Getting cloud migration right is the key to making sure you get value from using cloud. Taking shortcuts can short-circuit the bigger project of using cloud to transform your business. Be sure to evaluate these potential shortcuts carefully as you plan your migration:
• Lift-and-shift to get to cloud quicker. Lift-and-shift lets you keep the same architecture in the cloud that you have in the data center. It may make it faster to get workloads up and running in the cloud, but it limits their ability to take advantage of cloud capabilities like horizontal scaling.
• Migrate your most important application first. It can seem smart to move critical applications first; there’s more need and (theoretically) more return on investment. But until you’ve gained experience with cloud, you’re likely to run into challenges you aren’t prepared to cope with. Migrating smaller, less important applications first allows you to learn from errors that don’t have serious impacts on the business.
• Migrate on a tight schedule. Trying to migrate everything at once is a sure recipe for confusion and chaos, if not a guarantee of failure. It’s also a sure way to waste time and effort, because not all applications are well suited for cloud. Some applications may not need to be migrated at all. It may be more effective to migrate applications on a longer timeline that allows you to learn and adapt to challenges, as well as to identify applications you can retire instead of migrating.
• Migrate data “as-is”. “Lifting and shifting” data can be as much of a problem as lifting and shifting virtual machines and applications. Much existing data is incomplete, inconsistent, and incorrect, and it can be worth taking time to correct data models and clean up data so it provides more value once in the cloud. In addition, while using the same database in the cloud shortens the migration process, there may be other, cloud native, database options that will provide better performance.
• Don’t change development and support processes. Changing application development procedures can be risky, and if you favor stability, you can keep your processes largely unchanged in the cloud. But that means not adopting devops and not gaining a more agile software process in the cloud.
• Neglecting security considerations. Cloud is at least as safe as the data center; hopefully that fear’s been put to rest by now. However, you can’t rely on the cloud provider to handle all your cloud security considerations. If you don’t take the necessary steps to address security in the cloud, you leave yourself open to the embarrassing and costly ramifications of a security breach.
Deciding the right path to take on your cloud migration can be difficult. Expert support from the team at VAST IT Services can help you make the journey safely and avoid the dangerous shortcuts that have a long-term negative impact on the results you get from adopting cloud. Contact us to learn more about making a safe, efficient transition from on premises to cloud computing.
Additional Cloud Migration Success Resources:
The Ultimate Guide to Cloud Mirgation
Don’t Overlook These 5 Important Items During Your Cloud Migration
