C L O U D M I G R A T I O N :

TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL MIGRATION TO THE CLOUD

10 STEPSY O U H AV E T O TA K E

CONTENTS DetermineYourGoalsofMigratingtotheCloud AssessYourCurrentSituation SelecttheRightCloudMigrationPartner CreateYourBusinessCasefortheCloud SelecttheTypeofCloudEnvironmentNeeded–Public,Private,orHybrid? DeterminetheSpecificCloudComponentsNecessary ChoosetheRightCloudProvider PlantheMigrationApproach ExecutetheMigration MonitortheProductionEnvironment

681218223034364046

4 5

AreyouthinkingaboutmovingyourITinfrastructuretothecloud?You’renot alone.

AccordingtoRightScale’s State of the Cloud Report,95%ofsurveyrespondentshaveadoptedsomelevelofcloudcomputing,andcompaniesalreadyemployingthecloudaremovingmoreandmoreoftheirworkloadstothatenvironment.

Inordertomigrateyourcurrentinfrastructuretothecloudsuccessfully,youhavetotakeathoughtful,disciplinedapproach.

ThiseBookoutlinesthekeystepsyou’llneedtotaketoensureasuccessfulcloudmigration.

WhilethiseBookprovidesatemplateforamigrationprocess,everycompany’ssituationisunique,asyourorganization’scurrentenvironmentandprocessesandfuturerequirementswillbedifferentfromothercompanies.

Somakesuretocustomizethesestepstofityourparticularsituation.

Allright,let’sgettothe10stepstoensureasuccessfulcloudmigration!

Migrating your IT infrastructure to the cloud takes a disciplined approach with a thorough plan.

76

STEP 1

Determine Your Goals of Migrating to the Cloud

Theveryfirstquestionyoushouldaskyourselfis,“Whydoesmybusinesswantorneedtomigratetothecloud?”

Acloudmigrationisnoeasyexercise,andyouneedtounderstandandlayoutexactlywhymovingyourITinfrastructuretothecloudistherightthingtodo.

Determiningthegoalsofmigratingtothecloudistheabsolutefirststepyoushouldtake.

DoyouneedtoloweryourITcosts?Areyourcompetitorsbeatingyoutomarket,soyouneedtoincreaseyouragility?IsthesecuritylevelofyourITinfrastructuretoodifficulttomaintain?

Youcanuseourblogpostaboutthe15WaysYourBusinessCanBenefitfromtheCloudasastartingpointtohelpdetermineyourgoals.

OutliningyourgoalsandobjectiveswillhelpeveryoneinvolvedunderstandthevisionofwhyyouwanttomigrateyourIToperationstothecloudandhowyourcompanycanbenefit.

98

STEP 2 Assess Your Current Situation

Athoroughassessmentofyourcurrentsituationisimperative,asitwilllaythefoundationformanyimportantdecisionsyou’llneedtomake.

Adeepunderstandingofwhatapplicationsyouneedtomigratetothecloud,yourcurrentITenvironment,andthepresentlevelofresourcesandcostswillhelpyoumakeinformedchoices.

Herearethekeypointsyoushouldassess.

A) Decide What Applications Should Be Migrated

Whilecloudcomputingcanbringamyriadofbenefitstoanyorganization,noteverysoftwareapplicationorITenvironmentisagoodfitforthecloud.

MaybeyouhaveanolderlegacyCRMsystemthatwasn’tbuiltwiththeportabilitythatisnecessaryformigratingtothecloud.

Oryoumayrunahigh-frequencystocktradingplatformthatmaybebettersuitedforyourownservers.

Therecanbeafewreasonswhythecloudmightnotbethebestfitforyourapplication,andhere’saninformativearticleonthattopic.

Asgreatascloudcomputingis,itmaynotalwaysbethebestfitforeveryapplicationyourcompanyuses.Sobeforetakingthemigrationplunge,makesureyouidentifywhichapplicationsarebestpreparedformigrationandfocusonthosefirst.

10 11

B) Audit Your Current Infrastructure

Onceyoudecidewhichapplicationsaretherightchoicestobemigrated,thenextthingyoushoulddoisperformanauditofyourcurrentinfrastructuretogetabetterideaofthescopeandscaleofthemigration.

Someofthefactorsyoushouldlookatinclude:

1. Whatisthecurrentlevelofstorageyou’reusingandwhattypesofstoragedoyouuse?

2. Howmuchdatadoyoucreateandstoreonadaily,monthly,andyearlybasis,andhowfastisthatgrowing?

3. Whatkindofdatabasesdoyouemploy?

4. Whatdoesyournetworkingenvironmentlooklike?

5. Whatkindofanalyticsprogramsdoyoucurrentlyuse?

6. Whatisyourpercentagedowntime?

Performingathoroughauditofyourcurrentinfrastructurewillallowyoutobetterunderstandwhatneedstobemigratedandthebestwaytodoso.

C) Understand Current Cost and Resource Levels

Afterperformingyourinfrastructureaudit,youshouldthenunderstandthecostsandresourcesthatyouspendtomaintainyourcurrentsetup.

Somequestionstoaskinclude:

1. Howmuchmoneyhaveyouspentanddoyoucontinuetospendonphysicalservers?

2. Howmanyemployeesarededicatedtomaintainingyourdatacenters,andhowmuchdoyoupaytheminaggregate?

3. Whathiddencostsareinvolved,suchasrealestate,physicalsecurityfordatacenters,power,HVAC,andothers?

4. Howmuchdoyoupayforservermanagementsoftware?

5. Whatotherresourcesarededicatedtomaintenanceandupkeepofyourinfrastructure?

Athoroughanalysisofcurrentcostandresourcelevelswillhelpyouidentifyinefficiencies,locateareasforimprovement,andgiveyouabaselineforcomparison.

1312

STEP 3

Select the Right Cloud Migration Partner

Selectingapartnercanactuallyhappenatanytimeyoudeemnecessary,dependingonyourcapabilitiesandavailability.

Ifatanypointyourealizeyoudon’thavetheresourcesorknow-howtoperformsomeoftherequiredassessmentsandproperlyexecutethemigrationstrategy,selectingatrustedcloudpartnerveryearlyintheprocesscanbethedifferencebetweenasuccessfulmigrationandadisaster.

Astrongpartnercanhelpyouproperlyperformimportantanalyses,craftasolidcloudmigrationstrategy,selecttherighttechnologies,anddeliveraseamlessmigrationwhilesavingyoumoneyandlotsofstress.

Thereareanumberoffactorstoconsiderwhenyou’reselectingtherightcloudmigrationpartner.

14

A) Past Cloud Migration Project Experience

Youcertainlywouldwanttopartnerwithsomeonewhohasextensivecloudmigrationexperience,butwhatmaybemoreimportantisfindingafirmthathasexecutedprojectsforclientsinsimilarsituationsasyouare.

Ifyou’relookingtomigratetoahybridcloud,whereyourinfrastructureisamixofon-premises,private,andpubliccloudservices(moreonthislater),you’llwanttomakesureyourmigrationpartnerhasexperiencesettingupthistypeofcomplexenvironment.

Ifyouhavehigh-transactionapplicationsthatallneedtobemovedtothepubliccloud,acompanythathasexperienceonlywithlower-volumeapplicationsmightnotbethebestfit.

Andifyouhavetomigratealargeamountofdatatothecloud,you’llneedtofindapartnerwhoiswellversedindatabatching,replication,andbackup.

Alotofexperienceisgreat,butexperiencewithprojectsofsimilarscopeandscaleasyoursisahugeplus.

16 17

B) Types of Clients They’ve Worked With

Youshouldseekoutapartnerwhohasexperienceworkingwithclientswhoaresimilarinsizeandincomparableindustriesasyourcompany.

Largecompaniesfunctionverydifferentlythansmallercompanies.Partnersmayworkverydifferentlywithorganizationsofdifferentsizes,andthismaybecomeevidentduringthecloudmigrationprocess.

Ifyou’realargercompany,youmayneedtomigratetheinfrastructureanddataofmanydepartments,andamorecomprehensiveandprioritizedapproachmayberequired.Yourcompanymayalsohavespecificprojectmanagementprocessesanddocumentationrequirementsandmayneedmoremeetingsandupdates.

Ifyou’reasmallerbusiness,youmayrequiremorebudgetoversightandhavedifferentprocessesandpriorities.

Findingapartnerthatfitshowyourcompanyoperatescanbeveryhelpful.

Industryexperienceisveryimportantaswell.Whenyou’reselectingacloudmigrationpartner,ideallyyouwanttofindonethathasdirectexperienceinbuildingcloudinfrastructuresforsomeoneinyourindustry.

Whenyou’redealingwiththedataandsecurityrequirements,experiencewithregulationssuchasHIPAA,PCI,ISO,Sarbanes-Oxley,andmorewillbehelpfulinexecutingasuccessfulmigrationtothecloud.

Apartnerwhohasexpertiseinyourindustryandwithcompaniessimilarinsizeasyoucanusetheirexperiencetoguideyousmoothlythroughyourmigration.

C) Certifications

Whenyou’remappingoutyourcloudmigrationstrategy,youmayhaveanideaofwhichcloudprovideryou’lluse,whetheritwillbeAmazonWebServices,MicrosoftAzure,GoogleCloud,oranother(moreonhowtoselecttherightcloudproviderlater).

Ifthisisthecase,you’llwanttoseeifyourpotentialmigrationconsultantisacertifiedpartnerofthecloudproviderofyourchoice.Shamelessplug–weareacertifiedpartnerofAmazonWebServices.

Toacquirecertification,cloudconsultantsmustgothroughmanyhoursoftrainingonalloftheprovider’scloudtechnology.Theconsultantsmustthenpassonlineandin-persontestsinordertobecomecertified.

Whilerelevantexperienceisdefinitelymoreimportant,certificationisa“stampofapproval”andcangiveyouconfidencethattheconsultantisknowledgeableaboutthecloudprovider’sofferings.

1918

STEP 4Create Your Business Case for the Cloud

Acloudmigrationisabigundertaking,andwhileitwillcertainlyimproveyourbusinessandtechnicaloperations,itcanbeadisruptiveprocess.Soyou’llneedtobuildyourbusinesscasetoensurethatyougetmanagementbuy-in.

Thefirststepistoelaborateonthegoalsofmigratingtothecloudthatyouidentifiedinstep1andperformanhonest,objectiveanalysisonthebenefitsyou’llgainfrommigratingtothecloud.

Forinstance,ifyou’relookingatcostsavingsasaprimarybenefittoyourorganization,youshouldcomeupwithafinancialmodelthat:

1. Outlinestheallofthecurrentcosts(includingcostofhardware,software,realestate,staffing,andanyothers)tomaintainyourdatacenters

2. Identifieseachlineitemthatwillbeimpactedbythecloudmigrationandwherethesavingswillcomefrom

3. Comparescurrenttofuturecostlevels

Ifyouidentifycompetitivereasonsformigratingtothecloud,youshouldperformaSWOT(Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,andThreats)analysisandathoroughassessmentofyourcompetitioninordertopinpointtheareaswherethecloudcanhelpyourcompanygetahead.

21

Youshouldalsobehonestandidentifythepossibleconsofmigratingtothecloud.

Somebusinessunitsmaybenegativelyimpactedduringandafterthemigration,andthosedrawbacksshouldbeidentifiedsoyoucanprepareforthem.

Therewillcertainlybecostsinvolvedincloudmigration–suchasconsultingfees,costsforadditionaltechnologyresources,andopportunitycosts–andthoseshouldbethoroughlyassessed.

Thinkingthroughalloftheaspectsofyourbusinessthatwillbebothpositivelyandnegativelyimpactedwillallowyoutoachievebuy-infromthoseinvolved,makesounddecisions,andenvisionanyroadblocksthatmaycomeyourway.

2322

STEP 5

Select the Type of Cloud Environment Needed – Public, Private, or Hybrid?

You’vebuiltabusinesscaseforperformingacloudmigrationandsecuredbuy-infromyourteamtomoveahead.Congratulations!

Nowit’stimetogetintothenitty-grittydetailsofthecloudenvironmentyouneedtoachieveyourgoals.

Thecurrentsituationassessmentyouperformedinstep2willhelpyoumapouttherequirementsnecessaryandselecttheoptimalcloudenvironmentforyourcompany.

Thefirstdecisiontomakeiswhetheryou’lluseapubliccloud,privatecloud,orhybrid.Here’sasolidarticlefromMashableabouttheprosandconsofeachtypeofcloud,whichwewillreviewbelowaswell.

24 25

Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Cloud

Pros and Cons of Public Clouds

PubliccloudsarethoseprovidedbycompanieslikeAmazonWebServices,GoogleCloud,MicrosoftAzure,andothers,wherethetechnologyinfrastructureissharedamongmanycompaniesandisavailableon-demand.

