Business Migration To The Cloud
Making the decision to migrate to the cloud can be daunting. Whether the business already utilizes different tools in the cloud or this is the first significant foray into the digital realm, large-scale migration is not something to be taken lightly. By Sam Martin
The Advantages of Migrating to the Cloud
It goes without saying that migrating a business to the cloud delivers many benefits. The main advantages of fulfilling the process are presented below.
Cost Cutting
Instead of investing in expensive infrastructure or costly upgrades businesses can benefit from only paying for the resources needed as and when required.
Scalability and Flexibility
No more worrying about space and capacity here. If any more is needed, there is plenty that's readily available. One of the cloud’s main benefits is its ability to keep pace with the company’s needs.
Increased Stability
Cloud applications are automatically updated without any input required from staff. This means there is rarely ever a need to be concerned about business applications being up to date.
Improved Storage Overall
Migrating a business to the cloud offers all the storage required at a significantly lower cost compared to storing data on location. It’s also far more secure from incidents such as fires or natural disasters.
Round-The-Clock Accessibility
Migration to the cloud means that employees can gain access to important data remotely, 24/7. Gone are the days when staff needed to be on-site to access the important documentation required for an urgent job.
The Risks Associated With Migrating to the Cloud
The reality is that migrating data to the cloud doesn’t come without its own set of risks. Some of these risks are explained in more detail below.
Security Concerns
Businesses can become more vulnerable to security breaches through cyberattacks or malware infections. Furthermore, if a third party is hired to debug the systems there is the additional threat of losing data transparency as well in the process.
Compliance issues
Depending on the type of data a business deals with, migrating it to the cloud might be an area of contention. There are instances where highly sensitive data cannot be stored online without overstepping compliance regulations.
Compatibility issues
New applications are generally ready to go when it comes to cloud migration. However, older legacy systems may experience compatibility issues. Reconfiguration might be necessary and as these systems are phased out, it becomes increasingly harder to find a quick fix.
Data Loss
Outages are not an uncommon occurrence. With more and more data being uploaded to the cloud, the risk of this happening is also on the rise. Data loss generally takes place because of data mapping, malfunctions within the system, or basic human error.
Vendor lock-in
Sometimes when businesses sign up with a provider, they find themselves in the undesirable position of not being able to leave. Vendor lock-in happens when providers charge exorbitant prices to release a company’s data to another provider.
The Best Course Of Action For Migrating To The Cloud
Businesses should strongly consider following the steps below when migrating their business to the cloud.
Identifying Needs
Before starting the migration process, a business must first identify its needs. Drawing up a list of key performance indicators will allow the organization to monitor how things are going. These might be factors such as availability, response & page load times, conversion rates, and memory & CPU usage. This will help the business to effectively assess cloud computing performance.
Assessing Applications
Since compatibility can be an issue, any business will want to determine which applications are immediately suitable for migration and which are not. If the latter is true, can they be reconfigured and is the cost worth it? While some applications may be compatible, they might cost more to run in the cloud. Having a comprehensive list of all the potential applications that could be migrated readily available before signing up for anything will help to counter this issue.
Drawing Up A Plan
Once a decision has been made regarding the business’ migration to the cloud, the next step is to work out how exactly to make the move. Operational continuity and data integrity are key factors to consider, as are any dependencies. Deciding the order in which to migrate applications will make the transition as seamless as possible. Defining timescales for the operation is also greatly beneficial.
Finding The Right Provider
Before businesses hand over data and applications to any third-party organization, they need to be confident in their abilities. Points to consider are the provider’s level of experience and the type of support they offer during migration.
● Can they assist with more complex migrations such as those involving out-of-date technology?
● Do they support public, private, and hybrid environments?
● What tools do they have available to make migration a smooth process?
By following these steps and choosing a provider that can best meet the company’s needs, any business will be ready to successfully migrate to the cloud.
Sam Martin is a staff writer for Hosting UK
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