Cloud migration is very on trend in tech these days. We’re sure it’s raised a lot of questions for you regarding your business. Does anybody actually know what the cloud is? Are others in your industry migrating to it? What are the benefits of cloud migration? Is this something you should be doing? Well, the experts say yes, you should be moving your business apps, data and other technology to the cloud, but what does that mean in practice? Is it expensive? How long does it take? 

Obviously, we know there is a lot of mystery surrounding the process of cloud migration. If you stick with us, though, all will be revealed. 

Why Migrate to the Cloud?

For those of you who aren’t sure what everyone is going on about, cloud migration is simply moving your business’s applications, databases and other elements from a local server to a cloud server. There are technically a few other processes that fall under the “cloud migration” umbrella such as moving data from one cloud server to another and reverse cloud migration (that’s de-clouding your data and moving it back to a local server), but usually, when developers talk about this subject, we’re referring to the original definition. 

Businesses turn the cloud to address a number of pervasive issues present on local servers. These include the inability to scale server resources, the high cost of in-house operations and maintenance, the high costs of in-house disaster recovery processes, data storage limits and generally inefficient processes. Essentially, the burden of costs and resources required to maintain a local server becomes unreasonable in the face of much more affordable cloud computing services. 

What are the Benefits of Cloud Migration?

More than just being a cost-effective business decision, cloud migration comes with a whole assortment of benefits. 

Scalability: Depending on the size of your business and the data it manages, you have specific IT needs. On the cloud, you can increase or decrease your data requirements to align with business needs. Future allocation of IT infrastructure and resources can be efficiently and quickly sorted out. This scalability minimizes the risks associated with in-house operational issues and maintenance. 

Computing capabilities: Cloud computing makes it possible to access systems and collaborate from anywhere with any device. Files are also much easier to share and store across an organization. Since you aren’t bound to a local network, employees away from the office will be able to stay up to date with coworkers and customers. 

Flexibility: A cloud environment gives you a lot of flexibility to manage storage demands, fluctuating bandwidth, testing and deploying new applications and installing and removing apps as needed. Everything is easily manageable with just a few clicks. 

Server maintenance: The cloud provider looks after any hardware, software and networks. Engagement is simple with no long term contracts. Companies have seen an average reduction of 16.2% in operations costs and an average reduction of 16.8% in IT maintenance costs when they migrate to the cloud, according to Vanson Bourne. 

Maximum uptime: Every cloud provider gives 99% uptime with no risk of failure. This makes it an ideal location of customer-facing applications with users around the world. Because downtime is rare, you won’t have to spend time and money fixing potential issues related to downtime. 

Storage capacity: At an affordable cost, cloud providers offer high-security data storage for businesses. Based on your cloud computing needs, it’s easy to decrease or increase the amount of storage you pay for. There’s no need for on-site hardware, making it ideal for smaller companies who have outgrown their storage capacity. 

Security: Cloud environments help protect against hacking, data theft, unauthorized access, intrusions and identity theft schemes. Providers offer baseline protections such as authentication, access control and encryption. You can also bolster security with your own security measures. 

Environmentally friendly: Just like carpooling to work, when multiple businesses opt to move to the cloud, it reduces negative impacts on the environment. 

Cost-effective: A local server requires ongoing maintenance and support that add costs on top of your annual budget. In a cloud environment, 88% of companies save money when running services. Much of this is due to no longer needing to purchase and maintain expensive systems and equipment. 

Any Drawbacks?

While the costs of operating on the cloud is much lower than maintaining your own local servers, the cost of cloud migration itself is not so cheap. The process also doesn’t happen overnight. There is an entire process involving the preparation of your data and applications for the cloud, modernizing legacy systems and finding personnel with the right expertise. It’s a lofty IT undertaking. 

Even though cloud providers offer redundant cloud storage for your data, it’s also still wise to have a periodic copy of your data on your own premises. You’d hate for your sensitive data to be irrecoverable should something happen. 

How to Migrate to the Cloud

For most businesses, the benefits of cloud migration outweigh the drawbacks that could arise. It gives them access to enterprise technology and improves business operations at every level of an organization; it’s an obvious choice in most cases. However, by making the choice to migrate your data to the cloud, you’ve chosen the longer, more strenuous path. 

Make a Migration Strategy: Based on your business requirements, your first step is to develop a migration strategy. Here, you’ll determine your goals and priorities for cloud migration and also evaluate any potential development and operational constraints that may exist. 

Prepare Your Data for Migration: Unprepared applications are likely to cause problems down the road if they are properly prepared to migrate to the cloud. To prepare your data, first map out the characteristics of your legacy applications and determine their modernization requirements. What upgrades will your systems need to be ready to move over to a cloud environment? 

Evaluate the Costs of Migration: After you’ve assessed your goals for cloud migration and determined the work needed to migrate your data over, you’ll be able to more accurately evaluate the cost of the entire process. Without careful planning and determination of all cost factors, these cloud migration processes easily go over budget. 

Find Skilled Personnel: Without software engineers with the expertise to help you through the process, experiencing all of the benefits of cloud migration will remain frustratingly out of reach. That’s because there is a real difference between moving to the cloud and truly taking advantage of all the capabilities now available to your business. To achieve a cloud native experience requires some finesse and industry knowledge. 

The Benefits of Cloud Migration with Vice Software

If you’re looking to take your data to a cloud environment such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Oracle or Google, having a team of software engineers on your side will ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible, especially if you have an array of legacy systems you need to migrate over. We’ll help you navigate each stage of cloud migration including the initial business analysis and strategizing, becoming technically prepared for the move, goal setting, evaluating costs and determining which processes will give you the most value. 

We want you to get the most benefit for your buck out of cloud migration. Whether you’re interested in scalability, data security, storage capacity or leaving the smallest environmental footprint possible, we’ll help you identify the correct path forward and help you reach your end goals. 

The benefits of cloud migration all result in one outcome: positive ROI for your business. The cloud is a better way to store and manage your data. If you’re ready for cloud transformation, hit up Vice Software today. We’ll provide a roadmap forward.