Publiccloudsprovideahighlyflexibleenvironmentthatyoucancustomizeforyourneedsandscaleupanddownasyoudeemfit,andonlypayfortheresourcesthatyouuse.They’retypicallyveryeasytosetup,costeffective,andveryreliable.

Theknocksonthepubliccloudare:

1. Youhavelesscontrolofyourdataandserversbecausetheyareoperatedbyathirdparty.

2. Youmaybesusceptibletovendorlock-in,whereitmaybedifficulttomoveyourdataandserversifyoudecidetochangepubliccloudprovidersormovebacktoon-premiseinfrastructure.

3. Someoftheseserversthatyoudeploymayresideinforeigncountries,andthustheregulationsondatasecuritymaydifferandnotmeetyourprivacyandsecuritystandards.

4. Becauseof#3,thepubliccloudmaynotbeagoodfitforsomehighly-regulatedindustriessuchasfinancialservicesandhealthcare.

26 27

Pros and Cons of Private Clouds

Theprimarydifferencebetweenpublicandprivatecloudservicesisthatprivatecloudinfrastructurecanonlybeaccessedbyasingleclient,insteadofthousandsandthousandsofcompanies.Privatecloudsareeithermaintainedonsiteoratathird-partydatacenter.

Companieswhouseprivatecloudscanstillworkwiththirdpartiestosetupacustomcloudenvironmentandhelpthemwithoversightandmaintenance,butonlytheywillhaveaccesstotheirservers.

Thekeybenefitsofusingtheprivatecloudincludeahigherlevelofsecurityoverdataandincreasedcontroloftheserversanddatabasesthathousethisdata.

Organizationswithsensitivedataandwhoaresubjecttostrictregulations,suchashealthcarecompaniesorbanks,canusetheprivatecloudtostorecustomerinformationwithpeaceofmind.Theywillhavecompletecontroloverwheretheirdataisstoredandwhohasaccess,thusdiminishingtheprobabilityofasecuritybreach.

Privatecloudservicesalsogivecompaniesmuchmorecontrolovertheinfrastructure,allowingcompaniestobetterpersonalizethestorageandnetworkingcomponentstotheirliking.

Consincludeahigherupfrontcostduetoincreasedlevelsofcustomization,moredifficultyaccessingdatafromremotelocations,

andmoremoney,time,andexpertiseneededtosetupandmaintaintheprivatecloudenvironment.

Pros and Cons of the Hybrid Cloud

Thehybridcloudbringstogetherthebestofboththepublicandprivatecloudintoonesolution.Thistypeofenvironmentenablescompaniestomixandmatchelementstotakeadvantageofthescalability,convenience,andcosteffectivenessofthepubliccloudandthesecurityandcontroloftheprivatecloud.

Hybrid cloud implementation is increasing – Graph courtesy of RightScale

28 29

Forexample,afinancialservicesfirmmaychoosetostoretheirsensitivecustomerdata–suchascreditcard,bankaccount,andretirementplaninformation,intheprivatecloud–whileusingpubliccloudcomponentstostoreless-sensitivecontentsuchasmarketingmaterialsandsalescollateral.

Themostimportantbenefitofthehybridcloudistheflexibilityandcustomizabilityofasolutiontofityourexactneeds.Becauseyoucancherry-pickcomponentsfrombothpublicandprivatecloudofferings,youcanfindtheidealbalanceofcost,security,andscalabilitythatyourcompanydesires.

Companiescantakeadvantageofthepubliccloud’son-demandscalabilityfortimeswhentheirapplicationsarebeingusedheavily,whileleveragingtheprivatecloudforapplicationswithmoresensitivedata.

Butinordertobuildandmaintainahybridcloudenvironment,yourstaffmayneedanadvancedsetofskillstoarchitectandmaintainwhatmaybeaverycomplexITenvironmentwithmanymovingparts.

Withthatcomesincreasedcosts.

You’llalsohavetoaccountforcompatibilityacrossclouds.Ifyourapplicationresidesinthepubliccloudbuttheapplication’sdatabaselivesintheprivatecloud,you’llhavetoensurethattheycanproperlycommunicatewitheachother.

Here’sagreatoverviewbyActifioontheprosandconsofbuildingahybridcloud.

