
Cloud migration is the practice of transferring your data, digital assets, and other IT resources into the cloud. Enterprises move their databases and applications from physical infrastructure or one cloud to another partially or completely.
Understanding Enterprise Cloud Migration
In enterprise cloud migration, the cloud refers to remote servers and data centers. These are usually hosted and managed by third parties that offer a range of services and resources over the Internet. This allows businesses to access and utilize computing resources on demand as per their needs.
Statistics Highlighting the Growth and Adoption of Enterprise Cloud Migration
The migration to the cloud has gained significant momentum over the past few years. According to Google, 41.4% of global technopreneurs are eager to invest in cloud-based services in 2023. The study also shows that almost half are either training existing staff or hiring new resources to improve cloud efficiency.
Recent research by Mckinsey states that cloud technology has crossed the $1 trillion dollar market value as an industry. What’s more astonishing is the fact that by 2024, out of every $10 spent on IT hosting, $8 will be on the cloud.
Organizations that have already adopted enterprise cloud migration are reaping its benefits.
As per Salesforce, 69% of companies are spending on this technology. And 94% of businesses saw an improvement in security after migrating to the cloud.
A Google Cloud survey has shown that 54% of businesses are into enterprise cloud migration mainly to reduce costs and increase revenues.
Gartner’s research claims that 50% of enterprises will move towards the cloud by 2027 to achieve agility. This supports Forbes’ report which has previously claimed that 83% of organizations are expected to shift their workload to the cloud.
These statistics underscore the growing confidence and success organizations experience through cloud migration.
Key Models and Strategies for Enterprise Cloud Migration
When considering cloud migration, enterprises can adopt various models and strategies. Of course, the choice depends on their unique requirements and objectives. These are six different types of enterprise cloud migration models that are in practice today.
Lift and Shift Model or Rehosting
This cloud migration model is about lifting the database or stack from on-premises hosting and shifting it to the cloud. In doing so, an exact copy of your existing environment is transported without making changes. Rehosting is suitable for enterprises that don’t have a long-term strategy or possess a conservative culture.
Lift and Optimize or Replatforming
This is a variation of rehosting that involves a few adjustments in the cloud landscape for optimization. However, the core architecture in the re-platforming model stays the same. This is also suitable for conservative enterprises who are looking for speed and agility.
Drop and Shop or Repurchasing
Repurchasing the enterprise cloud migration model is about transferring applications to a new, cloud-native product. However, there’s always a challenge of training the team and fear of losing the familiarity of existing code. If you are moving data from a customized landscape, drop and shop model is the ideal pick for you.
Re-Architect or Refactoring
Refactoring refers to rebuilding your applications on the cloud from scratch. It’s an expensive choice but suitable for your future needs. It helps you leverage cloud capabilities that were absent in previous environments. For example, you can go for serverless computing or cloud auto-scaling.
Retiring
In some cases turning application is the wise and suitable choice. This is useful if you feel some applications are no longer required after assessing their portfolio for cloud readiness. Retiring can help you boost the process and make cloud migration easier.
Hybrid Model or Retaining
This is an ideal model for enterprises for whom cloud migration doesn’t make sense. Some might have recently updated their applications while others are unable to move for compliance reasons. If you are such an enterprise, only make the decision after contacting experts.
Benefits and Challenges Associated with Enterprise Cloud Migration
As with any major IT initiative, enterprise cloud migration comes with its share of benefits and challenges:
Benefits of Enterprise Cloud Computing
Cost Savings: By transitioning from capital-intensive on-premises infrastructure to pay-as-you-go cloud services, organizations can reduce IT costs significantly.
Scalability and Flexibility: Cloud services allow businesses to scale resources up or down as needed. This provides them with the agility to meet changing demands of their business landscape.
Enhanced Security: Leading cloud providers invest in robust security measures. These are security measures that often surpass what organizations can achieve by themselves on-premises.
Innovation Acceleration: Cloud-native technologies and services enable organizations to innovate rapidly and deploy new features quickly.
Challenges of Cloud Migration
Data Migration Complexity: Transferring large volumes of data to the cloud can be time-consuming and challenging. This is especially challenging if you are migrating data with limited bandwidth.
Application Compatibility: Some legacy applications may require modification to work effectively in the cloud environment.
Security and Compliance Concerns: Ensuring data security and regulatory compliance during and after migration is crucial.
Vendor Lock-In: Moving between cloud providers can be complex, potentially leading to vendor lock-in.
Best Practices for Successful Enterprise Cloud Migration
A successful enterprise cloud migration requires meticulous planning, thoughtful decision-making, and effective execution. Let's explore some best practices to ensure a smooth and successful migration process.
Pre-migration Planning and Assessment
Before embarking on the cloud migration journey, organizations must undertake a comprehensive planning and assessment process:
Importance of Cloud Migration Checklist
Creating a detailed checklist of migration tasks and requirements helps organizations stay organized. This is the practice that ensures no critical aspects are overlooked during the process. The checklist should cover areas such as application dependencies, data backup, security measures, and post-migration testing.
