Best practices for moving from on-premises software to the cloud
Are you thinking about moving from on-premises software to the cloud? Learn how to successfully move your critical business applications and data to the cloud.
The value of the cloud is well established. Many companies across all industries have already made the leap into the world of cloud computing. However, there are varying degrees of cloud migration. Not every organization implements a migration strategy by moving all of its data to the cloud in one fell swoop. In fact, Many organizations take an iterative approach to cloud migration, taking into account business and technical requirements.
In this article, let's take a closer look at the basic principles of cloud migration, potential challenges, and valuable services for moving business applications and data from on-premises software to the cloud as efficiently and securely as possible.
What is the transition from on-premises to cloud software?
Cloud migration is defined as moving data, applications, and other IT services to the cloud, and in this article, we mainly discuss on-premises migration to the cloud – that is, moving data hosted in your on-premises data center and other infrastructure to an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or platform. , that is, cloud deployment of service (PaaS), “Cloud migration” is sometimes used to describe the transfer of data from one cloud software to another, either in the context of a multi-cloud system or, in some cases, to an entirely different deployment.
During the migration process, on-premises data will typically be moved to either a public cloud, a multi-cloud service, or a hybrid cloud solution that leverages public cloud resources alongside private on-premises data infrastructure.
DocSuite plays an important role in the cloud migration process. It contributes to facilitating the exchange and collaboration of documents between teams and providing a flexible interface for working online. It can be used to manage and share files effectively, which enhances cooperation and coordination during migration processes to cloud software.
What are the types of cloud migration?
There are several approaches to a cloud software migration strategy, and the choice you make will be conditioned by your specific business needs: How much of your organization's data needs to be migrated to the cloud? Several hundred gigabytes? Dozens of terabytes? Is this your first migration? Answering these questions will help determine the best cloud migration strategy for your organization.
Rehosting: Also known as a “lift and shift” or “forklift migration” approach, rehosting is the simplest type of on-premises migration to the cloud, and applications, data, schemas and workloads are moved from the data center to the IaaS cloud deployment, without changing them in any way Although this type of migration to the cloud is fairly easy to perform, it limits what you can do with your applications because they haven't been modified to be cloud native. It's best suited for low-impact on-premises workloads, or as an initial migration method for organizations new to the cloud. Cloud software.
Refactoring: This strategy, sometimes called “rip and replace” or “refactoring,” requires much more effort and time than rehosting, and entails rewriting and refactoring the application architecture — and possibly data and schema — both before and after migrating to the cloud. The main advantage of refactoring is that you are essentially redesigning applications from the ground up with cloud software in mind, taking advantage of the latest and most advanced features offered by your cloud service provider (CSP). The costs of migrating to software may be lower.
The initial cloud is higher, but in the long run, your cloud tools will run more effectively. If you intend to move a lot of your applications and workloads off-premises, refactoring may ultimately be the better option.
Replatforming: Halfway between rehosting and rebuilding, replatforming involves making some changes to the application while retaining some of its other core elements, and for this reason, it is sometimes referred to as “moving and improving” or “revising,” are common examples. Modifying the way the application interacts with the database, replatforming can work on migrations from on-premises software to the cloud, as well as moves to a PaaS service.
Replacement: In this migration strategy, data is taken from existing on-premises applications and moved to cloud-based SaaS applications built by third parties, while the original on-premises applications are discarded. This approach may make sense for organizations whose applications have been exposed To hack in some way or that simply work with legacy tools that you consider inferior to third-party SaaS options.
How Doc Suite helps you
DocSuite plays an important role in migrations to the cloud. If a rehosting strategy is used, DocSuite allows applications and data to be moved directly without significant modification. Since it allows transfer of schemas and workloads, DocSuite is suitable for low-impact on-premises workloads. .
When a refactoring strategy is chosen, DocSuite facilitates the organization of rewrites and refactorings of application architectures.,The system can also support the integration of advanced features offered by cloud software services, which contributes to improving the efficiency of cloud tools in the long term.
In the case of a replatforming strategy, DocSuite can facilitate modifications to how the application interacts with the database, enabling efficient migration of the application to the cloud, as well as supporting migration to PaaS.
