Is your organization still relying on an on-premise IT infrastructure rather than moving to the cloud? Talk of “the cloud” is everywhere, but not everyone is ready to make the change as there are many things to consider.
Official studies have estimated that more than 70% of all businesses worldwide are still in the initial phase of cloud migration projects.
Moving to the cloud may be good for your business and help keep you ahead of your competitors. Maybe it’s time for your organization to look into cloud migration for your IT infrastructure.
In this article, we walk you through some of the ins and outs of cloud migration, cloud migration consulting services, and cloud migration strategies.
What are Cloud Migration Services?
Cloud migration services often refer to third-party service providers that assist businesses with migrating their data, email, and applications from being on-premise to a cloud-based environment.
Mainstream cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google offer services and tools to help organizations migrate their workloads to the cloud.
But small and medium-sized businesses often don’t have the technical skills or resources to make this possible. Hence, many would prefer to outsource the entire process to an IT partner specialising in cloud migration services.
Third-party cloud migration services remove the uncertainty and hassles of moving your resources or assets to a cloud-based environment.
IT partners working with cloud migration services take care of the entire workflow, starting from handling the timescale, managing the budget, and minimizing the overall downtime and disruption for your business.
What are the Benefits of Cloud Migration?
Increase IT operational efficiency
The cloud allows businesses to quickly provision and deploy new applications and services without needing additional hardware or software resources. In fact, cloud migration can help increase an organization’s operational efficiency by as much as 50 percent.
Additionally, cloud-based applications can be accessed worldwide, meaning employees can work remotely without sacrificing productivity or disrupting the organization’s operational workflow.
Improved security
With data stored off-site, businesses are much less vulnerable to physical threats and cyber-attacks.
Cloud providers also have many security protocols designed to help protect data from cyberattacks. It includes encrypting data at rest and in transit, using multi-factor authentication, and regular backups.
Simpler scalability
Before the cloud came into the mainstream as a cost-effective data-storage solution, most businesses had to plan their IT infrastructure around estimated growth carefully. In most cases, they would overestimate their requirements to ensure they could accommodate future demand, which led to wasted resources and inflated costs.
Moving to the cloud, businesses can more easily scale their operations to meet changing needs. They can quickly provision or release additional resources as needed without incurring the same level of waste and overhead.
Cloud migration has changed how organizations quantify data, allowing them to scale up or down as per their operational needs or business costs.
Faster application development
Cloud-based development platforms provide access to a broader range of resources and services.
Developers no longer need to worry about setting up and configuring infrastructure; instead, they can focus on building the features and functionality that users need.
On top of that, using containers and microservices means that applications can be built using modular components that can be easily deployed and updated.
As a result, developers can iterate quickly, making it easier to create applications that meet the ever-changing needs of users.
Why use Cloud Migration Services?
Implement a clear strategy from the beginning
A good cloud migration consulting service vendor will work with you to understand your specific needs and objectives for migrating to the cloud.
They will then work with you to develop a clear strategy that considers all aspects of the migration process, from assessment and planning to implementation and post-migration optimization.
Cost-effective
With the help of an experienced team, you can avoid the expensive mistakes often made when moving data and applications to the cloud. Additionally, an experienced managed IT service provider with migration services can help with the ongoing optimization of your cloud resources, further reducing your costs.
Ensure a seamless transition
A good migration service will help you to avoid the common pitfalls that can often occur during a move to the cloud, such as loss of data or connectivity.
They will work with you to ensure a smooth transition, minimizing downtime and potential disruptions to your business.
Get access to expertise and resources
When you work with a cloud migration consultation service, you get access to a team of experts who can help you with every step. This includes everything from assessing your application portfolio to migrating your workloads and optimizing your cloud infrastructure.
A cloud migration service can also provide you with the resources you need to make the transition, such as cloud-based development and test environments.
Types of Cloud Migration Strategies
Gartner has identified five major cloud migration strategies, popularly known as the “5 R’s”.
Businesses looking to switch or migrate to the cloud should consider these five strategies before choosing their way forward.
Below is a brief description of the five strategies for cloud migration.
Re-hosting
Re-hosting, also known as lift and shift, is the simplest type of cloud migration. It involves moving an application or workload from one server to another with minimal changes.
This strategy is often used when an organization wants to take advantage of the scalability and flexibility of the cloud without making any changes to its existing applications.
Re-platforming
Re-platforming involves moving an application or workload from one platform to another. This can be done either on-premises or in the cloud.
One advantage of re-platforming is that it generally requires less effort than other types of migration, such as re-architecting. However, it can be more expensive, and it may not always be possible to achieve the same level of performance as with a new platform.
Repurchasing
With repurchasing, an organization buys a new cloud-based application or service to replace its existing on-premises application.
This type of migration is often used when an organization wants to take advantage of the latest features and functionality that are only available in the cloud. It can also be a good option when a vendor no longer supports on-premises software applications or hardware.
Refactoring
Refactoring is a migration type involving making changes to an application or workload by leveraging Platform as a Service (PaaS) cloud-native features. The end goal of refactoring is to ensure smooth operational flow on a different platform.
Retiring
Every application eventually becomes redundant or obsolete due to the availability of more viable options, which is when retiring is needed.
How CG Technologies Can Help with Cloud Migration
Maintaining your legacy IT infrastructure can hold back your business in this cloud-centric, data-driven era. Without the added advantages of cloud scalability and agility, planning for growth for your organization might seem a challenge.
But with the right guidance, tactics, and strategies, a seamless transition of your current applications and workloads to the cloud is merely a click away.
Using a trusted cloud migration consulting service provider like CG Technologies can identify the risks and offer solutions before starting your migration to ensure a successful migration of your infrastructure to the cloud. Contact us to learn more.
