To date, 90% of large enterprises have already adopted a multi-cloud infrastructure. And 76% of all organizations worldwide also use the same cloud model. Evidently, their cloud migration strategies appear to have been well-thought out and highly effective.
But, if you’re still in the process of migrating to the cloud (or are only in the early planning stages) you might be hemming and hawing over which strategy your business should adopt.
In this blog we’ll take you through the 6, main simple steps that any organization can take in order to have the best chance at a successful cloud migration project, the first time around.
What is a Cloud Migration Strategy?
A cloud migration strategy is basically a roadmap for your organization’s core architecture transition from traditional, on-premises IT systems to the cloud.
It outlines the key steps that need to be taken in order to perform your data and application migration successfully, while minimizing risks and maximizing business benefits along the way.
The 6 Essential Cloud Migration Strategy Steps for a Successful Cloud Migration Process
Now, let’s dive into the 6 essential steps you’ll need in order to successfully migrate your business and customer data to new cloud environments or cloud platforms:
1. Conduct a Cloud Readiness Assessment
Before beginning your cloud migration, it’s important to first assess whether or not your organization is ready for the transition.
This includes evaluating factors such as current IT infrastructure, applications and data; security requirements; budget and timeline considerations; personnel capacity and skill levels and choosing any third-party cloud services you’ll be working with.
2. Set Your Migration Goals and Objectives
It’s also crucial to define your goals for the cloud migration project clearly from the outset, since this will guide all other key decisions along the way.
For example, you may be looking to improve cost savings by moving certain applications to the cloud, while improving scalability with others or abandoning old legacy systems altogether. Other objectives might include increasing speed of innovation, enhancing security capabilities, etc.
3. Select the Right Cloud Deployment Model
You’ll also need to carefully select which cloud computing deployment model is right for your business and applications, such as public cloud, private cloud or hybrid cloud architecture.
4. Outline a Detailed Migration Plan
Once you have a clear picture of your current IT environment, objectives for the cloud migration project, and desired deployment model, it’s time to start outlining a detailed plan for migrating from on-premises deployments to the cloud in a way that minimizes risk and maximizes benefits for your business.
This will include mapping out key tasks and milestones along the way, identifying dependencies between specific steps, determining resource requirements, etc.
5. Maintain Constant Communication with All Stakeholders
As the cloud migration project is underway, it’s important to maintain regular communication with all stakeholders involved in the project, including your leadership team, IT staff and any third-party vendors you may be working with. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page throughout the process and can reach out for assistance as needed.
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6. Conduct a Post Migration Review
Finally, once your cloud migration is complete it’s essential to conduct a thorough review of the entire project from start to finish in order to identify areas where improvements could be made for future projects. This will help you optimize your cloud strategy going forward and enable greater success next time around.
Solidifying Your Cloud Migration Strategy with Integris by Your Side
If you’re looking to successfully migrate to the cloud on your first attempt, it’s important to have a clear and well-planned cloud migration strategy in place. Luckily, this is where Integris can help.
As an experienced IT services firm with a proven track record in successful cloud migrations, we can guide you through every step of the process and help ensure that your cloud migration project goes off without a hitch.
Our expert team will work closely with you to assess your current IT environment, identify the goals and objectives for the project, select the right deployment model, map out a detailed migration plan, maintain ongoing communication with all stakeholders, and conduct a thorough post-migration review.
And best of all, you can rest assured that your business data and systems will be well-protected throughout the entire process.
So if you’re ready to make the move to the cloud with confidence, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Integris today.
