What Should Businesses Consider When Moving IT Processes To The Cloud Environment – Cloud migration is the process of moving an enterprise’s applications (including data, services, processes, and other business components) to a cloud computing environment. It usually involves the migration of these elements from on-premises data centers and servers to the cloud or from one cloud environment to another.
Cloud modernization, on the other hand, involves optimizing your applications and databases for cloud services. This process may involve refactoring your software to make it more suitable for the cloud, particularly retiring legacy applications and making other performance-enhancing changes.
What Should Businesses Consider When Moving IT Processes To The Cloud Environment
1. Refactor the code
Because traditional on-premises and cloud architectures differ significantly, parts of existing software may need to be rewritten to maximize profits from cloud computing. The ability of the cloud to dynamically allocate and de-allocate resources requires a reorganization of the allocation algorithm. So to ease migrations, it’s important to break up monolith apps into several microservices to be migrated in chunks.
2. Plan data storage
One of the hardest parts of migrating to the cloud is data transfer. The location of the data is an important factor affecting the performance of your application. It is difficult to migrate data while users are still accessing and modifying it. All changes should be saved and no data should be lost. There are several options for data migration:
Implement bidirectional synchronization between on-premises and cloud databases. After the data is transferred, unplug the in-house database.
Use one-way sync with a cloud and only allow users to access the on-premises database. Once the migration is complete, provide cloud-based consumers access to the new database.
Take advantage of cloud data migration service provided by one of the cloud computing vendors.3. Prepare the disaster recovery plan
With cloud technologies, there is always a possibility that the internet connection will be lost or the servers will be damaged. So be prepared for accidents and protect backup facilities.
4. Test the results of the migration
Once your IT infrastructure has been transferred to the cloud, you need to examine whether all objectives are met and applications are working as planned.
Test the performance. Confirm that resource allocation is optimized. The app should work properly on all devices. The actions of different users on the cloud should not overlap.
Test the security. Make sure that security mechanisms such as firewalls, anti-viruses maintain their integrity. Verify that only authorized users have access to sensitive data. All information must be encrypted.
Examine the functionality. Check if all requested functions are working and for any errors. Turnaround time should be fast. Test the input fields. Only specified data types should be allowed to be entered.
The benefits of moving to the cloud are closely tied to the benefits of the platform you choose. For example, if you migrate to a managed private cloud platform, you will gain significant security and performance gains. If you migrate to a public cloud platform, your benefits will center more around microservices and flexibility. However, no matter which platform you choose, moving from an on-premises to a hosted environment generally provides the following benefits:
1. Cost efficiency
It is cheaper to manage the cloud. Most leading cloud providers base their pricing models on a pay-as-you-go basis, meaning you only pay for what you use.
2. Efficiency improvements
With cloud adoption, businesses have less to worry about downtime, data security, and disaster recovery. The cloud provider makes it easy to provide the required cloud space, security, and real-time access. Thus, businesses can focus more on core job responsibilities, resulting in increased productivity.
3. Remote access
With cloud computing, you can access your data from anywhere and anytime. A business no longer relies solely on its physical environment to get things done. This is the primary reason cloud computing is becoming more important as remote work becomes the future of work.
4. Scalability
Cloud computing can handle heavy workloads and a more extensive user base. When an on-premises environment requires extra time, effort, and cost to meet growing demand, the cloud makes it much simpler and more cost-effective.