In the case of replacement, DockSuite can be used to move data from on-premises applications to cloud SaaS applications, with the ability to ignore the original on-premises applications.
Overall, DocSuite is a powerful help in facilitating cloud migrations regardless of the chosen strategy.
5 steps to successful cloud migration from on-premises software
No two cloud migration projects are alike, however, in general, the following five steps will serve any organization well in their efforts to move from on-premises to the cloud:
plan
Start a successful migration to the cloud by answering two questions: Why do you want to migrate data and applications to the cloud? What will you convey? This will determine the complexity of the process: for example, using the cloud for disaster recovery for a small number of applications will be less complex and involve fewer steps than fully moving an organization's workloads.
Likewise, if DevOps is your main motivation, you'll know that migrating to PaaS may be a better option than IaaS. A complete inventory of current applications and reports is also critical, to identify unused or duplicate reports and data that are not being accessed and avoid the additional work of migrating these items.
Do your due diligence
Check the offerings from different vendors to get an idea of the total cost of ownership (TCO). In each case, you will also need to consider the logistical and resource requirements for different cloud software migration strategies. Keep in mind: There is no harm in starting small with your on-premises cloud migration – For example, the initial lift and shift process for some application workloads – and try a different strategy like replatforming or refactoring later, when you have a better idea of what you need from the cloud.
Set up your security
Deploy the cloud firewall before the actual migration to reduce exposure of on-premises data during migration.
Start small
Start the migration process by moving some work that is not mission-critical to the organization's real-time operations, and testing its cloud functionality. Once you are sure that the application and data are arranged in the cloud, proceed with the migration according to the strategy you have decided. Business processes can get delayed during the process, especially in Restructuring migrations that are not fully planned and tested in advance, most cloud providers offer tools that help mitigate disruption.
Keep improving
Carefully sync and update applications as needed once the migration to the cloud is complete. If you are performing a cloud-only migration, on-premises systems can be disabled, but there are many situations where keeping these systems is valuable, such as a hybrid cloud deployment.
Challenges of moving to cloud software
Owning the capabilities of the latest cloud trends with an on-premises migration to the cloud is not without its potential challenges, and with careful planning and the right partners, you can avoid these obstacles:
Cost overruns
Migration-related expenses, total cost of ownership, bandwidth needs, resource allocation, and ongoing post-migration costs can add up quickly, and careful planning up front is key.
DockSuite provides flexibility in resource consumption, allowing precise cost control and avoiding budget overruns during the transition process.
Databases
In some cases, migrating on-premises databases to the cloud is much slower than migrating application workloads, but it doesn't have to be that way. A cloud vendor representative and the IT team can collaborate and find ways to mitigate any operational disruptions caused by an on-premises migration to The cloud.
DocSuite offers an integrated solution for managing databases in the cloud, which facilitates the migration process and reduces negative impacts on application performance.
Legacy infrastructure and applications
Some legacy systems were developed before the advent of cloud computing, most of them can be migrated, but it is important to think ahead. During the planning phase, determine whether legacy resources need to be reorganized, restructured or replaced before migrating.
DocSuite can easily integrate with legacy systems, reducing the need to refactor or replace legacy resources before migration.
Safety
Both pre- and post-migration CSPs provide security for your cloud infrastructure – not your workloads and data, which is why deploying and maintaining cloud software is so important for both your cloud resources and any on-premises infrastructure you maintain. Protects both.
DocSuite provides high levels of security, with data encryption and access management, keeping the infrastructure secure during and after the migration process.
DocSuite provides application programming interfaces (APIs) to facilitate integration with cloud providers, making collaboration easier.
In short, DocSuite promotes careful planning and provides a comprehensive solution to the challenges of moving to the cloud, ensuring the success of the process and achieving the desired benefits.
DocSuite can help you migrate data and overcome difficulties that may arise during the process, especially when moving databases to the cloud. Through a combination of comprehensive consulting, automation, data standardization and data model integration, DocSuite can help you implement a successful migration. , with a better understanding of your data and cloud software.