Is It Time to Shift to the Cloud?

Clouds are online third-party services providing databases, storage, and networking. Lately, several companies have been taking their data and operations to the cloud. This process is called cloud migration and requires extensive preparation.

Companies that migrate to the cloud undergo a lot of transformation. This transformation is necessary as cloud migration is a complex process that can fail if done the wrong way.

Organizations take several tests and a Cloud Readiness Assessment to evaluate their preparedness. These assessments review the organization’s goals and find its strengths and weaknesses.

If you have been wondering whether it is time to take your back-end online, read on to find out.

Why Would You Want to Shift Online?

A lot of companies will already have functional on-premises databases and operations. This side of the business is a part where companies invest heavily. So, abandoning existing infrastructure and shifting to an entirely new system can be exhausting. A lot of organizations resort to hybrid clouds to save investment. Hence, wondering if the cloud is worth the trouble is understandable.

Some of the reasons why you would shift your data and operations online would be:

Performance

Cloud migration helps improve end-user experience, which is the final goal for any company. Hosting your operations online can help function closer to the geo-location of customers. Hence, network latency is improved.

Cost

Clouds are a cost-effective alternative to on-premises IT services. If your company has to invest considerably less in IT, it can shift funds towards innovation. Improving existing products and developing new ones can be funded more.

Scalability

Migrating to clouds helps you support larger databases and host more data. Hence, business expansion and a more extensive customer base are no longer an IT challenge.

What Are the Challenges You May Face During Your Cloud Migration Journey?

Cloud migration can be a complex and risky process. Hence, cloud readiness assessments are necessary. They consider the biggest challenges in cloud migration and assess your company’s readiness to deal with them.

Some challenges that organizations commonly face are:

Lack of Strategy

Quite a few organizations migrate to the cloud just to follow the trends. They do not invest in strategy or end-to-end planning.

It reduces coordination between online and offline systems.

Data Security

Clouds follow a shared responsibility model. This implies that the cloud may offer robust security measures, but it is the company’s responsibility to configure them. Migrating to the cloud involves a lot of data transfer which may be sensitive. Thus, not customizing the security settings to match your requirements can make the process risky.

Vendor Lock-in

Cloud migration is not always from on-premises IT services to online. It may simply be the shift from one cloud platform to another. However, this is a costly option. Many companies that start on a particular cloud platform struggle with switching even if the old cloud no longer meets their needs.

How to Know if You Are Cloud-Ready?

As you go forward with cloud migration, you will have to assess whether you are ready for the shift. Some positive signals are having a strategy and knowing which parts of IT you want online.

A Cloud Readiness Assessment can benefit organizations greatly. They provide insight into: