What is Cloud Migration?

 what is cloud migration

As a business grows and expands in our modern digital society, it becomes more and more dependent upon technology. As a business owner, you want to leverage the most out of this technology in terms of growth and diversification without being hampered by outdated software or unutilized resources. The easiest solution to this dilemma is the process known as cloud migration by which companies move their data and on-premise applications to the cloud.

Advantages of Moving to the Cloud

Scalability 

Particularly for businesses with a fluctuating market, the cloud can be the perfect platform in order to scale up or scale down your system resources. Scalability can also provide an increase in performance, as resources can be scaled during periods of heavy traffic in which there is a greater strain on resources.

Security

Cloud service providers, such as AWS, are required to meet the highest industry security standards, which makes it easy to obtain services that meet common compliance requirements including certifications like SOC2, HIPAA, and PCI. Additionally, the cloud backs up your data at a secure location which prevents it from loss due to natural disaster, power failure, or other crises.  

Cost-Effective

Cloud migration helps to cut costs by eliminating the need to purchase expensive hardware and equipment to replace outdated versions. Instead, businesses operate under the cutting-edge server and infrastructure of the cloud service provider. Businesses can pay for only what they use and then these resources can be deprovisioned when there is no longer a need.

Types of Cloud Migration

Lift-and-Shift

The lift-and-shift strategy provides the same software your company was accustomed to working with in the data center, except in the cloud. Not only is this the fastest method for the migration of on-site applications to the cloud, but it is also the one which causes the least disruption as it involves only the involvement of the infrastructure and security teams. However, this lack of modification to the system may as well prevent you from accessing specific cloud migration benefits in the short term.

Replatforming

Replatforming, on the other hand, is for companies interested in reaping the full benefits of the cloud. The process entails the replacement of applications at the code level.  By its very nature, it is the most difficult method to implement and can come with a hefty upfront cost. Those disadvantages, on the other hand, are largely outweighed by the full utilization of the cloud's flexibility and innovation.

Shift to SaaS

The shift to SaaS method includes the outsourcing of applications to a cloud services company which specializes in the managing of those applications on an application by application basis. This enables employees to focus on the personalization and customization of the business. However, this customization can also lead to problems, therefore, it is recommended shifting to SaaS should be reserved for routine functions.

Challenges of Cloud Migration

Time and Security 

The larger and more complex the current infrastructure of your company, the longer and more complex the process will be of transferring it to the cloud. Security is of the essence in and throughout the transfer process, especially as sensitive data subject to compliance requirements is much more difficult to support during this migration. 

Psychological Barriers

The process by which people and processes change and therefore adapt to cloud adoption is often a long transition. This time spent can easily hinder the effectiveness of cloud adoption. 

Resources

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