Best Practices to Handle Large-Scale Cloud Migration Like a Pro

A majority of us are well acquainted with the phrase, "Planning is easy. Execution is hard." This scenario is quite applicable to the case of cloud migration. Large-scale migrations can be challenging as humungous data is involved. 

Cloud technology is touching new heights in industry 4.0. At a global level, the cloud migration market is expected to reach a staggering $86.7 billion by 2023. Cloud migration is a challenging task, and these challenges keep intensifying, even more, in large-scale cloud migration scenarios. For such massive cloud migrations, a well-crafted migration roadmap is required, which we have bifurcated here in this blog as best practices.

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Handle Large-Scale Cloud Migrations Successfully With These Practices

As a large number of applications and servers are migrated together, the stages of preparation, planning, and execution require thorough monitoring, and security and compliance should be considered high priority. Let’s take a look at the best practices for large-scale cloud migration compiled by our experts.

Understanding the Cloud-First Approach

You need to know the purpose of moving your business to the cloud – pros, cons, shortfalls, etc. It is essential for all the relevant parties involved in the process of migration to outline the necessary metrics for a more manageable workflow.

Specific measures need to be outlined in the first place to cross-check whether migration is on track. These measures are used to make comparisons. It also informs decisions on hiring the right staff, forming necessary partnerships, and preparing a communication plan for migration.

The companies should prepare an internal cloud Center of Excellence (CoE) to brainstorm best practices. These best practices rely upon the selection of the right kind of tools that can assure a smooth operation flow.

Strategizing is a Critical Component in Migration

The very foundation of cloud computing lies in a well-framed cloud migration strategy. The strategy provides a vivid blueprint of how to get the migration done, a step-by-step guide. Migrations require a joint collaborative effort of the team on technical expertise.

Migration KPIs need to be framed, covering a wide array of objectives related to savings, productivity, and agility. Moreover, it is crucial to have them well-synchronized with organizational goals. Business motives should be well-aligned with uses cases for moving to the cloud. Similarly, the management of processes, people, and technology altogether may seem difficult if it is done without a roadmap.

Gartner has also laid down five Rs that can help you decide the best-fit cloud migration strategy for your business. The five Rs stand for, rehost, refactor, revise, rebuild, and replace. Research mastermind at Gartner, Richard Watson has provided the strategies viz. Rehost (lift and shift) on HIaaS, refactor using SIaaS and PaaS, revise for HIaaS or PaaS, rebuild on PaaS, and replace with SaaS.

AWS has listed six Rs as application migration strategies:

• ReHost

• Replatform

• Repurchase

• Refactor/Re-architect

• Retire

• and Retain

Re-platforming is quite common in migration cases. It includes modernizing database system or integrating with APIs to enhance the app’s connectivity and functionality over the cloud by keeping the app’s original purpose intact. Alternatively, apps can also be pushed to get either re-hosted, re-purchased, or re-architected.

This post was originally published here.

Further Reading 

4 Metrics to Monitor When Scaling Up and Down in the Cloud

A Guide to Cloud Migration