A Transitional Approach To a Successful Cloud Migration
Most experts agree that cloud computing represents the future of IT. However, some factors, such as disproportionate media coverage of recent problems with cloud computing companies, inadequate legislation (particularly in Europe) and a general distrust of new technologies makes many businesses skeptical about cloud migration. Fortunately, there is no need to migrate the entirety of your business at once.
The cloud is, by nature, flexible, meaning a transitional approach to successful migration is usually the best option. This can be an effective sales pitch for cloud vendors looking to attract skeptical clients, and make businesses more used to a whole new way of thinking about computing and storage.
Processing and storage viewed as utilities
The key to changing how we view computing is to start thinking of computing as a service. Just as electricity, water, and sewage are both reliable and essential to most businesses, computing needs, such as storage and processing, are also essential and potentially just as reliable. Just as it is hardly cost-effective for a power plant to run your company’s electric equipment, it is neither cost-effective to build a data center for your storage needs.
Five gradual steps for moving completely to the cloud
Fortunately, thanks to the flexibility that the cloud gives its costumers, a gradual migration is usually the best solution. While there is usually no need for it from a technical point of view, from a human resources standpoint it will help avoid human error. The following five steps can help make the transition to the cloud a smooth one:
- Move the company’s archived data to the cloud: Most companies have huge amounts of data that are not accessed frequently but still necessary. Managers can be assured that any problem (likely or otherwise) would not affect the company’s day-to-day operations. In any case, skeptical businesses can back up this data before moving it to the cloud. After experiencing the cloud’s reliability first hand, most companies can readily free up some space and save money by taking the next step.
- Move the company’s backups to the cloud: This will include the backups of the archive data from the previous step. This will also be seen as a low-risk step by management due to the nature of backup data. After a while of using agile cloud-based backups, most computer users will not want to go back to the relative sluggishness and inconvenience of on-site backups.
- Moving the company’s disaster recovery solution to the cloud: Cloud-based disaster recovery services are reliable and, best of all, have a very low chance of being hit by the same disaster hitting your local servers, unlike on-site disaster recovery. Your data can be accessed from any location, meaning recovery from a disaster is faster and with fewer long-term effects. Mean Time To Restore (MTTR) is the most important statistic in disaster recovery. With cloud-based disaster recovery, you can change your MTTR from days to mere hours.
- Having stored a large portion of a company’s data on the cloud, it is recommended to operate with a hybrid cloud solution for a while: A hybrid cloud usually works well for small and medium businesses, helping them transition from traditional computing infrastructures to a full cloud-based system. Businesses can remain on a hybrid cloud for as long as they feel comfortable, or use a hybrid solution permanently if they have specific problems.
- It is finally time to move production to the cloud: Moving data and processing to the cloud should seem like a logical step due to the convenience of integrating day-to-day operations. This is perfect for start-ups as the alternative of purchasing IT infrastructure and personnel is very costly. An equivalent amount of processing and storage on the cloud costs only a fraction of the former. It is recommended that you subscribe to the more reliable service providers. Like GMO Cloud – a company that offers additional services to help the customer save on costs. Visit the Add-Ons page to find out what other services can be outsourced to GMO Cloud.
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About the Guest Author:
Nida Rasheed is a freelance writer and owner of an outsourcing company, Nida often finds herself wanting to write about the subjects that are closest to her heart. She lives in Islamabad, Pakistan and can be found on Twitter @nidarasheed.
