What Is Cloud Migration?

Cloud migration has been a hot topic in IT circles for some years now and is an important goal for almost all IT leaders. While many organisations have already completed a migration to the cloud, many more are yet to do so or have only completed a partial migration so far. But what exactly is a cloud migration and what are the primary benefits for organisations that migrate to the cloud?

At Lánluas, we specialise in helping organisations that use TechnologyOne cloud solutions. In this article, we will take a look at cloud migration services in general, answer questions you may have about the migration process, and what it might mean for your company.

What does a move to the cloud entail?

Migration to the cloud involves the relocation of digital assets and resources, which may include data, workloads, applications and services.

Migration is a move to cloud infrastructure that typically refers to relocation from onsite servers to those in the cloud. However, it may also be used to refer to relocation from one cloud platform or service provider to another.

The mechanics of the move will depend on your chosen cloud migration strategy and the platform to which you will be migrating.

Lift-and-shift

• A lift and shift migration plan — also referred to as rehosting — is one in which applications and services are moved directly to a cloud platform in their current format.
• No refactoring of code is involved, and no changes to application architecture are required.

Platform move

• Also known as re-platforming, this type of migration to cloud infrastructure involves minimal architecture and code changes — enough to make sure the applications and services in question are able to run efficiently on the new platform while retaining their existing functionality in full.

Repurchase

• A repurchase migration plan is called for when you are moving from one SaaS solution to another.
• For example, if you wish to move from an existing solution to a TechnologyOne solution, you would use a repurchase plan to manage your migration.

Refactor

• Migrating to cloud infrastructure with a refactor plan involves redesigning and optimising existing applications to take advantage of cost and performance benefits in the cloud.
• The extent of the required changes for this cloud strategy will depend on the applications in question, the cloud platform you plan to move to and your primary goals.

Re-architect

• Moving to the cloud with a re-architect strategy will involve a more radical redesign of existing applications and services.
• The aim of such a move is to make architectural changes that allow you to take full advantage of the services available in your new cloud platform.

Rebuild

• This is the most radical way of migrating to cloud infrastructure. It involves a complete rebuild of your current applications and services, and possibly your data stores as well.
• Although it is the most disruptive option, it will ensure that you can benefit fully from the latest cloud tools and frameworks.

Retire

• This is generally a small part of a larger migration strategy rather than a standalone strategy.
• During your cloud planning phase, you may discover that some applications or services are no longer needed, in which case they can be retired, with the associated data safely archived, rather than moved to the cloud.

At Lánluas, we specialise in helping organisations that use TechnologyOne cloud solutions.

Potential benefits of a migration to cloud infrastructure

There are many benefits a migration to the cloud can bring. Some will depend on your choice of cloud platform and whether you manage your own migration or choose to work with a company that offers cloud migration as a service.

These benefits may include:

Greater scalability and elasticity

• Cloud service providers charge companies for the resources they actually use, and they normally have an almost unlimited capacity for future expansion.
• This makes it easy for companies to scale their systems up and down in a cost-effective manner, in line with future changes in demand for applications and services.

Convenient to access

• With apps and services that are running in the cloud, your corporate systems can be securely accessed from almost any location.

Ease of maintenance

• Almost all software maintenance and update tasks are handled remotely by the cloud service provider.

For a full list of benefits that may apply to your specific migration plan, and more details of the cloud migration service that we provide at Lánluas, contact us.