Cloud Migration Strategy

It is critically important that you do a complete audit of your current infrastructure, including hardware, software, licenses, security, and permissions. Without this starting point, it is impossible to make intelligent decisions about what to move, when, and how. As part of this documentation, you can identify existing or new KPIs (key performance indicators) that will inform the new service levels that must be achieved post-migration. A common reason for undertaking a cloud migration is because your current infrastructure isn’t meeting your needs. The new architecture should have clearly defined performance goals, such as required network throughput, and you should establish that the cloud platform can meet those goals within budget.

Once you know what you have, you can make a strategy for how to move it. Some services might work as-is, and you can simply re-host them in their new environment. Others may require modification to some degree (or to substantially reduce cost and complexity). This is referred to as re-platforming. Other services may need to be substantially refactored in order to work in the cloud or replaced with a comparable third-party service. Some percentage of your infrastructure may simply not be needed anymore and can be retired to save money. And finally, you may decide that some of your infrastructure makes more sense where it is, so you want to retain it in place, but make sure it is still accessible by all of the migrated architecture.

A thorough plan ensures a smooth execution. There will inevitably be some downtime because you have to stop a service in its old location, make sure all the data is moved, and then start it in the new location. Typically you want to plan for this over nights, holidays, or weekends when your business will be minimally affected. Additionally, you will have to decide between moving infrastructure slowly, piece by piece, so that interruptions are minimal and intermittent, or completing the entire operation in one go.

Once the new infrastructure is in place, it needs to be closely monitored to ensure that it is meeting all of your KPIs and performance goals. If staff or customers have unreliable or intermittent access to the new infrastructure, then the cost savings may not outweigh the burden on the user experience. Setting up for success when it comes to security, reliability, and performance is a critical piece in your cloud migration strategy.