What is cloud application migration?

Cloud application migration is the process of moving applications either partially or wholly to a cloud computing environment. Usually, this will involve the shifting of legacy, on-premise IT infrastructure to the cloud, but can also cover moving from one cloud to another. For many businesses, such a project can seem initially overwhelming. Migration however brings a range of benefits, and organisations must follow some best practice steps when looking to leverage the cloud.

Exploring the benefits

Key benefits of moving to the cloud include:

Cost: Organisations are able to save on substantial capital costs thanks to reduction in spending on equipment, infrastructure, and software, regardless of their size. Savings can also be made by not having to recruit specialist IT staff and reducing energy consumption.

Scalability: Organisations can upscale or downscale resources as needed. Growth can be supported without any expensive changes to existing systems, helping to further digital transformation strategies.

Increased performance: Cloud solutions allow businesses and employees to communicate and share more easily. Downtime can be avoided thanks to the ability to restore data in the cloud, keeping operations running smoothly in case of a disaster. Data and resources can be accessed from anywhere in the world, enabling flexibility.

Security: With a range of disparate businesses likely to use cloud service providers, their security is typically much more advanced than a typical on-premises data centre. Data encryption, key management, strong access controls, and security intelligence are just some of the benefits. 

Migration challenges and considerations

Some challenges may present themselves to organisations migrating their services to the cloud, such as concerns that valuable data may be lost in the shift and whether the security offered by the provider is sufficient to match business requirements. There are also industry-specific challenges, such as compliance requirements for firms in the finance industry. However, utilising cloud migration best practices should circumvent these issues.

Businesses must also consider the best type of migration strategy to suit their operations. This could include rehosting, where existing applications are moved without implementing any prior changes, re-platforming, where some optimisations are made, or repurchasing, where organisations move away from perpetual licenses to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. Other options include refactoring or revisiting, where applications are completely re-architected or altered, or retiring them completely.

To deal with any issues some of the migration tools and services available include:

  • Migration project management
  • Auditing the existing infrastructure
  • Rack design/equipment layouts
  • Cabling system design and installation
  • Containment supply and installation
  • Physical Migration including decommissioning, transport, and recommissioning
  • Installation of new equipment
  • Certified disposal of redundant equipment

A four-step cloud application migration strategy

While each cloud journey is unique, every successful cloud migration follows these key phases:

  1. Migration planning: Organisations should identify the size and constraints of the migration as well as any specific requirements for their business, as well as decide what to migrate and establish a timeline and budget.
  1. Choosing the right provider: Organisations must choose a cloud provider that can meet their requirements, such as security, compliance, manageability, service levels, and support. 
  1. Migrating data to the cloud: With a plan devised and a provider chosen, assets must be shifted to the cloud with as little disruption as possible to the wider business, with application debugging and testing a crucial element. 
  1. Validating post-move success: Every workload should be checked in the new environment to ensure data validation before moving to the next. 

Moving forward with Telehouse

Telehouse provides secure, reliable, and fast access to multiple cloud service providers.. We provide:

 

Looking to find out more? Connect with one of our team today.