Cloud Migration: How to Prioritize Your Move?

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In this article, you will learn:

• About the benefits of cloud migration, such as scalability, availability, and cost savings
• What strategies exist for moving processes to the cloud
• What Lift and Shift and BOCAM are, and how to choose the right approach for your company
• What the challenges are in the cloud migration process
• About planning, cost optimization, communication, and other best practices for migration.

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Growing business requirements are driving more and more companies to migrate their processes to the cloud. Modern solutions like the cloud provide the greatest business value in the complex environment in which we operate. The success of any digital transformation lies primarily in the proper selection of priorities by all stakeholders. How can this be achieved? How can we make moving operations to the cloud as beneficial as possible for our company? We will answer these questions in the article below.    

Why is moving operations to the cloud important?

We have written many times about the advantages and disadvantages of clouds. It is clear that this is a future-proof solution worth considering for your own company. First, due to scalability, which translates into savings – we only pay for what we really need and use. Furthermore, such adjustments lead to increased efficiency. Cloud solutions also offer greater reliability due to frequent and numerous backups. This means greater business resilience against failures. It is also worth mentioning that clouds are simply convenient to use – we have flexible access to them wherever we have an Internet connection. Finally, access to other modern technologies such as RPA, which enables the migration of operations to the cloud, is also significant. Everything undoubtedly confirms the importance of moving operations to the cloud from a business perspective. How we approach this task is equally important.

Which operations should be moved to the cloud first?

There are different approaches to which operations should be moved to the cloud first. The most logical solution is to move from the simplest to the most complex processes. This makes potential problems easier to solve in the early stages of migration. It is also a good idea to identify processes that are less dependent on the company’s existing local infrastructure. Moving such processes gives us a quick win, based on which we can analyze the progress and impact of the migration. Projects with the highest visibility that support our core business goals are also a good choice to move first, as we will see the obvious benefits of cloud migration in the early stages of the project, which in turn will enable further optimization. Finally, it is also worth identifying areas of our business where there is a lot of data and where it is a burden on the local network. Migrating these processes will be most beneficial in terms of scalability. In summary, the first operations to move to the cloud should be as simple as possible while providing the greatest benefits. Their selection depends on the specific case, which is why a thorough analysis is essential before starting the migration.

Strategies for moving operations to the cloud

  There are several types of clouds: centralized, decentralized or mobile. Choosing the right one depends on the strategy adopted. In short, establishing a strategy involves:

1. Understanding business motivations and needs
2. Defining expected results
3. Creating criteria to measure success

Depending on these key points, we can adopt various methodologies, such as Lift and Shift, where applications are moved without significant changes to the program code. Another solution may be the BOCAM (Benefits Oriented Cloud Adoption Method) methodology, where one of two strategies is adopted: RCA (Rapid Cloud Adoption) available for companies that have already migrated to the cloud in the past and whose architecture allows for easy transfer; or the TCA (Transformative Cloud Adoption) strategy, preferred by companies with more complex projects. These are just some of the available solutions; it is worth mentioning others, such as Re-platform (a strategy related to changing the platform), Refactor (involving changes to the application code or other architectural elements), or retire (a strategy assuming the abandonment of unnecessary applications). We encourage you to contact our consultants, who will help you choose the right strategy depending on the client’s needs.

Potential challenges of moving operations to the cloud

Of course, every digital transformation involves potential challenges. Beyond setting the right priority for moving operations to the cloud, it is worth taking the time to consider the following possible problems. First, data security issues should not be neglected. Sensitive data covered by regulations such as GDPR should be given special attention. Implementing appropriate security measures is essential for cloud migration to make sense. Similarly, it is worth having a backup plan in case of failure. By entrusting data to the cloud, we must be sure that it is secure. Second, it is good to ensure during the planning stage how the cloud migration will interact with existing systems. This is a very important step, and skipping it due to enthusiasm for change can lead to process dysfunction in the cloud. For this reason, gathering precise requirements is so important. How we address potential risks will have a huge impact on the success of the migration – so let’s keep them in mind from the very beginning.

Overview of best practices for moving operations to the cloud

Adopting best practices for moving operations to the cloud increases the chances that the migration will proceed smoothly and without delays. The set of best practices includes basic activities such as assessing the scope and creating a migration plan or setting priorities. During and after the migration, it is a good practice to optimize and monitor costs, as well as performance. Soft skills can also prove helpful when moving operations to the cloud. This includes, among other things, good communication between all parties, as well as coordinating stakeholders from the very beginning of the project. Transparency is just as important as selecting people with the necessary skills to work on the migration. Attention to all the small steps, combined with a professional approach, is the foundation of a successful project. There is no doubt that clouds are the future, so it is worth approaching cloud computing seriously and with care.