More and more businesses are shifting their data, applications, and infrastructure to the cloud today. The shift often termed as cloud migration can assist companies in reducing costs, increasing flexibility, and improving overall performance. However, like any major change, it also arises with its own questions and challenges.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through exactly what cloud migration is, what cloud migration strategy is, what a cloud migration plan is, why all the fuss about it, how the process goes down, what cloud migration costs, and all the tools and strategies that will make the whole process easier for you.
Let’s start with a basic cloud migration definition:
Cloud migration refers to digital business operations transfer onto cloud-based infrastructure, say from on-premises servers to applications, data, and IT resources such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Probably it gets easier by understanding this analogy: moving office files from the hard disk of your computer onto an online folder that you are able to access from anywhere.
Data migration is one part of cloud migration. Cloud data migration is the specific act of moving data, such as files, databases, and digital records, from physical servers or other clouds into your new cloud environment as part of the role of cloud managed services.
Before you move anything, you need a plan. That’s where your cloud migration strategy comes into play.
A cloud migration strategy outlines how you’ll approach the migration in your cloud infrastructure management, what tools you’ll use, what gets moved first, and how you’ll manage risks. It’s like before going on a road trip; you don’t just get in the car and drive. You first plan all your destinations, routes, and stops along the way.
The cloud migration plan is part of your strategy; you can say it’s the most basic first step towards success. While a strategy gives you the big picture, the cloud migration plan focuses on the finer details, like:
When you have a solid plan in place, it ensures that your migration to cloud architecture doesn’t disrupt your business and every operation runs smoothly before and after the switch.
Moving to the cloud is not merely a tech trend but a strategic decision that aids businesses in becoming agile, scalable, and efficient with cost. But how does one undergo this transition? And where should one even start?
Before even conceiving the idea of migrating, look closely at your existing IT configuration. What applications do you use every day? What sort of data are you storing, and where? Do you want HIPAA compliant cloud storage for healthcare cloud migration, or other compliance storage for other industries?
It is all about understanding the demands of your business and determining what systems are ready to go into the cloud. This is an excellent time for you to identify risks and dependencies. In other words, know what you have available before trying to figure out where you’re going.
Not all cloud migrations are created equal. Depending on your goals, you’ll need to choose the right approach.
Each option has its pros and cons, so think about what’s best for your business in terms of time, cost, and long-term value, and then think about website migration to the cloud.
You don’t have to do everything manually, thankfully! There are many cloud migration tools that can simplify the process.
Some help with data transfer, others with security or performance optimization. Choose tools that match your migration strategy and set them up properly to minimize disruptions.
Now comes the actual move. But don’t start with your most critical systems, dip your toes in first. Migrate less important data or applications as a test run.
This way, you can catch and fix issues before they affect your business. Once confident, continue migrating more essential workloads in phases.
After each stage of the migration, test everything. Are your apps working as they should? Is the data intact? Can your team access what they need without hiccups?
This is your quality control checkpoint. Fix any bugs or gaps before declaring the migration a success.
Migration isn’t the finish line; it’s just the beginning. Once you’re fully in the cloud, you’ll need to keep an eye on performance, costs, and security.
Use cloud monitoring tools to track how everything is running, and adjust resources as needed to get the best bang for your buck.
Many businesses start to feel stuck when their existing systems can’t keep up with growth. As more users, data, and apps come into play, their servers start to slow down or crash. This is where cloud migration makes a big difference.
The cloud gives you the flexibility to scale your resources up or down whenever needed, without having to buy new hardware or worry about physical space.
Running servers and maintaining them is expensive. Servers require the procurement of hardware, power, cooling, and IT staff. Moreover, regular maintenance is a requirement. On the contrary, over a certain period, all of this just accumulates in cost and eventually becomes hard to manage, especially for small to mid-sized businesses.
The cloud brings the costs way down. You pay only for what you consume, and extravagant investments in infrastructure are not needed.
With traditional systems, accessing files or tools remotely can be tricky or even impossible. This slows down remote teams and makes collaboration a hassle. The cloud solves this by making your data and apps accessible from anywhere, anytime.
All your teams need is an internet connection, which means better collaboration and more flexibility for everyone.
When moving to the cloud, not all applications and systems need the same approach. Depending on your goals, budget, and how modern your current tech is, you can choose from one or more of these 7 cloud migration strategies:
This is the simplest and fastest option. You just take your existing applications and move them to the cloud without making any changes.
It’s like moving your furniture to a new house without redecorating. Its good for quick migrations and legacy systems.
Here, you move the app to the cloud but make a few tweaks to take advantage of cloud features, like changing the database or upgrading the OS.
