Cloud migration offers companies multiple benefits over running their IT environments in traditional, on-premises data centers. Organizations from virtually every market sector are either using the public cloud extensively, planning to migrate shortly, or experimenting as they form a long-term IT strategy. Statistics indicate that Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are the most popular cloud platforms for running significant business workloads.
IT decision-makers are not typically in the habit of initiating changes to their environment simply for cosmetic reasons. The complications involved in making infrastructure changes and the ramifications of failure on the business preclude making hasty decisions. There is normally a substantial amount of planning, assessment, and evaluation that goes into changes in an IT environment.
The following benefits are some of the main reasons organizations choose to migrate some or all of their workloads to public cloud service providers (CSPs).
Reduce Capital Costs
Migrating to the public cloud eliminates the capital costs associated with purchasing the hardware necessary to implement an IT environment. Based on the cloud model they choose, companies essentially rent the computing and storage devices they need for their infrastructure.
CSPs use virtualization techniques to provide a virtually limitless number of workstations or servers to address a company’s unique requirements. They can quickly provision new instances when necessary and delete them when they are no longer needed. With proper management, companies never need to worry about paying for idle resources.
Increase Scalability, Flexibility, and Agility
One of the most attractive benefits of the cloud is the ability to add or eliminate resources on demand. Companies can address fluctuating traffic patterns and business requirements by scaling up or down as necessary. Organizations can ensure that they are not paying for unused resources and always have enough capacity to meet customer demands.
The flexibility afforded by cloud providers lets companies take advantage of new opportunities and evolving customer preferences. Companies may be reluctant to explore new possibilities when faced with expensive hardware bills. They can be much more receptive to trying new techniques when paying a CSP by the month.
Enhance Resiliency and Disaster Recovery Capabilities
CSPs can provide businesses with enhanced resiliency and disaster recovery capabilities over traditional methods. Major providers typically have multiple data centers spread out over diverse geographical regions in which they can host an organization’s data. Data can be backed up and recovered to different regions to provide greater resiliency in the event of problems at one location.
Disaster recovery is improved through a combination of the previously discussed resiliency and the availability of skilled and experienced technical teams to assist with recovery. Disaster recovery in the cloud lets companies recover in a safe region and connect to their resources efficiently through the Internet.
Improve Security
Security is paramount in everyone’s minds these days. The prevalence of cyberattacks makes it imperative that a company has the best cybersecurity solutions in place. Migrating to the cloud provides an organization with the opportunity to efficiently improve its cybersecurity posture.
CSPs typically employ industry-leading security solutions to safeguard their customers’ data resources. Companies migrating to the cloud need to understand the shared security responsibility model to ensure they take the necessary steps to protect their valuable data. Essentially, the company is responsible for securing its data while the CSP provides security for the cloud infrastructure.
Increase Data Availability, Collaboration, and Mobile Worker Support
A cloud-based IT environment enables employees to connect to company resources from any location with an Internet connection. The increased availability provided by the cloud promotes the development of a collaborative environment that drives innovation. Businesses can compete more effectively when enterprise data is available to stakeholders immediately when they need it.
The cloud firmly supports the rise of the mobile workforce initiated as a response to COVID-19. Remote work is here to stay and the cloud makes data and applications easily available to the workforce wherever they are located.
Access to Cutting-Edge Technology
Major cloud service providers offer access to cutting-edge technology that would be beyond the means of companies using on-premises data centers. Innovative solutions in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) require substantial financial investments and technical expertise that are not available in most companies.
A CSP can leverage investments in new technology by providing services for multiple customers. Making AI-powered analytics engines available to its customers levels the playing field by giving small companies the same access to technology as large corporations. Small organizations can effectively compete with larger rivals due to the technology offered by the cloud.
Simplify IT Delivery
Companies can simplify IT delivery by hosting systems and applications in the cloud. Using infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service solutions, organizations can transfer much of their support responsibilities to their cloud provider. Taking it to an extreme, companies can opt for replacing existing solutions with software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings that are primarily managed by the CSP.
Organizations can also engage a managed service provider (MSP) to further assist with managing and optimizing their use of cloud resources. Customers can concentrate on running their business while the MSP handles the cloud environment.
How VAST Facilitates Your Company’s Cloud Migration
VAST IT Services has your back when it comes to cloud migration. They have extensive experience with the major cloud providers and will help your company choose the right services to address its business requirements. VAST’s cloud team works with you in planning and executing your migration. When the migration is complete, VAST can step in and serve as an MSP to manage your cloud environment or be there as a resource when you need them.
VAST’s migration planning includes items such as capacity planning, application profiling, financial modeling, and dependency mapping. It extends to migration cycle development which encompasses developing migration workflows and documenting the processes employed in the move.
During migration execution, VAST ensures that new systems and services are provisioned properly. They work to capture live data to minimize downtime and perform a final validation and synchronization before cutover. When migration is complete, VAST is there to help remediate any open issues.
Contact VAST today and see how easy it is to get started on the path to a successful and beneficial cloud migration.