3130

STEP 6

Determine the Specific Cloud Components Necessary

Onceyouselectwhetheryourcompanywilluseapublic,private,orhybridcloudenvironment,you’llhavetodeterminethespecificinfrastructurecomponentsyou’llneedtomaintainorimproveuponyourcurrentIT’sperformance.

Thinkabouttheappsthatyouaremigrating,thecorecomponentsofyourcurrentinfrastructureandtheroletheyplayindeliveringthoseapps,andhowyoucanimproveuponyourcurrentlevelofperformance.

Whatlevelofcomputingpowerwillyouneed?Doyourequireloadbalancingtoensurereliability?

Willyoudeliveralotofcontent,anddoyouneedtodeliveritfast?

32 33

Whereareyourcustomersandhowaretheydistributedacrosstheworld?

Whatkindofdatabaseswillyouusetostoreyourdata?

Whatkindofautomationdoyouneedtoensureyourapplicationdevelopersdon’thavetoworryaboutsetupandmaintenance?

Thereareplentyofquestionstoanswerhere.Comingupwithalaundrylistofcomponentsyou’llneedandthepriorityofeachcomponentwillbeveryimportanttothesuccessofyourcloudmigration.

3534

STEP 7Choose the Right Cloud Provider

Afterunderstandingexactlywhatyouneed,youcanselectthecloudproviderthatwillbestaccommodatethoserequirements.

Gobacktostep1andreviewthegoalsthatyou’retryingtoachievebymigratingtothecloud.Isitcostsavings,reliability,agility,orotherreasons?

Thenlookatthecomponentsthatyoulistedasrequirementsinstep6.

Whichcloudcomputingcompanyprovidesallofthecomponentsyouneedandperformswellintheprimaryobjectivesyou’retryingtoachieve?

Therearecertainlyotherfactorstotakeintoaccount,andtheselectionprocessissimilartotheoneoutlinedinstep3(Selecttherightcloudmigrationpartner).

Youshouldfindouttheotherclientsthecloudproviderworkswithwhomaybesimilartoyourcompany,thetypesofenvironmentstheirclientshavecreated,andtheresultsthoseclientshaveachieved.

You’llalsohavetobuildaleveloftrustwithyourprovider,ensurethattheirtechnologyissound,determinethelevelofcustomerservicetheycanprovide,andmakesurethattheycanliveuptotheirservicelevelagreements.

Itmaytakesometimeandenergytoperformresearchonmultiplecloudproviders,butit’sanimportantstep.

3736

STEP 8Plan the Migration Approach

Younowshouldhaveeverythingthatyouneedtomapoutaplanofattackforyourmigration.It’simperativeyoucomeupwithacohesivemigrationapproachsoeveryoneonyourteamisonthesamepageandknowsexactlywhatneedstobedone.

Somequestionstoaskyourselfinclude:

What is the order in which applications and environments will be migrated?

Smaller,non-criticalapplicationsshouldbemigratedfirstastonotcompletelydisruptcrucialbusinessprocessesfromthestart.Larger,business-criticalapplicationsshouldbemigratedatalatertimeafteryouironoutthekinksinthemigrationprocess.

What does a successful migration look like?

Milestonesanddeadlinesshouldbedeterminedtokeeptheprojectontrackandkeymetricsshouldbedefinedtomeasuresuccess.

Who is responsible for what?

Responsibilitiesshouldbeclearlydefinedtoensureeveryoneknowswhattheirroleis.Requiredskillsandteammateswhohavethoseskillsshouldbeidentifiedanddeployed.

38 39

What will the new cloud environment look like?

Youselectedthenecessarycloudcomponentsinstep6,butnowyou’llhavetopiecethemtogethertocreateafunctioningcloudarchitecture.Whatwillthisnewenvironmentlooklike,andhowwillallthecomponentsworktogether?

How will you deploy the new cloud environment?

Whatistheprocessandtiminginwhichyou’llmoveovertotheproductionenvironment?Whattoolswillyouusetofacilitatethistransitionandminimizedowntimeanddisruptiontocurrentoperations?

What processes will change as a result of the migration?

Understandthechangestothedevelopment,testing,deployment,andenduserprocessesthatwilloccurandhowstaffshouldadapt.Beclearonhowthenewenvironmentwillbemanagedwithrespecttomonitoringandtroubleshooting.

What kind of training is necessary to ensure a smooth transition?

Teammemberswilllikelyhavetoundergotrainingasaresultoftheprocesschanges.Ensurethatthereisaplaninplacewithonboardingmaterialsandclassschedulesforallofthoseinvolvedinthetransition.

