A guide to careful planning and best practices during cloud migration

Cloud migration is the process of transferring various types of stored data to a cloud computing environment, otherwise known as internet storage. Today, most organizations are using the cloud or considering strategies and solutions to perform a cloud migration. Although cloud migration can be a complex process that requires meticulous planning, the benefits usually outweigh the headaches.

Organizations that transition smoothly to cloud computing enjoy reduced operating costs, improved scalability and agility, and self-sustainability, making it an increasingly attractive option. Still, there are some unique challenges to pulling off such a data transfer. Here are eight common challenges of cloud migration and what you can do about them.

1. Data Security and Compliance

Data security is a top concern during a data transfer like cloud migration. During migration, companies move data hosted in on-premise data centers or applications to the cloud. Migration can feel a bit like the Wild West, particularly if mishandled.

Organizations will be concerned with regulatory compliance, blocking unauthorized access, advanced levels of encryption, and correct configurations to avoid data leaks.

Solution

Any change management plan should include robust security measures, and it’s crucial that businesses choose a cloud service provider with satisfactory data privacy policies. An organization’s sensitive information can be protected during a cloud migration by passing data through a firewall, thoroughly testing encryption capabilities, and working with a third-party compliance team to ensure your strategy follows compliance standards.

2. Downtime and Business Continuity

Downtime can be a significant challenge. It’s often a hindrance to pursuing cloud migration. While the true cost of downtime can’t be overstated, don’t let the fear of a controlled amount of downtime for the greater good be a deterrent.

Solution

The best solution for downtime and business continuity is continual and thorough testing before, during, and after cloud migration. Many businesses will use a failover strategy, which ensures that if one cloud computing environment fails, data security and business operations can “failover” to another cloud. This is also known as a hybrid cloud environment.

Your IT teams or third-party experts should test functionality in real time during the process and continue testing post-migration.

3. Cost Management

Another common challenge of cloud migration is cost management. With cloud adoption comes new tools and costs that organizations may overlook. There are costs associated with data transfer, plus the costs of training your staff on new systems, employing third-party specialists for cloud migration, higher bandwidth usage, and the potential for downtime, to name a few.

Solution

Significant changes must be planned for. The best way to minimize unexpected expenses is to make a budget for cost migration and cloud cost optimization strategies. It’s essential to evaluate both the short-term and long-term financial implications, as well as the operational and strategic benefits, to make informed decisions about cloud adoption.

4. Data Transfer and Integration

The interdependencies of datasets and applications can potentially yield major risks, like data loss, during cloud migration due to their intricate relationships. Dependencies can be hard to separate and create a complex process of migrating without disruption.

Also, interwoven dependencies sometimes make other processes like data synchronization and security harder to get right. The level of customization needed to ensure a smooth transition can elevate cost.

Solution

The best defense against data migration issues is to make a detailed plan with many checkpoints. Start by gaining a thorough understanding of your current landscape and all interdependencies. Choose your integration approach for new and existing systems, and then add data integrity verification steps. Many tools are available to help automate and streamline data extraction and migration, then monitor and validate the process.

Check out our Data Migration Checklist for a detailed guide on what steps to take.

5. Application Compatibility

Application compatibility, including application dependencies and integration with existing systems, can present hardware, software, and network infrastructure challenges. In some cases, finding compatibility or sourcing a suitable alternative in a cloud computing environment can slow or complicate the process.

For example, applications may require certain hardware components that are unavailable in the cloud. Virtualized environments don’t always replicate the exact hardware characteristics needed for optimal performance.

Solution

A suitable method for any organization considering application compatibility is to map interdependencies and compatibility, test for potential issues, isolate business objectives in the migration, and then assess the level of complexity (and what outside help may be needed).

Businesses should also consider refactoring or replatforming. Refactoring is a way of simplifying software attributes to make them easier to work with, or, in this case, suitable for the cloud. Replatforming, on the other hand, takes a legacy system and modifies it to make it cloud compatible.

6. Skills and Resource Gaps

IT teams are highly trained in on-premise systems, but significantly new systems can create a significant gap in skills and resources. If your team doesn’t have the skills to manage cloud infrastructure and services, your organization is left with the issue of training and ensuring regulatory compliance (something you likely left in the hands of your IT manager previously).

Solution 

To bridge the divide, organizations must prepare in advance to bring all teams up to speed with training and upskilling. With so many potential risks during the data transfer to a cloud computing environment, organizations can’t afford to overlook the human element. Create a cloud-centric culture in your organization and encourage widespread buy-in and skilled operation of new systems.

To minimize risks, particularly during mass migration, consider utilizing external experience to assist your team in acclimation.

7. Planning and Strategy

The fundamental strategy in cloud migration is meticulous planning. The absence of mapping, planning, testing, and strategizing is responsible for many unforeseen cloud costs, disruption of business processes, frustration and poor execution within your existing teams, and loss of network resources. Be sure that the cloud platforms you’re considering provide the best solutions for your business at all stages of cloud migration.

Solution 

To minimize risks and downtime, create a cloud migration strategy. Within your plan, clearly define objectives, develop a detailed migration plan and ensure that you choose the right cloud service provider. Careful planning upfront can save you from disaster and headaches once you start the process.

8. Post-Migration Considerations

Your organization should consider challenges that can arise post-migration, including low application performance and network bandwidth. As with any significant change in your IT systems, there will be a period of adjustment and tweaking. Slow or low-performing systems can result in downtime or a poor experience for your customers and leads, so it’s essential that your strategy includes how you’ll handle issues in the days and weeks following cloud migration.

Solution

Continuous monitoring and optimization in real time will help get your IT systems up to speed faster. It’s essential to ensure ongoing security as you test and tweak your new cloud computing environment to prevent a larger issue. As you monitor performance, return to your strategy for measuring success and proving ROI, including factors like scalability and reduced overall costs.

Planning Is Essential For a Successful Cloud Migration

While it’s true that the process of moving to a cloud computing environment can present common challenges, the long-term benefits of cloud migration outweigh the risks for almost all businesses today. To mitigate potential issues, create a strategy from pre- to post-migration. Consider outsourcing more daily, routine tasks to a third-party team of experts to free up valuable bandwidth for in-house talent.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key challenges in cloud migration?

There are many common challenges to cloud migration, including hidden costs, downtime, security, and compatibility.

What are the 4 R’s of cloud migration?

The four R’s of cloud migration are refactoring, rehosting, replatforming, and replacing.

What steps can be taken to minimize downtime during the cloud migration process? 

To mitigate downtime, businesses can create a meticulous plan before execution, including failover solutions, real-time testing and monitoring, and post-migration plans.

How can data security and compliance issues be addressed during cloud migration?

Data security and regulatory compliance issues are best handled by choosing a secure cloud provider, encrypting data in transit, implementing controls to block unauthorized access, and a backup and recovery plan.