You’re still not redesigning the app, just making it cloud-friendlier. You can take advantage of this for apps that need minor improvements.
This means replacing your current app with a new, cloud-based version, often a SaaS solution.
Think of switching from a self-hosted CRM to something like Salesforce. It’s mainly used for standard business apps like CRM, HR, and email.
Refactoring in Cloud Migration means completely redesigning the application to take full advantage of cloud-native features like microservices, auto-scaling, and serverless computing.
It’s more work, but the long-term gains in performance and flexibility are big. Its good for apps with scalability and performance issues. You can watch out for higher costs and longer timelines with this one, though.
Sometimes, you’ll find apps or systems that are no longer needed. Retiring them can save money and reduce complexity.
Before moving everything, take stock and ask yourself if you still need this? It is good for old, unused, or redundant systems.
Some apps might be better off staying where they are, for now. Maybe due to regulatory reasons, performance, or because they’re too complex to move.
In these cases, you retain them on-premise while planning for future migration. Its suitable for critical or complex legacy apps.
This is about moving your entire infrastructure or platform, like VMware, to the cloud without changing any of the apps running on it.
It’s kind of like lifting your whole data center and placing it inside a cloud provider’s environment. This cloud strategy is ideal for bulk moves of virtualized environments
Each of these cloud migration strategies serves a specific purpose, and it’s common to use a mix of them depending on your app portfolio. A thoughtful cloud migration plan and a clear understanding of your goals will help you choose the right combination.
Cloud migration isn’t always smooth sailing. Some of the most common challenges include:
The big question always is: given that it is sensitive data, is it safe to move to the cloud?
One of the biggest fears a company can have is that there might be a data-in-transit issue, data leak, or unauthorized access, or any compliance violation.
Hence security should be there very first in your cloud migration plan: security by encryption, security by access control, and security by audit.
No one wants a black hour with the website or app labelled under construction. But if your migration is not well planned, the under-construction hours might well gain some extra value there.
That means customers can’t access your services, and internal teams might be stuck waiting. A good migration plan minimizes this with step-by-step transitions, good cloud backup services and systems, and lots of testing.
Some older applications don’t play well with the cloud. Maybe, its because they rely on outdated tech, or they weren’t built with cloud in mind. In these cases, you’ll need to either update/ refactor the app or keep it on-premise for now.
Either way, it’s a challenge that needs careful attention, otherwise, you risk breaking critical business tools.
Cloud technology can be complicated, and most companies have no internal expertise to manage it.
Your very own IT department may perform excellently at on-premise systems, but lack the know-how and experience to manage cloud platforms, security policies, and troubleshoot cloud-native issues.
In such scenarios, it is quite often best to engage a qualified cloud services company for assistance.
After initial costing, most companies start questioning their high costs. Many companies go into cloud migration thinking it’ll save money, which it usually does, but poor planning and over-provisioned resources can quickly rack up surprise costs.
Ongoing monitoring and cloud cost optimization are key to keeping things in check. What we are trying to say is that while the benefits of cloud migration are huge, being aware of these challenges and planning ahead can save you a lot of money.
There are plenty of providers out there, but the best IT services company for cloud migration services and cloud consulting are the ones that understands your business needs, has a proven track record, offers tailored solutions, and supports you before, during, and after the migration.
Some examples are:
Look for companies that also help with cloud cost optimization, security, compliance, and ongoing support.
After earning about cloud cryptography and migration, here’s why so many businesses are making the move:
These advantages of cloud migration can give your business a serious competitive edge.
Cloud migration is part of a bigger picture known as cloud transformation. Here are the general phases:
Each phase brings more value to your business.
Cloud migration isn’t just a tech upgrade, it’s a smart move for businesses that want to grow, innovate, and stay competitive. With the right cloud migration company and strategy, tools, and support, the journey becomes smoother and more rewarding.
Ready to take the leap? Let Arpatech’s cloud services work for you, securely, efficiently, and affordably.
The cost of cloud migration depends on the size of your business, the amount of data being moved, your cloud provider, and whether you need to refactor applications. On average, small to mid-sized businesses may spend anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000. But remember, it’s an investment that pays off in efficiency, security, and innovation.
There are seven common approaches in all clouds from multi cloud to hybrid cloud (also called the “7 Rs”):
Once your migration is complete, the real work begins. You’ll monitor performance, adjust resources, manage security, and optimize your cloud setup. You’ll also have the flexibility to build new services and scale as your business grows.
Ongoing optimization is the biggest challenge. After moving to the cloud, businesses often struggle to manage costs, monitor performance, and keep security tight. This is why continuous management and expert support are essential.
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