What will you do with the unnecessary on-premise resources?

Bymovingtothecloud,you’lllikelybeleftwithabunchofservers,somedatacenterrealestate,andevensomeadditionalheadcountonyourhands.Findinganotheruseorhomeforthesevaluableresourcesisimportant.

Dependingonyourspecificsituation,theremaybemanyotherpotentialissuestoplanfor,butthesequestionsshouldgiveyouagoodstartingpointonwhattothinkabout.

4140

STEP 9 Execute the Migration

You’redoneplanning,youhaveyourstrategies,timelines,androlesallset,andyouknowexactlywhatyouneedtodo.

Nowit’stimetodoit!

Thisisthephasewheretherubbermeetstheroad,andherearethestepstoexecuteasuccessfulmigration.

A) Back Up Your Servers and Data

Theveryfirstthingyouneedtodoistobackupyourservers,data,andotherinfrastructuretoensurethatnothingislostduringthemigration.

Whenbackingupdata,youshouldcreatebothon-premiseandcloudbackupstobeabsolutelysureyourdataissafe.

Thisbackupstepisalsoveryimportanttomaintainapplicationuptimeduringthecloudmigrationprocess.

42 43

B) Deploy the Cloud Environment

Thenextstepistosetupthecloudinfrastructureenvironmentthatyouarchitectedinyourmigrationplan.Thisentailsprovisioning,connecting,andtestingallofthestorage,compute,database,security,andothernecessarycloudcomponents.

Thestepsyoutakeherewilldependonthetypeofcloudinfrastructure(public,private,orhybrid)youemploy,thespecificcomponentsofyournewenvironment,thelevelofsecurityyoudemand,andmanyotherfactors.

C) Migrate Servers, Data, and Applications

Afterdeployingyournewcloudenvironment,you’llhavetomigrateyourservers,data,andapplicationstoit.

ThisisTHEbigstep!

Whilewe’vecombinedthemallintoonestep,themigrationofservers,data,andapplicationswilllikelybeperformedsequentially,withtheorderdependingonyourspecificsituation,andslowly,onecomponentatatime.

Ifyourcurrentenvironmentisheavyondata,youmightchoosetomigrateyourdatafirsttomakesureallofitisavailableonceyourapplicationgetsmigrated.

Ifyourapplicationisahubthatisconnectedtomanyothersystems,itmaymakesensetomigratethatfirsttogiveyoutimetocheckallconnections.

44 45

D) Validate and Tweak the Production Environment

Thefinalstepofthemigrationexecutionprocessisvalidatingthateverythingworksasexpected.

Youshouldtestthatallofyourdataispresentandsecure.Endusersofthemigratedapplicationsshouldthoroughlytestthatallfunctionalityworksasexpected.

Iftherewereanyissuesthatwereuncoveredduringthemigration,nowisthetimetoaddressanddocumentthemtoprepareforfuturemigrations.

Nowisalsoagoodtimetomakethenecessarychangestotheproductionenvironmenttoachievetopperformance.Thismayincludeeditingusersandpermissions,balancingloads,increasingsecurity,andmore.

Alloftheseimprovementsshouldbethoroughlytested.

Nomatterwhatorderyouchoosetomigrate,youwillneedtospendtimeconfiguringyourservers,databases,andapplicationstofitwiththenewcloudinfrastructure.

Forinstance,whileyou’reundergoingyourcloudmigration,youmaystillbecollectingdatafromnewcustomersinyourlegacydatabase.Afteryourmigrationiscomplete,youwillhavetosyncthedatabetweenthelegacyandclouddatabasestoensurethedatasetisupdatedandaccurate(avirtualprivatenetworkmaybehelpfulforthis).

You’llalsohavetointegratethoseapplicationsmovingtothecloudwithotherapplicationsorresourcesthatmaybemigratedlaterorstayingonpremise.Allconnectionsshouldbefullytested.

Ofcourse,everythingshouldbedocumented.Youshouldlogthedurationofthemigrationandanyothermetricsthatyoudeemimportantandnecessary.

4746

STEP 10Monitor the Production Environment

Afterasuccessfulmigration,toolsandprocessesshouldbeimplementedtomonitorthenewcloudenvironment.

Cloudmonitoringtoolsshouldbeimplementedtohelpyouidentifyandaddressanyissuesthatarisewithyourcloudenvironment.

