Moving to the cloud offers several benefits for businesses such as improving operational performance, security, scalability and agility. It enables remote working which is essential in today’s world and businesses can migrate workloads to the cloud anytime.
6 steps to successfully migrate applications to the cloud
Here are six steps to take when moving your business to the cloud.
1. Create a strategy
To accomplish a successful cloud migration, it is essential to have the right approach and strategy. Moving to the cloud is an extensive process that when done correctly offers several benefits. Start with capturing baseline metrics of the IT infrastructure and map workloads to the apps and assets. This helps in establishing cloud migration key performance indicators such as memory and CPU usage, availability, conversion rates, and page load and response times.
2. Identify the suitable applications for your needs
Some apps perform better on hybrid or private clouds and some work better on a public cloud. Applications can either need minor tweaking or in-depth code changes. It is best to first identify the applications best suited for your business needs. Do a complete analysis of the complexity, architecture, and implementation of the apps before moving to the cloud. Consider which apps require a redesign, which can be moved as it is, and if the provider offers services to allow migration without the workloads being reconfigured.
3. Find the right cloud provider
Moving to the cloud is a complex process. One of the most important key elements of a successful migration is selecting the right service provider. The right provider can guide the migration process while the transition is going on and even after that. Consider the tools offered by the provider, the level of experience, and the support it offers for the migration and beyond.
4. Maintain operational continuity and integrity of data
Cloud migration can be risky as sensitive data can be exposed. Hence, it is critical to manage risk effectively. To ensure that automated controls produce the same outcomes, pre-migration validation of the business processes is important. The normal operations should not be disrupted in this process.
5. Use an end-to-end approach
The cloud service providers should have a strong methodology for all aspects of the migration process, including the framework for managing complex transactions consistently. Ensure that it is mentioned in the service-level agreement with set milestones and checkpoints for the progress throughout the process.
6. Execute the migration
Migrating to the cloud depends on the architecture of data and the architecture and complexity of the applications. You can do a test to see if the application is moving without complications and then switch over your on-premises traffic. Another approach is first moving customers over, validating and continuing it until all customers are moved.
Summing Up
Cloud migration is an extensive process but when completed successfully offers a lot of benefits:
- Increased operational performance
- Cost savings in terms of storage and getting technical help
- Improved security and reduced risks
- Ensured business continuity in case of any incidents
