More and more companies are transitioning to the cloud. Migrating to the cloud sounds easy, but it's a bit more difficult than people think. A lot of unexpected problems can popup if you decide to transition to the cloud without proper foresight.
You can lose time and money if you don't transition properly. The good news is there are steps a business can take to make things easier. Carefully following steps can make all the difference in the world.
Plan Ahead Of Time
There are a ton of risks and uncertainties involved with migrating to the cloud. This is why it's important to plan ahead of time. Planning ahead will reduce the chances of hiccups from occurring.
Note what applications should be migrated first, how you'll move those applications over and which application's you'll end up replacing. Don't forget to note what's in a business's environment. Other things you can do is plan for unknown and known expenses, as well as how your typical business operations will be impacted during the migration.
Pick A Cloud Vendor
There are a number of things to consider when picking a cloud vendor, which includes whether or not the vendor's goals align with your company's goals. You'll also want to review the security operations of the vendor, as well as note where the vendor's data centers are located. Amazon Web Services, Azure, Google, Microsoft, Alibaba and IBM are among the top vendors in the cloud market according to Pendulum IT who provide Azure migration services in London.
Train Workers
Migrating to the cloud is difficult, so it's a good idea to train your workers on how to deal with issues that will eventually occur. If your workers don't have some sort of knowledge of the cloud, then the migration process can take far longer than necessary. Not only that, but extra challenges can arise.
Companies should provide training to their staff. They can gauge where their workers' understanding of the cloud is at, and then provide them with training to strengthen their knowledge in areas they don't know much about. Plus, the more workers know, the more companies can benefit from the cloud.
Test Everything
The migration process is important, but so is testing everything out. Performance tests, stress tests, load tests and compatibility tests should be carried out. Such tests can ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible and that any sensitive data is protected.
Reduce Downtime
Create a plan in regards to what you'll do during downtime. There will be plenty of downtime during the transition process to the cloud. A provider that offers several availability zones can reduce the threat of downtime, which can make a big difference for you business.