Aformalissuetrackingprocessshouldbecreatedtoensurethateveryoneimpactedbythemigrationhasawaytoreportproblems,andIThasasimplewaytomanageallrequests.

Furthermore,follow-upmeetingswithkeystakeholdersshouldbescheduledtodiscussanyissues,learnings,andplansforfuturemigrations.

48 49

CONCLUSIONYourbusinesscanreapamyriadofbenefitsfrommigratingyourITinfrastructuretothecloud,butitcanattimesbeadifficultprocess.

Itdoesn’thavetobe,ifyou’rearmedwithasolidplanandsmartpeople.

Hopefullythis10-stepchecklistwillhelpyouunderstandthetrueimpactofmigratingtothecloud,determinewhatyouwillneedtoperformthetransition,developaclearmigrationplan,andexecutethemigrationsmoothly.

5150

1) Determine your Goals of Migrating to the Cloud

OutlineyourgoalsandobjectivessoeveryoneinvolvedcanunderstandthevisionofwhyyouwanttomigrateyourIToperationstothecloudandhowyourcompanycanbenefit.

2) Assess Your Current Situation

Performathoroughassessmentofyourcurrentsituationtolaythefoundationformanyimportantdecisionsyou’llneedtomake.

Youshould:

• Decidewhatapplicationsshouldbemigrated

• Audityourcurrentinfrastructure

• Understandcurrentcostandresourcelevels

CHECKLIST

50

Here’sashort,handychecklistthatyoucanusetotrackyourcloudmigration

52 53

3) Select the Right Cloud Migration Partner

Astrongpartnercanhelpyouproperlyperformimportantanalyses,craftasolidcloudmigrationstrategy,selecttherighttechnologies,anddeliveraseamlessmigrationwhilesavingyoumoneyandlotsofstress.

Factorstoconsiderinclude:

• Pastcloudmigrationprojectexperience

• Typesofclientsthey’veworkedwith

• Certifications

4) Create Your Business Case for the Cloud

Becauseacloudmigrationisabigendeavor,you’llneedtocreateabusinesscaseinordertogetmanagementbuy-in.

5) Select the Type of Cloud Environment Needed – Public, Private, or Hybrid?

Weightheprosandconsofeachenvironmentandhowtheyfitwithyourcompany’sneeds.

6) Determine the Specific Cloud Components Necessary

Thinkabouttheappsthatyou’remigrating,thecomponentsofyourcurrentinfrastructureandtheroletheyplayindeliveringthoseapps,andhowyoucanimproveuponyourcurrentperformancelevel.Thenselectthecomponentstomatchwhatyouneed.

7) Choose the Right Cloud Provider

Reviewthegoalsthatyou’retryingtoachievebymigratingtothecloud(step1),lookatthecomponentsthatyoulistedasrequirementsinstep6,thendeterminewhichcloudcomputingcompanyprovidesallofthecomponentsyouneedandperformswellintheprimaryobjectivesyou’retryingtoachieve.

54 55

8) Plan the Migration Approach

Acohesivemigrationapproachisimportantsoeveryoneonyourteamisonthesamepageandknowsexactlywhatneedstobedone.

Questionstoconsiderincludebutarenotlimitedto:

1. Whatistheorderinwhichapplicationsandenvironments willbemigrated?

2. Whatdoesasuccessfulmigrationlooklike?

3. Whoisresponsibleforwhat?

4. Whatwillthenewcloudenvironmentlooklike?

5. Howwillyoudeploythenewcloudenvironment?

6. Whatprocesseswillchangeasaresultofthemigration?

7. Whatkindoftrainingisnecessarytoensureasmoothtransition?

8. Whatwillyoudowiththeunnecessaryonpremiseresources?

9) Execute the MigrationExecutioniscritical!Here’swhatyouneedtodo:

• Backupyourserversanddata

• Deploythecloudenvironment

• Migrateservers,data,andapplications(theorderisdependentonyourspecificsituation)

• Validateandtweaktheproductionenvironment

10) Monitor the Production Environment

Implementcloudmonitoringtoolsandprocessestoensurethenewcloudenvironmentiskeptstableandworkswellforallinvolved.

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O NTo learn more about how Thorn Technologies can help you successfully migrate to cloud computing,

please contact us at info@thorntech.comor visit www.thorntech.com.