7 Common Risks of Cloud Migration And How To Manage Them
Cloud migration offers businesses increased flexibility, scalability, and performance. While many companies enjoy the advantages of cloud computing and hosting, the migration process presents its own set of challenges. From developing the right migration strategy to addressing security requirements, budget constraints, and application compatibility, organizations can face unexpected pitfalls that might affect the business.
Keep reading to discover the 7 common risks of cloud migration and how to handle them for a smooth transition.
Partner with Cloud Experts
Cloud migration is a complex, time-consuming task. With the help of our cloud and infrastructure experts at Applied Tech, your business can experience a seamless migration and quickly return to normal operations.
How Does Cloud Migration Work?
Cloud migration is the process through which a business moves its digital assets, including data, applications, and IT resources, to the cloud. Before the advent of the cloud, businesses stored data and applications on a self-managed IT infrastructure housed in an on-premises data center.
When migrating to the cloud, these assets move from on-premises data centers to the cloud providers’ infrastructure. The process of cloud migration can be challenging, with risks like increased downtime or potential data breaches. Therefore, it is crucial to begin with a clear cloud migration strategy.
Your strategy will vary based on the type of cloud migration you choose. With three options—full data center conversion, support transfer for business process software, and web/mobile applications—you can select the process that best fits your needs.
Full data center conversion:
- A complex process that requires time and effort from IT professionals
- It outsources all data center hardware to a public cloud host
- Migrates both internal and external business processes to the cloud
Transfer of support for the business process software:
- Migrates only a portion of IT resources, databases, and software to a public host
- Maintains private cloud and complex networking support for internal activities
- Contains mission-critical data in internal services and CRMs
Web and mobile application optimization:
- Moves only a limited set of web or mobile applications to public cloud architectures for hosting and DevOps management
- Offers many tools for programmers, website developers, and system administrators to streamline the development lifecycle
- Requires continuous integration and delivery to test code
Many cloud solution providers offer various types of cloud migration services. When choosing a provider, make sure they support the specific migration you need or discuss with them to determine which migration type will best help you achieve your business goals.
7 Common Challenges in Cloud Migration + Risk Mitigation Tips
Modernizing your data storage and applications through cloud migration will keep your business competitive and help streamline operations. However, with migration comes many opportunities for your data to be exposed, compromised, or lost. While planning, executing, and monitoring your cloud migration, it’s beneficial to be aware of common challenges that may occur so you know how to handle them.
Below are seven of the most common challenges in cloud migration, along with expert tips on how to mitigate these risks:
1. Data Security and Compliance Standards
Transferring your data to a new cloud solution and environment can introduce new security
and compliance risks. Large cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and AWS have comprehensive physical, network, and data security measures integrated into their services.
However, if your business requires specific compliance standards, your provider might not cover them. Implementing strict security and compliance protocols during your migration can help protect your business from losing or exposing sensitive data.
Mitigation Tip:
Before migrating, perform a detailed risk assessment to identify potential cyber threats to your infrastructure. Also, collaborate with your cloud provider to review their security features and determine if they can assist you in meeting industry-specific regulations.
2. Cost Management and Budgeting
Cloud migration is a complex task that demands careful planning, knowledge, and ongoing dedication. Data migration can be costly, and businesses should always weigh the long-term challenges of high cloud expenses. Costs in the cloud may increase due to unoptimized or unchecked environments and can lead to unexpected expenses like data compatibility issues, technical difficulties, or the need to hire or acquire new tools along the way.
Mitigation Tip:
Perform a thorough assessment of your current infrastructure and applications to identify potential obstacles, compatibility problems, or areas that may need extra attention from your IT team. This will help you create a clear budget plan for the migration and avoid unexpected costs.
3. Wrong Cloud Migration Strategy
As mentioned above, there are various types of cloud migration and many different cloud solutions available. It’s crucial that your business chooses not only the right cloud migration plan but also the provider that best aligns with your goals. A cloud partner can enhance your migration experience by offering expertise, guidance, and additional resources to protect your data.
Mitigation Tip:
While it can be overwhelming to decide on a migration strategy and partner, it becomes easier if you set clear goals. Consider your budget limits, how your team will divide the migration workload, what a realistic timeline looks like, and what resources are necessary to complete the project. Once you have all these aspects in place, you can start searching for a cloud provider that can help you execute your strategy.
4. A Lack of Internal Capacity to Perform Cloud Migration
Your IT team may not have the cloud experience needed for a successful migration. This process requires a complex set of tasks that needs a team of professionals with in-depth knowledge of cloud technologies, infrastructure, and migration best practices.
Mitigation Tip:
Consult your team to understand their experience with cloud solutions. Collaborate with an outsourced cloud team or managed service provider that has proven expertise and can offer valuable guidance to your team throughout the process.
5. No Application Compatibility
Poorly optimized applications, network latency, and inefficient cloud infrastructures are all common factors in contributing to low application performance post-migration. Performance degradation occurs when an application performs well on-premises but has issues after cloud migration.
Mitigation Tip:
When setting up your systems, make sure all applications are up to date and compatible with your new cloud environment. If performance drops, quickly identify the root cause to improve performance; otherwise, productivity or app adoption might suffer.
6. Limitations in the Team’s Bandwidth
Handling large amounts of data or mission-critical applications can require a significant amount of time and resources. If something goes wrong or a team becomes overwhelmed by the tasks, it can lead to increased downtime and potential delays.
Mitigation Tip:
When developing your migration strategy, incorporate incremental data transfers, focus on critical data, or employ data compression techniques to optimize the use of available network and team bandwidth.
7. Legacy Systems Migration
Legacy systems often depend on outdated technologies, programming languages, or proprietary protocols that are not compatible with modern solutions. These older applications usually require modifications and adaptations to ensure smooth communication and data storage. They may lack security features and encryption mechanisms found in cloud platforms and often have complex interdependencies with other applications or databases.
Mitigation Tip:
When developing a cloud migration plan, evaluate your legacy applications, including their architecture, data, and dependencies, to identify integration points and compatibility issues early enough to address them. After the migration, conduct thorough testing and validation to ensure no further problems occur.
Knowing the full scope of potential issues you could face and being informed on how to handle each of them will better prepare your team and your business for a successful migration.
Partner with Cloud Experts
Cloud migration is a complex, time-consuming task. With the help of our cloud and infrastructure experts at Applied Tech, your business can experience a seamless migration and quickly return to normal operations.
Find A Cloud Migration Implementation Partner
Even if your internal IT team is ready for cloud migration, unexpected issues can still arise. Instead of overloading your current team and risking downtime, using additional resources like outsourced cloud services can provide extra manpower and expert guidance through unpredicted roadblocks.
Our team of cloud experts can assist with everything from preparation to implementation and ongoing monitoring to ensure you have a smooth transition. Whether you need some guidance to help your team through a specific process or want us to take full control, we are here to support you.
Contact us today to learn how our team can provide you with in-depth cloud support.
About Applied Tech
Applied Tech is a leading IT and cybersecurity services provider dedicated to helping businesses protect their digital assets. Our proactive and strategic services include cloud management, security, productivity, and IT growth strategy. With a team of experienced professionals, we provide unique solutions tailored to your IT needs.
Protect your business with Applied Tech’s fully managed IT services, co-managed support, and security assistance. With IT services focused on your business goals, keep your team productive and your data secure.
