Cloud Migration Planning
When considering a move to the cloud? You are not alone. 70% of all companies are entertaining this very question for various reasons. However, migrating one data center to another is never a simple task. Just configuring this new cloud infrastructure can be a difficult task. Also, how do you validate your "cloud" choice?
Why Migrate to the Cloud?
Deciding to move to the cloud requires an internal assessment of your applications, processes, resources, budget, and service level agreements. Ultimately, the decision made to move to the cloud usually involves cost.
Cloud Migration Planning
The next step is dividing your application/environment into five categories.
- Applications built for the cloud (email, web apps, etc.)
- Applications that are virtualized
- Applications that can be virtualized
- Critical applications
- Applications that are not cloud candidates.
Next, we can determine the best cloud options for the first three categories. Based on their resource requirements, we can compare cloud costs and develop pricing estimates. Finally, we determine the level of efforts involved in migrating to the cloud and maintaining this cloud infrastructure.
The last two categories may still be cloud candidates, but they may be better suited for a co-location option (which is still a form of a cloud).
Risks and Issues in Cloud Migration
There are a few risks and issues involved in migrating your resource to the cloud. They are
- Data Security
- Compliance
- Latency
- Compatibility
- Debugging
- Data transfer risk
- Application transfer risk
- Infrastructure transfer risk
- Human Resource knowledge risk
- Shared Infrastructure issues
Formulating a proper plan before initiating the migration process, assessing all the risks involved, and financial planning are all key to a successful transition.