Despite the revolutionary benefits the cloud brings (cost savings, increased security and scalability), many businesses remain nervous about making the leap. If the fear of migrating assets and data to the cloud is holding your business back, Kingsmen is here to help.
Our report offers a step-by-step guide through the entire cloud migration process. You can read the full report for free right now, or get a taste of what you’ll learn below.
Give Your Migration the Best Foundation
We’ve identified five foundational pillars that make for a smart and effective cloud strategy: operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency and cost. Understand and account for each of them, and you’ll give yourself the best chance of success.
By following our operational excellence recommendations, your team can take ownership of the migration and streamline operations. This includes standardizing processes, keeping infrastructure costs in check and managing risks.
A cloud security strategy will cover how you protect data in the cloud and mitigate the risks of working with a third party. You’ll need to sort data by the security it requires, make sure you follow best practices and work with teams to educate them about the security risks of the cloud.
Many businesses move to the cloud for a more reliable experience. As such, you’ll need to assess the reliability of any potential solution by identifying to what extent the system meets performance standards, how a cloud solution will impact the experience of employees and customers, and which performance metrics you can use to track reliability going forward.
Scalability is another core benefit of moving to the cloud. It’s not a given, though, which is why businesses also need to assess and track performance efficiency. That includes setting KPIs, seeking appropriate resources and limiting cloud features when not in use.
If you’ve turned to the cloud to reduce costs, then you need to factor in the cost of cloud computing before you start. Among other things, consider how the cloud compares to in-house servers in terms of setup, ongoing maintenance and energy use.
Identify Potential Problems Before Committing Resources
Businesses need to be able to identify potential problems with a planned cloud migration build before they commit resources to it. We’ll teach you how you can do that with a cloud architecture diagram.
A cloud architecture diagram outlines your planned cloud build, detailing the software and resources required. By creating one, you won’t just be able to troubleshoot your build; you’ll also be able to spot vulnerabilities, optimize costs, make sure your architecture is compliant and secure buy-in.
Start creating your cloud architecture diagram by mapping out which cloud components (servers, APIs, tools, etc.) you’re using and how they will connect. You’ll also need to include the required security measures and the parts of the build they impact, as well as the elements of the architecture that users will see compared to your team.
Increase the chances of everyone using your diagram by making it as clear as possible. A color-coded key can help users quickly make sense of your drawings, for instance. You should also create it in collaboration with affected team members, so they are both familiar with it and have a stake in it.
Prioritize Which Assets to Migrate First
You won’t be able to migrate everything at once. Nor should you. By migrating applications in batches, you’ll increase stability while building a repeatable process that makes future migrations smoother. Deciding which assets to prioritize isn’t easy, however. That’s why we outline four strategies you can use to get started: critical first, non-critical first, migration by size and a phased approach.
With a critical-first strategy, you maximize the benefits of the cloud by migrating applications that will see the biggest benefit. A non-critical first strategy takes the opposite approach, letting you practice migration strategy on business applications that aren’t vital.
Migrating by size typically means migrating the smallest apps first, regardless of how valuable they are. The smaller the app, the easier the migration. This can give you momentum and help you overcome the challenges of larger and more complex applications.
A phased approach combines two or more of the strategies above. For instance, you could start with the smallest business-critical applications before moving to the smallest non-business-critical applications. It’s important to note there’s no right or wrong decision here, and the route a company takes usually depends on its specific goals and situation.
Keep a Lid on Costs
Cost-saving is one of the most common reasons businesses move to the cloud. But keeping them under control isn’t easy, especially once you start using them.
The trick is to involve every department in the process and implement a string of cost-saving strategies. These include identifying unused resources, removing resources where necessary, rightsizing cloud resources to make sure unused resources don’t occur in the first place, and planning ahead for spikes in usage to avoid expensive penalty fees.
Read the Full Report
If you’re keen to learn more, our full report covers the entire cloud migration process. It’s based on decades of experience, includes everything we’ve learned from dozens of successful migration projects and will act as your guide as you leverage the benefits of the cloud.
Images: Memento Media