4 steps in conducting migration to the cloud successfully
Krzysztof Szabelski, Head of Technology at Future Processing, provides four steps to successfully migrate to the cloud.
One of the biggest and most impactful tools for digital transformations to date has been cloud computing. There are a number of reasons why it has become a huge success, including the advantage of flexibility, scalability and reduced costs. However, the main driving force is the world’s shift to remote working. A cloud-powered future is starting to shape, as more and more enterprises move towards remote infrastructure. Back in 2018, Gartner predicted that by 2022, over 90% of businesses will use cloud Cloud services. We see this trend come true, where most organizations are currently in the cloud, though not all have completely migrated.
Even though Cloud migration brings a number of benefits to a business, it doesn’t come without its challenges. Whether a company is looking to take advantage of cloud-only or hybrid setups, there are factors that need to be considered to ensure a successful migration.
1. Managing stakeholder expectations
In an environment where business requirements are constantly changing, it is easier for some companies to make this change happen, more than others. For instance, adjusting a business’ service to meet increasing traffic is more straightforward when using auto-scaling features from multiple Cloud services than a hybrid set-up. By properly managing the stakeholders’ expectations from the outset, the chances for a smoother journey are much greater. This can be done by identifying your stakeholders, understanding their prefered methods of communication, and providing regular updates to create full transparency. This will generate more confidence and trust within your relationship.
2. Navigating the transition to the Cloud
One of the most challenging aspects of migrating to the cloud is managing the transition period and hybrid Cloud set-up, with 68% of businesses stating that this was the biggest factor to overcome. This is not only because planning and maintaining hybrid set-ups involves combining two coexisting environments but also because other associated challenges are changing people’s mindsets and skillsets. Such change is much easier if the organization makes a firm “Cloud first” statement. In other cases, where they are more careful and adopt a hybrid cloud setup, people in the organization are likely to be more careful with changing old habits. Therefore organizations can not achieve new benefits with the old way. This can be managed, however, it requires a cautious approach to change management and ensuring strong push towards the cloud in the other way.
3. Harnessing the right skills
Many industry leaders understand that it is no longer a matter of if their company will migrate to the cloud, but when they will make the transition. Once that has been established, the next step is ensuring that the journey to the cloud is successful, and this involves employing the right people for help. Reskilling existing employees is no longer sufficient, instead organizations need to venture further afield and find an experienced partner to speed up the process. Not only can companies invest in their employees with training and preparation for new Cloud related challenges, but leverage the services from an experienced partner. This helps businesses to make informed decisions in the early stages of migration, and ensures organizations can better learn how to make the most of the cloud in the longer term.
4. Choosing the right partner
Whilst research shows that working with experienced partners when adopting or migrating to the cloud should be a part of the process from the very beginning, the biggest question is how to choose the right one for the business.
One of the most important factors to consider when choosing a new IT partner for Cloud migration is their experience. This is even more vital when the organization is looking to work with a partner on an ongoing basis, rather than a one-off project. If this is the case, the partner will need to work closely with the company throughout the Cloud adoption process and ensure that the final result is satisfactory with reskilled in-house specialists. It is also very important that both sides work transparently, only in this way can the partner’s competencies be used to learn new Cloud ways of working in a transformed organization.
Evidence shows that the number one reason for Cloud migration failures is due to a lack of understanding and limited skills surrounding the implementation. Many businesses tend to be over-enthusiastic about their ability to reskill their existing employees and choose to manage the transition themselves, but it’s clear that employing a partner can help better streamline the move to the cloud.
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The majority of businesses nowadays are migrating to the cloud, yet each transition is unique to those businesses. Some will face challenges that others won’t and equally, others will find aspects easier. By following the above steps, businesses can create their own unique plan for a successful and smooth migration to the cloud.
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