“If someone asks me what cloud computing is, I try not to get bogged down with definitions. I tell them that, simply put, cloud computing is a better way to run your business.” That’s what Founder, CEO and Chairman of Salesforce, Marc Benioff answered Mercury News in a decade old Q&A. Even today, the statement stands strong and cloud continues to enable businesses to disrupt, innovate, and offer enhanced experiences.
Given the significant benefits businesses gain from this technology, its adoption has become one of the most important trends in recent years. Research indicates that the percentage of companies running their business software on traditional on-premise data centers has steadily decreased. This shift highlights the rapid pace at which organizations are embracing cloud-based solutions, signaling a clear and ongoing transition towards more flexible, scalable, and cost-effective infrastructure.
The benefits of cloud migration are reduced IT costs, integration with existing IT tech stack, increased operational and management efficiency, improved security, boosted performance, scalability and room for innovation and development of new capabilities. Given the pandemic, there has been a record shift in businesses adopting cloud as it provides the flexibility and access to support a distributed workforce.
However, as businesses rush to adopt cloud computing processes, the shift and adoption can be a complex and challenging experience. Moving company data to a cloud environment requires time, effort, and a lot of planning. Therefore, it is advisable to companies that before availing cloud benefits, it is vital that they familiarise with the common cloud migration challenges and the possible solutions to mitigate them.
Challenge 1: An Unplanned Strategy
Don’t rush into adopting a new technology without a proper strategy in place. Planning out the migration is an essential part of any cloud migration. Factors such as the cost analysis, employee training, and the estimated time to complete a migration need to be taken into consideration to help minimize risk and ensure that the right solution is chosen.
A good change management plan can help companies manage the complexity of the migration project and minimize the impact on the business. Combining the business objectives and requirements will better help identify the areas to improve efficiency and thereby help minimize costs.
Pro Tip: For more insights into how to strategize and approach your cloud migration, refer to our Cloud Migration Strategy Guide
Challenge 2: Deciding What Workloads To Move And When
Moving all processes and data at once can be daunting and costly. Being new to cloud migration, businesses have to acknowledge the room for errors and move cautiously. Therefore, fractioning of movable data is advisable. Knowing what data to move first could help companies safeguard themselves from errors which could erase, corrupt, or unsecure their data.
To begin with, opt to start migrating with non-essential or redundant data. Breaking down the data and moving it in batches would ensure that businesses don’t sabotage data sensitivity and maintain compliance throughout cloud migration.
Challenge 3: Perceived High Financial Investments
Out of all the challenges in cloud migration, the one that makes businesses shy away the most is the impending cost. The long-term returns on cloud investments are increased efficiency, reduced IT costs, and streamlined processes in the long run, however the initial investment can seem expensive. Cloud migration involves financial challenges on every step starting from rewriting application architecture for the cloud, to investing in the right partner and tools to migrate successfully, plus training and upgrading existing users about new system and processes, and also combating latency, interoperability, dependencies on non-cloud apps, and downtime.
Despite the expense, the evaluation of cloud computing makes it a good investment with great savings and benefits in the long run. Therefore, strategizing and fractioning is essential to draw out the maximum and have a smooth server-cloud transition.
Challenge 4: Lack Of Existing Skill Sets
When introducing new systems and process in business, it is important the people are open to the idea of change and that the change in itself is easy. A successful migration is only possible when the top leadership understands the business requirements of migration and help in cultivating a suitable culture in the organization.
By showing support and the added value cloud migration brings, it becomes easier for the employees to accept training needs about the new system. Therefore, supporting employees with a robust onboarding program helps the company in executing their cloud migration strategy seamlessly. Here, it is also important for the company to choose cloud migration solutions and software that are user-friendly and can integrate with the existing legacy applications.
Challenge 5: Data Security & Privacy
Data security and privacy is a primary concern during cloud migration because many businesses fear their migration operations might crash. Therefore it important to have a word prior to the migration with the cloud service providers regarding their security practices.
Businesses should be prepared to get answers on where their data will be stored, would there be end-to-end encryption provided, what are their security and privacy policies, and what security regulations is the cloud service provider compliant with. By asking these questions, a business will get better idea about their vendor and learn about their security protocols.
Challenge 6: Vendor Lock-in
Even after thorough scrutinizing, there could be discrepancies between what your business needs and what your cloud provider delivers. Therefore, it is always safe to have a contingency plan to avoid vendor lock-ins. Before choosing a cloud migration partner, a migration assessment of the vendor can strengthen the selection.
Having a clear cloud migration strategy which includes an exit clause, plus portable data, and code to avoid proprietary formatting and more importantly considering a multi-cloud strategy can help mitigate the pressure if at all a business wishes to change service providers.
Overcome Cloud Migration Challenges With The Support Of The Right Cloud Partner
Cloud migration can be daunting but is extremely rewarding. With the help of a strong strategy and the right cloud solution provider, the journey can be very easy and hassle free. The right cloud partner is the one who not only understands and guides through the common cloud migration challenges but also renders specific solutions suiting the your unique business requirements.
Cloud migration is being adopted rapidly by companies and businesses are going through massive digital transformations. Statistics show that about 92% of organizations are already using some type of cloud service. According to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc., worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 20.4% to a total of $675.4 billion in 2024, up from $561 billion in 2023.
With what technology offers today, investing and considering moving to the cloud is rather beneficial. With an incremental strategy and trustworthy cloud solution provider like Acuvate, companies can reap the maximum out of their cloud investments. Start by assessing your existing infrastructure, data estate, applications. Identify & overcome the challenges before you get started with your cloud journey.
For a comprehensive introduction to cloud migration, check out our Quick Guide to Cloud Migration.
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