Cloud storage continues to gain popularity among companies, corporations, websites, and applications of various types. The reasons for this are quite clear, because cloud migration services allow you to store and process large amounts of information without investing the company’s finances in the infrastructure. You can quickly access it from anywhere in the world, and not worry about data storage. Let’s take a closer look at the ways to migrate IT infrastructure to cloud storage, and understand the main advantages of such a solution.
Cloud Storage Migration: Useful Nuances and Methods
Cloud storage migration is the process of moving information, settings, applications, services, and much more from one location (usually from private company servers located on local servers) to powerful servers of public cloud service providers and between different clouds.
There are several types of migration to cloud storage:
- Full. This migration is well suited for small and medium-sized companies whose infrastructure is quite simple. The transfer of all data is carried out completely and usually takes no more than two days. With this method, you do not need to draw up a detailed map, but it is also important to identify the main, critical services. To do this, it is recommended to draw up a work plan and adhere to it at each stage.
- Partial. Suitable for large corporations and companies with a rather complex, extensive IT infrastructure, which cannot be transferred in a couple of days. Partial migration is carried out with the mandatory drawing up of a roadmap, where critical, important services are necessarily indicated with the priority of their transfer.
- Migration to a hybrid cloud. This is a good option for those organizations that decide to leave some resources in the local data center and move only some of them to the cloud. Such a solution helps to increase the profitability of existing local equipment and ensure compliance with industry/government requirements for companies in specific areas.
For many large companies, migration to hybrid cloud storage is the only possible solution. After an audit, it is not always possible to transfer everything “as is”. Along with the transfer of IT infrastructure, systems are restructured, routing, security parameters, and more are optimized.
Why Is It Worth Transferring IT Infrastructure to a Server in the Cloud?
There are a number of advantages that migration to cloud services gives a company. We will list the most significant ones below:
- Maximum rational use of resources, since the company uses them as much as it needs;
- Payment that is made only for the resources actually consumed: computing, network and others;
- Minimal costs for maintaining the entire infrastructure, since one or two specialists cope with these tasks;
- 24/7 support and prompt troubleshooting. Healthy competition improves the quality of service;
- A business in the cloud, along with all its resources, is available to employees and customers of the company from anywhere in the world. This greatly facilitates the functioning of any enterprise;
- Reduced likelihood of downtime. Any organization knows cases when activities are blocked due to a system failure. Cloud providers invest huge resources to avoid failures and downtime.
The advantages of moving the complete IT system under a cloud operator’s management are clear and indisputable. In particular, businesses are particularly vulnerable to the impact of both internal and external influences.
Key Aspects of Cloud Migration for Business
The cloud migration allows you to solve most of the structural problems of development. Previously, expansion required a significant restructuring of the IT infrastructure, spending money on equipment, hiring additional staff and fixing a lot of current problems with the synchronization of components. In the case of cloud services, business scaling occurs quickly and without unnecessary difficulties, since the company simply requires more resources. Cloud services also ensure business continuity and minimize downtime risks, and independence from the influence of any external factors is achieved.
At the same time, cloud migration is an important step for an enterprise that must be thought out and worked out from all sides. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate in advance what benefits it will bring not only to the company, but also to its customers. If it meets their real expectations and needs, then all that remains is to start the process. However, there are some nuances here.
What Are the Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Cloud Migration Strategy?
There are a number of factors to consider when choosing a strategy for cloud migration. These include:
- Goals: Ask yourself why you want to migrate to the cloud in the first place. Similarly, you should also ask yourself why you are planning to migrate from one provider to another. The migration should align with your broader business goals.
- Application Portfolio: You will need to consider all of your applications and their complexity, as well as how much customization is required in the cloud architecture. This will become part of your planning timeline.
- Budget: You should determine how much money you are willing to invest in your cloud migration, and you will also need to consider the return on investment (ROI).
- Timeline: Think about how quickly you need to complete the migration, but don’t rush it. Set a clear timeline; as a general rule, double the time you think you will need.
What Are the Common Issues and Risks When Migrating to the Cloud?
When migrating, you should consider data and security risks, along with cost and experience; fortunately, you can mitigate them by thinking about them in advance. First and foremost, you need to implement data backup and recovery. You also need to take care of security and plan for downtime and emergency response, as well as encryption, access control, and other security measures. And in the next stages, budget and track costs. This will help you find cloud migration services consultants like N-iX who have previously performed various types of migration.
Conclusion
The migration process includes several important stages: assessment, launch, migration, and modernization. Each of them requires careful planning and execution to ensure minimal disruption and maximum benefit from the transition to the new infrastructure. In general, migration to the cloud is a strategic step that opens up new opportunities for business development, increasing its productivity and competitiveness in the market.
