On-Prem To Cloud Migration Strategies: 6 Steps For A Smooth Process

Cloud migration is the process of moving an organization’s data and other parts of its digital assets from an on-premises data center to a cloud environment managed by a cloud service provider. 

The global digital transformation has seen a growing number of businesses move their IT infrastructures to the cloud because of its potential cost savings and improved business efficiency and performance.  

Cloud migration can be complex. Businesses have to assess their entire IT environment, determine which cloud vendor they'll use, their cloud strategy, and whether they'll use internal staff or external IT support to undertake the move.

Related Article: Which Is Better Azure Or AWS? How To Choose The Right Cloud Platform

To ensure the transition goes as smoothly as possible, it requires a well-thought-out plan that follows a specific cloud migration strategy. 

After reading this article, you will be able to better evaluate whether cloud migration is right for your business. You will also learn six essential best practices to successfully migrate to the cloud, while minimizing disruptions, compatibility problems, data loss, regulatory compliance concerns, and other potential issues.  

Why Are Businesses Migrating To The Cloud?  

Businesses generate and share vast amounts of data. The size of the business; legacy software; how and where users access the network; existing security controls; and the end-of-life dates of their computers, laptops, and other devices can all factor into the complexity of your IT environment.  

One downside of having everything on-prem is the upfront expense and ongoing maintenance costs of managing your entire in-house infrastructure.  

With cloud computing, businesses are able to leverage scalability of services without needing to invest in better hardware. Businesses also gain improved performance, security, and reliability with cloud infrastructure spread across multiple datacenters. 

They benefit from robust security built into many cloud-based services (Software-as-a-Solution or SaaS), along with cost-saving options such as pay-as-you-go pricing and other cost incentives that use existing licenses.

Related Article: Pros And Cons of Software as a Service (SaaS) For Businesses

Hybrid workplaces can also lower costs by dropping the need for fast upload speeds from their in-house ISP. 

Different cloud pricing models allow businesses to try it out without having to invest too heavily up front.  

Potential advantages of moving to the cloud include:  

• cost-savings 

• scalability 

• reliability 

• speed 

• availability 

• improved network performance and uptime 

• mobility  

• security compliance 

• customizable options 

Migrating all or partially into the cloud alleviates some of the inherent challenges that come with businesses maintaining their own IT systems on-prem, including utility costs, ongoing maintenance, physical security, and inability to scale at cost.  

That being said, cloud computing does have disadvantages. Organizations will have to determine which cloud solution, if any, is right for their business.  

Some limitations of cloud adoption include: 

• Cloud vendor dependence 

• Unexpected or rising costs of service 

• Compatibility and integration problems with existing infrastructure 

• Data privacy and network security risks 

• Service availability 

What Is An Effective Cloud Migration Plan Of Action For A Seamless Move?    

Many businesses have decided that the benefits of either total or partial cloud migration from on-prem outweigh the potential drawbacks. If you decide to take this route, here are some steps you should follow for best practice when moving from on -prem to the cloud.  

6 steps to take:

1. Environment assessment

Identify what needs to be migrated and define a clear objective, aligning with your IT needs and overall business strategy.  

Conduct a thorough assessment of your entire IT landscape to identify all software, devices, systems, users, data, applications, and processes within your network. By doing so, you can identify redundancies and plan out the resources and capability your business will need to host in the cloud if you have outdated legacy applications. 

A performance assessment, along with an understanding of what needs to be improved, will help with finding the right cloud offerings.  

2. Develop a migration strategy 

• Careful advanced planning is critical for a successful migration process.  
  
  
• Work with internal project managers and engineers to design a migration plan that fits into their schedules, or use an external managed IT provider, mitigating potential issues. 
  
  
• Since there are multiple approaches to cloud migration, choosing the right one will be critical to ensure that you can continue to access your important data and systems during the process, limiting operational downtime. 

3. Migration 

• While performing the migration, build out according to your plan and carefully document the process. 
  
  
• During the migration, run small-scale tests with different groups of users on a staggered basis to check for and fix any bugs found.  

4. Evaluation 

• If the migration needs to be reassessed, meet with the PM and engineers to evaluate and adjust the strategy.  
  
  
• Having ongoing collaboration and communication with stakeholders about the project as it progresses can provide helpful insights and ensure optimal performance. 

5. Post-migration steps 

• Run tests with users and verify that employees are able to access their applications both on-prem or remotely if they're working off-site. 
  
  
• A full, system-wide test should be performed as soon as possible following the project completion. This will allow you to determine if all employees can access the necessary files, apps, and other resources they need to do their jobs. 
  
  
• Make sure that the new cloud architecture is consistent with your project plans and meets security requirements.  
  
  
• Measure performance metrics and discuss with your internal IT team or MSP to review and verify results. 

6. Continuous monitoring and support 

• Train your internal IT team on the new cloud architecture and using the required resources to monitor your IT environment.  
  
  
• Provide employee security awareness training to educate staff about security protocols and emerging cyber threats.  

Related Article: Why Employee Security Awareness Training Helps Prevent Cyber Incidents

How Long Do Cloud Migrations Take?  

The time it takes to switch to a cloud computing environment from on-prem can vary widely and depends on many different factors, such as:  

• Your organization’s network bandwidth 

• Size of your business 

• Age of your existing equipment, software, and other IT resources 

• Regulatory cybersecurity requirements 

• Legacy applications 

Some legacy software may be obsolete or incompatible with today’s cloud storage solutions, which could complicate the project and significantly delay completion.

Depending on the scale and complexity of your IT infrastructure, it can take anywhere from several days to a few weeks to complete smaller-scale migrations.  

Moderate-scale migrations can take an average of 2-4 months.  

For large enterprises with multiple datacenters, complex IT systems, and legacy data, migrating to the cloud can require upwards of a year or more.  

What’s The Bottom Line In Ensuring a Smooth Cloud Transition? 

After reading this article, you better understand some of the key advantages and disadvantages of switching your data, workloads, and IT systems from on-prem management to a cloud environment.

You also now know the 6 steps you need to take to ensure a smooth and effective cloud conversion.  

We provide articles like this one to give you information about important IT topics so that you can use the information as a resource to make informed decisions about the IT solutions that will work best for your business.  

Depending on your business and the type of data you store and process, there may be regulatory restrictions on moving some data to the cloud, or security requirements you need to meet when doing so.  

The benefits of using a managed IT services provider to do your cloud migration is that an MSP brings with it a team of IT professionals with broad IT, cybersecurity, and industry knowledge to be able to complete the project following best practices, with minimal disruption to your business.  

At Kelser, we have successfully helped businesses of all sizes develop and implement a cloud migration strategy over the years. We offer this service on a project basis.  

While we also provide a full suite of managed IT support services, including a virtual chief information officer (vCIO) and technical alignment manager (TAM), proactive system monitoring, and robust security tools, we know that managed IT is not right for everyone.  

If you have an existing internal IT team with the knowledge, time, and resources to devote to an often complex process, then you may not need help from an external MSP.  

If you’re unsure if managed IT support is right for you, read this article to learn what a managed IT provider does.  

Click the button below to get a free checklist to self-assess for existing security gaps and see if managed IT support can help you solve your IT issues and help you plan for the future.