Evaluating Existing Infrastructure and Applications
A thorough assessment of existing infrastructure and applications is essential to determine their suitability for the cloud environment. This assessment helps identify potential roadblocks and provides insights into which applications can be migrated. Furthermore, you can know which applications require adjustments for migration.
Considerations for Data Migration and Security
For data migration, organizations have to establish robust strategies for data integrity, privacy, and compliance. Implementing proper encryption and access controls is vital to safeguard sensitive data during transit and storage.
Selecting the Right Cloud Provider and Model
Choosing the most suitable cloud service provider and deployment model is pivotal for the success of cloud migration:
Evaluating Different Cloud Service Providers
The choice of cloud provider impacts various aspects of migration, including performance, service offerings, pricing, and regional availability. Organizations should conduct a thorough evaluation of major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and others, considering their specific needs.
According to Statista, Cloud services generated $63 billion dollars in revenue in the first quarter of 2023. Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud have 32%, 23%, and 10% shares respectively in this.
It’s hard to calculate the exact cost of service providers as it depends on what you are getting. But the big three (AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud) as well as IBM offer various discounts to its users. By leveraging these discounts, you can greatly reduce the overall cost of your cloud hosting.
Choosing Between Public, Private, or Hybrid Cloud Models
Your decision to opt for public, private, or hybrid cloud models depends on various factors. These include but aren’t limited to data sensitivity, regulatory requirements, and budget constraints. A hybrid cloud approach, which combines public and private clouds, offers flexibility in managing sensitive data. It also helps in leveraging the scalability of public cloud services.
Aligning Cloud Strategy with Business Goals
The cloud migration strategy should align with the organization's broader business objectives. Whether it's achieving cost savings, improving performance, or enhancing customer experience, the cloud migration approach should support these goals.
Implementing the Migration Process
With a robust plan in place, it's time to execute the migration process:
Creating a Phased Approach
Adopting a phased approach is often more manageable and minimizes the risk of disruption. Migrating applications and data in batches allows the IT team to address any challenges that arise in a controlled manner.
Prioritizing Critical Applications and Data
Not all applications and data have the same level of urgency for migration. Prioritizing critical business applications and data ensures that essential functions continue smoothly during the migration process.
Ensuring Minimal Disruption to Operations
You should try to minimize any disruption to ongoing business operations during the migration process. So, ensure proper communication and collaboration among stakeholders, IT teams, and end-users. This plays a crucial role in ensuring a seamless transition.
Post-migration Optimization and Evaluation
Once migration is complete, the focus shifts to optimizing and evaluating the newly established cloud infrastructure:
Monitoring and Optimizing Performance
Continuous monitoring of cloud infrastructure performance is essential to identify and address any bottlenecks or inefficiencies. Cloud-native monitoring tools can provide real-time insights into resource utilization and application performance.
Assessing the Success through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Defining key performance indicators (KPIs) for cloud migration success is vital to measure the project's outcomes. KPIs may include:
- Cost savings
- Uptime
- Customer satisfaction
- Application response times
Addressing Any Challenges or Failures
Migrating to the cloud is a complex process, and challenges or failures may arise. A post-mortem analysis of any issues encountered can provide valuable insights for future improvements and projects. Some common challenges that data scientists often have to face include:
- Incomplete inventory (artifacts and respective ETLs)
- Limited documentation of current systems
- Data Redundancy
- Complex workflow, job flow, and data flow.
- Multiple processing (Scripts, View, SP, ETL, etc.)
How shopdev Can Help to Migrate
Shopdev has been helping enterprises with cloud migration for over half a decade now. We provide tailored cloud migration solutions to businesses with a team of seasoned cloud experts. With our proven track record, we bring a wealth of experience to ensure the success of every cloud migration project.
Tailored Solutions for Enterprise Cloud Migration
Shopdev offers a range of cloud migration services to enterprises looking to migrate to the cloud. We are a proud partner of all the big companies such as Amazon AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and more.
We conduct an in-depth assessments of your organization's existing infrastructure and applications to gauge their readiness for migration. Based on the assessment, we craft a detailed migration plan. This helps us address potential challenges and in optimizing the migration process.
The Shopdev team works closely with you to identify the most suitable cloud provider and deployment model. We consider your organization's unique requirements while offering suggestions and recommendations. This collaborative approach ensures alignment with the client's goals and budget.
In the end, our experts execute the migration process in a phased manner, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations. In the post-migration stage, we provide ongoing support to address issues and optimize the cloud infrastructure for optimal performance.
Conclusion
Enterprise cloud migration is a powerful strategy that empowers organizations with scalability, cost-efficiency, and enhanced security. By following best practices and aligning cloud strategy with business goals, enterprises can unlock the full potential of the cloud. However, enterprises need competent partners like Shopdev to navigate the complexities of this transformational journey successfully.
