Cloud Migration – An Overview of Benefits and Risks

Key Advantages of Cloud Migration

Enhanced Affordability

This is perhaps the #1 reason why cloud migration is so sought after by companies. Cloud migration can prove incredibly cost-effective for companies. This is particularly true for companies with a long-term vision for success. But even for start-ups and small and midsize companies, cloud migration can prove incredibly beneficial as there are virtually no upfront costs involved in infrastructure deployment or maintenance. On-premise infrastructure costs you in more ways than one. It's not just about the cost of buying hardware and software but also the space required to store them all and the energy and cooling costs involved in maintaining the systems. With the cloud, the energy and cooling expenses suddenly become more affordable, and there are zero maintenance costs involved as the cloud services provider takes care of all required maintenance. All of this boils down to the fact that companies can get away with paying for only their resources and not a penny more. Cloud Solutions Los Angeles is the most reputed Cloud Migration Consultant for local businesses here.

Improved Scalability

When you are scaling up or down, it is common for on-premise infrastructure to experience capacity issues. With the cloud, all such limitations are removed forever. Due to the nature of cloud technology, cloud service providers are capable of equipping companies with on-demand capacity offered as part of a highly flexible pay-as-you-go model. This means that companies now have the ability to scale up or down at will according to market demand which results in zero wastage of resources. Companies also get the ability to traffic footprints that can now be accommodated with ease and the same degree of seamless customer connectivity and service - without the need for any additional servers on-premise. With the help of cloud service providers, companies can now modify storage, computing power, and bandwidth requirements at any given time and swiftly respond to changing market demands.

Better Security

Moving to the cloud also comes with the added advantage of enhanced security of your business data and network. Maintaining the security of their on-premise infrastructure can be tricky for most companies, as budgets are limited and true enterprise-level defence measures involve hardware and software that cost a pretty penny. However, the situation is quite different with cloud. Cloud service providers take the onus of providing bespoke security on themselves, and often implement the highest levels of security measures possible in order to protect client data and infrastructure. These involve a mix of high-end software and network solutions to even a much higher grade of physical security around the data center to prevent unauthorized access to physical assets and hardware. CSPs can also afford to have some of the most experienced and highly regarded cyber security professionals on board to quickly resolve any issues. This allows them to continuously improve on their knowledge of security practices and guarantees a safe space for their clients.

Top 4 Risks in Cloud Migration

Incompatibility of the Existing Architecture

Complexity of the existing infrastructure prevents many companies from moving to the cloud. Even if they choose to undertake cloud migration, the process often turns out to be slower and more painstaking then they realized as they need to wait to find people with the right (read, advanced) skill sets. Comparatively, organizations that already make use of micro services architecture and use Kubernetes or Docker engine for container management prove to be much more adaptable to the cloud. For example, AWS and Azure offer excellent assistance for Kubernetes and other engines that help to speed up the entire migration process.

Data Loss

Cloud migration can often prove challenging for organizations that depend on their data for survival. The only way to safely migrate to the cloud is for companies to have adequate redundant and highly available backups in place before they undertake cloud migration. This is particularly important as IT administrators may often encounter issues such as corrupt, incomplete, unreadable, or missing files during the migration process. With adequate backup, companies are able to quickly address any errors and restore the required original data. For assistance with cloud migration strategy and cloud migration techniques, please contact IT Outsourcing Los Angeles.

Wasted Costs

Although cloud providers excel in providing highly flexible pricing models, these can be very difficult to navigate, especially for companies completely new to cloud technology. This results in wasted costs. According to a recent study by Gartner analysts Brandon Medford and Craig Lowery, it was found that nearly 70% of cloud costs (for compute, storage and data transfer) at present could be wasted. Each cloud vendor tries to optimize its services as per the present needs of specific businesses (use case, budget and performance requirements), resulting in a range of different instance types, storage services, and transfer options. This can confuse many companies because finding the most value-laden offering at the best price can be a challenge. However, the problem is actually often with companies not clearly understanding their own requirements and expectations and not optimizing their usage of the resources at their disposal than with service providers or vendors.

Added Latency

This is often an overlooked factor, but unwanted latency can cause real problems in cloud migration. Users may have to experience lag every time they try to access applications, databases, and services in the cloud. This can be a major cause for concern for IoT networks, e-commerce websites, video streaming solutions, and cloud gaming platforms that depend on zero to no latency for optimum customer experience. In such cases, delays of even milliseconds can impact customer experience and brand reputation. For the best Cloud Migration Assessment and Cloud Migration Best Practices, please refer to IT Support Los Angeles.

About Brent:

Brent Whitfield is the CEO of DCG Technical Solutions LLC. DCG provides specialist advice and IT Consulting Los Angeles area businesses need to remain competitive and productive while being sensitive to limited IT budgets.

Brent has been featured in Fast Company, CNBC, Network Computing, Reuters, and Yahoo Business. He also leads SMBTN – Los Angeles, a MSP peer group that focuses on continuing education for MSP’s and IT professionals. https://www.dcgla.com was recognized among the Top 10 Fastest Growing MSPs in North America by MSP mentor. Stay connected via LinkedIn.