Cloud Migration is not just about moving everything from one place to another.  You need to consider carefully what to move, when to move it, what needs to change before, during and after you move it, and what you hope to gain from moving it. Which type of cloud environment is best for your business is also key – public, private, hybrid or multi-cloud.

In this article, we’ve summarised some of the business benefits you can look forward to, the key steps in the cloud migration process, some challenges to look out for and key success factors we believe in.

Is your business a good candidate for cloud migration?

If your business falls into one or more of these categories, then the answer is probably ‘yes’.

• Do you have a hybrid workforce with some or most of your staff working from home?
• Do you want your business to be more agile?
• Do you work with global or regional teams or need to collaborate with off-site partners?
• Are you looking to recruit skilled team members outside of SA?
• Is it time to spend less money on patching and supporting legacy systems and modernise your IT?
• Are you looking for a way to manage resources, capacity and cost related to IT?
• Do you have concerns about data security and safety?

Potential benefits of cloud migration to your business

Besides allowing you to move on from outdated or inefficient systems (like older versions of your accounting or CRM systems maybe) and abandon hardware and software solutions that are no longer optimal, there are a host of other potential benefits that Cloud Migration can potentially offer your business:

• Increased agility and flexibility allowing you to innovate faster and meet the changing workplace and customer demands
• Scalability together with better consumption management and easing of resource demands
• Reduced Cost
• Improved Performance
• Business Continuity
• Security and compliance
• Simplifying your IT

3 key steps in the migration process

Align with your business objectives: Understand the business value to be gained by moving to cloud. What risks you wish to mitigate and goals you wish to achieve. Understand which applications make the most sense to move to the cloud and which type of cloud environment is right for your business.

Discover and assess: Decide what to move, where to move it, when to move it. Understand your current infrastructure, application and data landscapes including the dependencies between applications and assessed risks associated with a move to ensure you maintain service levels.

Migrate to cloud: Use the right migration tools that allow for speed, accuracy, consistency, and repeatability. Enlist specialist IT skills to ensure an efficient and effective migration plan, and journey.

A more detailed 12-step version of the migration process, is outlined in this by article by TechTarget.

Common cloud migration challenges

Business Technology is well placed to deliver a successful cloud migration for your business and has the experience to tackle some of these common challenges you might be faced with:

• Legacy applications – deciding which to ditch, keep or redevelop
• Key dependencies – understanding the current organisational landscape and providing for any dependencies in the migration strategy to help reduce risk, time, and cost
• Security – ensuring security and risk compliance throughout the migration process
• Skills – providing the specialist skills that may be lacking in an internal team
• Costs – understanding and managing the costs throughout

Tips from our team

There are many factors that contribute to a smooth migration, but these are the key items we’ve identified:

• Secure the upfront buy-in of the entire business
• Identify the key-stakeholders and involve them at all the right moments
• Insist on detailed planning and efficient project management
• Communicate clearly and remember to train your staff

We’d like to help

If you’re concerned about the security risk of migration, the complexity of your business and the change management that will be required, the headache of dealing with legacy infrastructure or even the lack of IT skills within your organisation, you are not alone.

We have successfully migrated a number of businesses to the cloud and would welcome the opportunity to answer your questions and discuss your requirements.

Click through for more details on our team and our services or give us a call on 021 531 5180.

Doing business better. Together.

For more on this topic:

Accenture: Cloud migration – Understanding what it is and how it can transform your business

NewRelic.com: Cloud Migration Checklist

(Image Credit: Pixabay)