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Optimal cloud migration rarely means moving all resources, and for most stable enterprises, maintaining about 70-80% of operations with an external provider proves to be a safe standard. Modern cloud infrastructure eliminates the burden of costly hardware maintenance, offering scalability that rigid on-premise solutions lack. However, to avoid financial pitfalls and performance issues with legacy systems, strategic cloud security and a thorough assessment of processes for GDPR compliance must remain a priority. Learn how to precisely balance the proportions in a hybrid model to gain flexibility without risking the continuity of critical business operations.
Moving processes to the cloud – what is the goal?
The goal of moving processes to the cloud is to significantly increase efficiency and flexibility while reducing operating costs. In today’s world, more and more companies are embracing Cloud Culture and migrating to the cloud a significant portion of their processes. What are the benefits of such a move? Thanks to the cloud, organizations can scale their resources according to current needs. Choosing cloud infrastructure eliminates the need to invest in expensive hardware and its maintenance, which is another item on the list of savings we can record thanks to cloud resources. Examples of processes that can be moved to the cloud include data management, where all information is stored and processed securely, accessible from anywhere in the world. This increases the team’s capabilities in terms of easy access to up-to-date data and collaboration on the same sets of information. Team communication benefits greatly from these changes: tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack operate in the cloud, enabling employees to collaborate effectively regardless of their location. Moving business systems like ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to the cloud allows for better customer relationship management, real-time data access, and easy generation of reports and financial forecasts based on those reports. Data analysis processes, thanks to the cloud, can be carried out faster and more accurately, which supports more informed business decision-making.What percentage of processes can be safely moved to the cloud?
One would like to say 100%, but this is not always the right path – the number of processes that can be safely moved to the cloud depends, of course, on the specifics of the company, but for most organizations, it is in practice about 70-80%. For example, the processes mentioned above, related to data management, internal communication, ERP/CRM systems, as well as data analysis and reporting, can be treated as a priority for moving operations to the cloud – we can do this safely and effectively. Processes requiring advanced processing, such as Big Data analysis or Machine Learning, also work great in a cloud environment. Cloud security is ensured through advanced data protection mechanisms offered by cloud providers, such as encryption, advanced authorization systems, and regular security updates. However, it is important to carefully assess which processes are critical to the company’s operation before migration and whether – which is actually the most important thing – the cloud provider meets all security and compliance requirements. Thanks to the right strategy and the choice of proven providers, moving processes to the cloud can bring significant operational benefits.What should not be moved to the cloud?
What should not be moved to the cloud? Some processes and data should be treated with special caution due to security, regulatory compliance, and specific technological requirements. Challenges associated with cloud migration can be brought about by, for example:- Critical data – while the cloud significantly facilitates collaboration and daily data usage, some financial information, patient medical data, trade secrets, and other sensitive data requiring the highest level of protection should be carefully analyzed before we decide to save them in the cloud. In some cases, legal regulations, such as GDPR, may impose additional restrictions on processing such data outside of local data centers.
- Systems with low latency tolerance – processes requiring very low data processing latency, such as industrial control systems or real-time applications, may perform less effectively in the cloud due to additional delays associated with data transmission.
- Systems with a high degree of integration with local infrastructure – older systems (i.e., legacy systems), which are tightly integrated with local IT infrastructure, can be difficult to move to the cloud without costly modifications.
- Applications with legal requirements regarding data location – some industries, such as the financial or defense sectors, may have regulations requiring data to be stored and processed only in specific geographic locations, which may limit the ability to move them to the cloud.
- Systems with high resource consumption – applications that require massive computing or disk resources can generate high operating costs in the cloud. In such cases, local servers may be a more cost-effective solution. Let’s also remember that every cloud has a very diverse service offering, so we should carefully analyze the options to choose from so as not to unnecessarily pay for something that could be processed much more efficiently by another service (see: case study on cloud cost optimization and their 50% reduction).
