How Can You Migrate To The Cloud In 6 Simple Steps?

Migrate To The Cloud In 6 Simple Steps

Is the idea of migrating to the cloud making you second guess whether it’s actually worth the trouble? Cloud migration doesn’t have to be difficult if you know how to approach it.

Over the past decade, the cloud has rapidly become one of the most integral technologies in modern society. Both for private consumers and business purposes, the cloud has offered a range of benefits, from convenient access to data to cost-savings in hardware reduction.

Put simply – the cloud has changed the nature of IT, and business as a whole.

That’s why so many businesses are moving to the cloud. However, before you attempt a migration, make sure you know what you’re dealing with…

The Cloud’s Many Models

• Public Cloud: Ideal for small businesses that may have trouble budgeting for any other type of cloud deployment, a public cloud is simple and cost-effective. Your data is stored in a “communal” data center, which, while not offering the best possible security or compliance guarantees, is often sufficient enough for organizations that aren’t required to maintain regulated compliance.

• Private Cloud: A secure, dedicated environment to ensure maximum performance, security, and functionality for your business applications and employees. This is usually deployed for complaint-driven businesses such as healthcare and finance.

• A Hybrid Cloud: This is like a dedicated cloud computing resource on Office 365 and Azure Stack with an extension to on-premise resources for maximum performance, control, security, and functionality. This is for businesses that require maximum control and scalability.

Instead of entrusting your legacy solutions to a public or private cloud, many businesses are opting for a hybrid cloud. They use a mix of on-premise, private and third-party public cloud services because this provides an infrastructure where one or many touchpoints exist between the environments.

Using a hybrid cloud gives you the freedom to choose which applications and resources you want to keep in the data center and which ones you want to store in the cloud.

Cloud Migration In Six Simple Steps

Migration can be a time-consuming process, but there are very few risks if it is approached with the right plan. If you’re considering migrating independently, you should follow these six steps:

1. Take An Inventory
   Do you plan on moving completely to the cloud, or maintaining a hybrid environment?Some businesses don’t both to migrate all their server-side architecture to the cloud – regardless of whether you do or not, you have to take stock of your servers, and associated software, to ensure it is all compatible with the new cloud environment you are planning.
2. Plan Your Project Carefully
   Be sure to specifically lay out how you plan to virtualize your back end. This will largely depend on your size…
   • Small businesses – It would make sense to leave certain aspects like email and apps on-site, especially if they don’t require too much storage.
     
   • Larger businesses – For your line of business apps and dozens of accounts associated with your email client, you can likely afford the cloud storage needed to host these aspects offsite.
3. Determine Your Budget
   The best way to figure out which cloud service you want to go with is to know how much you can spend. The price tag will help you sort out options.And don’t worry, a small budget won’t limit your options too much. A key benefit of the cloud is its scalability. In most cases, you can start small on a great cloud service, and scale-up and pay more later as you need it.

   Be sure to keep this scalability in mind from the start – do you anticipate needing to scale up by a considerable degree, within a year at the soonest? Make sure your cloud service of choice can handle where your business will be in five years.

4. Consider Your Security
   Depending on the industry in which you operate, you may have more pressing security concerns than other businesses.In order to maintain data security, or even to comply with certain regulations, you may need to keep some of your data on-site.

   Keep this priority in mind when determining whether you need a hybrid cloud environment or not. With a combination of onsite storage for secure data and a cloud platform for everything else, you can get the best of both worlds.

5. Review & Refine Your Plan
   Migration is an ongoing process. Make sure that, with every step you take, you’re reviewing your plan, checking your progress towards goals, and making sure you’re staying on track.
6. Ask For Help If You Need It
   There’s no shame in needing help. Especially when it’s a matter of migrating all your apps, data and other IT assets to a totally new environment.However, if you have the time, knowledge and skills to handle it on your own, that will certainly be more cost-effective. But don’t forget – better safe (and a little more expensive) than sorry.

Should You Be Using The Cloud?

The cloud is so fundamental a part of the modern business world that you need to be making use of it.

If you’re not already using the cloud for file sharing and storage, then you’re way behind the times. But if you’re also failing to take advantage of the industry-specific features the cloud can deliver, then you’re missing out.

Like this article? Check out the following blogs to learn more:

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