From email to applications to data storage, today’s companies place an ever-increasing demand on their information technology (IT) infrastructure. Keeping up with these demands can be costly in addition to taking up lots of space – both physically and digitally. To address this, many companies are migrating their operations to a cloud-based computing environment. Let’s take a closer look at cloud migration services and how they may be a great fit for your company.
Cloud Migration Services
What Is Cloud Migration?
Cloud migration is a term used to explain the process of moving your company’s email, applications, and data from its existing IT infrastructure to a cloud computing environment. Legacy infrastructure systems tend to take up lots of space, and they can hinder a company’s growth and agility as they quickly become outdated. This not only causes reliability issues but can leave your company vulnerable to significant security threats.
Moving to the cloud can be rather complex, especially in industries such as architecture and engineering where companies store and move large, data-intensive files. Data loss is definitely a concern, as is exposing exclusive trade secrets or sensitive client information. For these reasons, companies often use an experienced migration service provider to manage the process.
Benefits of Cloud Migration
Cloud migration offers numerous benefits to companies of all sizes. The first of these is a significant cost reduction, driven by a move away from bloated legacy IT systems that tend to offer a limited scope of application. Cloud platforms can be customized to suit your specific needs at a fraction of the cost. Agility is another major benefit, as cloud platforms make it much easier to adopt remote working policies and enable more creative productivity.
Another major benefit is scalability, as cloud computing can easily adapt to company growth without the need for major investment in new IT infrastructure. This means it will be easy to incorporate a new software application or update data storage as your company expands in the future. Data security is another key benefit, as the best cloud services offer robust protection through things like app security, multi-factor authentication, and intelligent threat detection.
Cloud Migration Strategy
As you might imagine, cloud migration is not as simple as pressing a button. It requires rigorous strategic planning, with a clear objective for how you envision company operations post-migration. It’s important to set timelines and budget for the process and identify which data and applications will be moved. You’ll also want to identify one team member to either oversee the process or act as the main point of contact for a migration service provider.
One of the key advantages of working with a migration service provider is having them participate in formulating the strategy for your company’s cloud migration. Migration services can help isolate what is causing frustrations with your current IT systems and identify cloud-based solutions to alleviate them for good. They will also take a deep dive into your workplace dynamics to create a migration process that minimizes disruptions to your ongoing operations.
Potential Challenges
One of the main reasons for investing in a solid cloud migration strategy is it helps address some of the challenges that come with the process. One of these is functionality, as not all applications work as well on the cloud as they do in legacy environments. This could be for a number of different reasons, some of which can be addressed with appropriate configurations. Data security is another challenge, justifying the assistance of experienced migration professionals.
Another challenge that is often overlooked is the need for adequate staff training. Working with applications in the cloud doesn’t have to be radically different, but it does require a bit of education about the right way to manage information. It’s important to evaluate the skill sets of all team members during staff training, as a system is only as strong as its weakest link. Many companies identify someone to oversee training and compliance with cloud standards.
Tips for a Seamless Cloud Migration
One of the first steps to ensuring a seamless migration process is organizing your company’s data so you know exactly where it is, specifically whether it’s on a single application or on a server. It’s also a good idea to engage your team in the process from the beginning, so they buy into the new cloud platform and fully understand how to operate within it.
It’s important to consistently re-evaluate your cloud operations, and understand that these will likely morph and expand along with your business. Be open to adjusting things like overall cloud usage, and assessing whether certain applications would function better either on or off the cloud.
This should give you a solid overview of cloud migration, and how a migration service provider can help guide you through the process. Contact us of how cloud migration can help your company reach its full potential.
