The Risks of Cloud Migration and How to Overcome Them

Migrating to the Cloud is proven to improve productivity.

And yet, there are still organisations relying on legacy hardware and software to run critical ops.

But the days of old tech are numbered. Cloud is the future.

There is simply no way that a business can exceed what Cloud platforms can offer –?unless they are prepared to build their own world-class infrastructure.

Still, migrating to the Cloud has to be handled with extreme care: especially with sensitive, operations-critical data.

These are the common risks of migrating to the Cloud –?and how to overcome them.

Incompatibility

If the complexity of your current architecture poses a challenge, this can slow the Cloud migration progress down to a halt. To prepare your IT architecture for Cloud migration, you first need to audit your legacy architecture

?? HOW TO FIX IT: Audit your system first

During an audit of your IT architecture, you should find and resolve any technical debt, establish which parts of the system are dependent on each other to function, and create extremely detailed documentation – including a roadmap to the goal.

Data residency

One of the biggest challenges with Cloud migration is data residency. Public Cloud solutions are globally distributed, with no single physical location. Data can be moved as the Cloud provider sees fit. Some states, including those under GDPR, are strict on where sensitive data can be stored, putting some Cloud solutions at odds with data residency compliance.

?? HOW TO FIX IT: Adopt a Private Cloud solution

Adopt a Private Cloud setup. This is where you have your own dedicated physical hardware, installed at a data centre of your choice. This keeps all data local, and keeps your business compliant with the law.

Data loss

Moving data always carries a risk of loss. Human error, a poor connection, timeouts, lossy formatting –?any number of things can go wrong. At the end of a large-scale data migration, some of your files may be missing, incomplete, or corrupted.?

?? HOW TO FIX IT: Good planning and preparation

An expert-led Cloud migration will counter this with meticulous data backup, restoration, and disaster recovery. Backups will be Cloud-based, on physical media, and reproduced to a high level of redundancy.

Security

This is a major concern for companies looking to migrate to the Cloud. But it’s not as risky as it seems. Public and Private data centres are extremely secure environments, physically and virtually. If you get the configuration right, your data security will be far higher in the Cloud than on-site.

Latency

Cloud migration can introduce high latency times. For most people, this goes unnoticed –?but for critical operations or consumer apps, a few seconds of delay can be extremely damaging.

?? HOW TO FIX IT: Use Private or Hybrid Cloud

A fleet of Private Cloud installations at local data centres can significantly reduce transfer times –?but this can be a costly solution. A Cloud architecture expert can help you design a hybrid solution that fuses the locality of Private Cloud with the cost-effectiveness of a Public Cloud solution.

Spiralling costs

As much as 70% of Cloud costs are wasted. But Cloud is also highly scalable, agile, and cost-effective when done right.?

?? HOW TO FIX IT: Design for efficiency?– and use what you need

A well-designed architecture that maximises efficiency can perform exceptionally at minimal cost. It just requires an expert hand:?someone who knows how to build reliable, scalable Cloud solutions.

The key to overcoming Cloud migration risks? Go Slow ??

Slow adoption and a phased Cloud migration are key to success.

Migrating to the Cloud requires strategy, planning and expert knowledge to overcome the risks associated with it.

But going slow doesn’t mean putting it off; Atlassian Server is now at end of life, with support ending in February 2024. To phase in and manage your Cloud migration effectively, the time to act is now.

Find out more about how we can help you find a Cloud migration expert, at ClearHub.tech.

This is a condensed post that originally appeared on the ClearHub blog: read it in full here.