Posted on October 9, 2024 by Torbjørn Gjøn

Member post originally published on Redpill Linpro’s blog by Torbjørn Gjøn

Are you dealing with aging infrastructure managed by internal resources? Are you considering moving to the cloud? To assist you on this journey, we have compiled some key points for you to consider before starting your migration.

Cloud, migration, provider, challenges, opportunities

5 reasons to move to the cloud

  1. You can avoid investing in your infrastructure and instead buy the specific services your business needs at any given time.
  2. The flexibility is unlimited. You start with the capacity your company currently needs and can scale up or down as your business evolves.
  3. There are many services offered by public cloud providers. However, these services are standardised, so if you want to customise them to your specific needs, it is good to seek help from a partner who can assist in meeting those needs.
  4. You can avoid being trapped in long contracts; you can move in and out as needed.
  5. The services in the cloud are automated.

5 things to consider before moving to the cloud

  1. Ensure that your security and regulatory requirements are met. For example, where is your data stored, who has access to it, how long are backups retained, access control, and GDPR compliance are some factors to consider.
  2. Identify shadow IT that is beyond the control of the IT department. Parts of the business may have purchased systems that IT is unaware of and that could be critical. Find out if any exist and consider them before moving to the cloud. Communication between IT and the business is crucial!
  3. Automate internal processes. Cloud services are automated, but make sure that internal processes do not become bottlenecks.
  4. Inventory what can be moved to the cloud. Applications supporting core business functions, especially older applications, are often customer-specific, complex, and integrated. Some applications are not suitable for migration to the cloud, while others are ready for migration.
  5. Choose a provider carefully. “Everything fails all the time” is a well-known quote from Werner Vogels (CTO Amazon). Can the application handle these conditions? Who manages errors, upgrades, and changes after a move to the cloud?

5 things to consider when choosing a provider

  1. Experience in helping customers migrate to the cloud with the right expertise in the field and acting as advisors before and during the migration. Ensure they can handle your new environment where all or part of the environment resides in the cloud.
  2. Ensure the provider can deliver the services your company needs. For example, that they can offer services related to databases, networks, applications, security, DevOps, analytics, AI, agile IT operations, etc. The provider should be independent of where your infrastructure is located, meaning that they can offer Cloud-independent technology allowing hybrid operations and the ability to move your infrastructure to other cloud providers.
  3. Ensure the provider has experience in handling lock-in effects and designing to work around them when necessary. Seek help from the references the provider has assisted in the past. There is plenty of advice and tips available, so take advantage of their experiences.
  4. Cloud price models may be quite complicated. Ensure the provider can give you a sustainable estimate of the cost of the migration and the new environment. Once you’re up and running, make sure to bring a partner experienced with cost management and cost optimalisation along.
  5. We all have a responsibility for the environment. Ensure that your provider values the environment in their work practices.

5 challenges: responsibility, human factor, technical legacy, processes & procedures, skills

  1. Maintain control over data, who has access to it, how long it is stored, and where. Keep a back door open through external backups to take responsibility in case of major failures and bring up the environment externally.
  2. New work methods/tools to learn, and we humans can sometimes struggle to embrace the changes.
  3. Choose environments where you have the most to gain and prioritise moving them to the cloud first.
  4. Review internal procedures and processes and automate internal processes. As mentioned above, internal processes are often bottlenecks and need to be reviewed for efficient delivery. Adapt routines to the requirements and challenges of moving to the Cloud, including making applications redundant and quickly recovering from errors.
  5. Skills development for the staff affected by the change.

5 opportunities in the cloud

  1. Set up a new test or production environment in no time.
  2. Easy to scale correctly.
  3. Always a modern platform.
  4. More time for proactive work. Your own resources can spend more time developing instead of managing their environment.
  5. Higher competitiveness. Smart cloud-based solutions can make your business more competitive. Cloud service providers can often offer systems with high performance, and due to economies of scale, even small companies can use the same tools and applications as large enterprises.

More on cloud

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