The Critical Role of IT Discovery in Cloud Migration

Moving to the cloud is no longer just a trend; it's a crucial strategic decision. Businesses now understand that adopting cloud solutions is not a choice but a necessity to stay competitive, resilient, and adaptable in today's dynamic world. The reasons for this increasing use of cloud services are practical and varied. They focus on four main goals: saving costs, scaling easily, being agile, and improving security. Starting a cloud migration without a clear strategy can be overwhelming and expensive. This guide will help you create a successful plan for your cloud migration journey. [lwptoc] Cloud Migration Strategy Steps Cloud migration is the process of moving an organization's IT resources, including data, applications, and infrastructure, from on-premises or existing hosting environments to cloud-based services.  Here is a table outlining the steps involved in a cloud migration strategy StepDescription1. Define ObjectivesClearly state the goals and reasons for migrating to the cloud.2. Assessment and InventoryAnalyze current IT infrastructure, applications, and data. Categorize based on suitability.3. Choose Cloud ModelDecide on public, private, or hybrid cloud deployment based on your needs.4. Select Migration ApproachDetermine the approach for each application (e.g., rehost, refactor, rearchitect).5. Estimate CostsCalculate migration and ongoing operation costs, including data transfer, storage, and compute.6. Security and ComplianceIdentify security requirements and ensure compliance with regulations.7. Data MigrationDevelop a plan for moving data, including cleansing, transformation, and validation.8. Application MigrationPlan and execute the migration of each application, considering dependencies and testing.9. Monitoring and OptimizationImplement cloud monitoring and optimize resources for cost-effectiveness.10. Training and Change ManagementTrain your team and prepare for organizational changes.11. Testing and ValidationConduct extensive testing and validation in the cloud environment.12. Deployment and Go-LiveDeploy applications, monitor, and transition users to the cloud services.13. Post-Migration ReviewReview the migration process for lessons learned and improvements.14. DocumentationMaintain documentation for configurations, security policies, and procedures.15. Governance and Cost ControlEstablish governance for cost control and resource management.16. Backup and Disaster RecoveryImplement backup and recovery strategies for data and applications.17. Continuous OptimizationContinuously review and optimize the cloud environment for efficiency.18. Scaling and GrowthPlan for future scalability and growth to accommodate evolving needs.19. Compliance and AuditingRegularly audit and ensure compliance with security and regulatory standards.20. Feedback and IterationGather feedback and make continuous improvements to your strategy.This table provides an overview of the key steps in a cloud migration strategy, which should be customized to fit the specific needs and goals of your organization. Pre-Migration Preparation: Analyzing Your Current IT Landscape Before your cloud migration journey begins, gaining a deep understanding of your current IT setup is crucial. This phase sets the stage for a successful migration by helping you make informed decisions about what, how, and where to migrate. Assessing Your IT Infrastructure: Inventory existing IT assets: List servers, storage, networking equipment, and data centers. Identify migration candidates: Note their specs, dependencies, and usage rates. Evaluate hardware condition: Decide if migration or cloud replacement is more cost-effective. Consider lease expirations and legacy system support. Application Assessment: Catalog all applications: Custom-built and third-party. Categorize by criticality: Identify mission-critical, business-critical, and non-critical apps. Check cloud compatibility: Some may need modifications for optimal cloud performance. Note dependencies, integrations, and data ties. Data Inventory and Classification: List all data assets: Databases, files, and unstructured data. Classify data: Based on sensitivity, compliance, and business importance. Set data retention policies: Avoid transferring unnecessary data to cut costs. Implement encryption and data protection for sensitive data. Based on assessments, categorize assets, apps, and data into: Ready for Cloud: Suited for migration with minimal changes. Needs Optimization: Benefit from pre-migration optimization. Not Suitable for Cloud: Better kept on-premises due to limitations or costs. These preparations ensure a smoother and cost-effective migration process. Choose a Cloud Model After understanding cloud deployment types, it's time to shape your strategy. Decide on the right deployment model: Public Cloud: For scalability and accessibility, use providers like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Private Cloud: Ensure control and security for data privacy and compliance, either on-premises or with a dedicated provider. Hybrid Cloud: Opt for flexibility and workload portability by combining on-premises, private, and public cloud resources. Choose from major providers like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and others. Read more: Choosing the Right Cloud Provider: How to Select the Perfect Fit for Your Business Your choices impact migration success and outcomes, so assess needs, explore options, and consider long-term scalability when deciding. Your selected cloud model and provider shape your migration strategy execution and results. Select Migration Approach With your cloud model and provider(s) in place, the next critical step in your cloud migration strategy is to determine the appropriate migration approach for each application in your portfolio. Not all applications are the same, and selecting the right approach can significantly impact the success of your migration. Here are the five common migration approaches and how to choose the appropriate one based on application characteristics: Rehost (Lift and Shift) Rehosting involves moving an application to the cloud with minimal changes. It's typically the quickest and least disruptive migration approach. This approach is suitable for applications with low complexity, legacy systems, and tight timelines. When to Choose: Opt for rehosting when your application doesn't require significant changes or when you need a quick migration to take advantage of cloud infrastructure benefits. Refactor (Lift Tinker and Shift) Refactoring involves making significant changes to an application's architecture to optimize it for the cloud. This approach is suitable for applications that can benefit from cloud-native features and scalability, such as microservices or containerization. When to Choose: Choose refactoring when you want to modernize your application, improve performance, and take full advantage of cloud-native capabilities. Rearchitect (Rebuild) Rearchitecting is a complete overhaul of an application, often involving a rewrite from scratch. This approach is suitable for applications that are outdated, monolithic, or require a fundamental transformation. When to Choose: Opt for rearchitecting when your application is no longer viable in its current form, and you want to build a more scalable, resilient, and cost-effective solution in the cloud. Replace or Repurchase (Drop and Shop) Typically, solutions are implemented using the best available technology. SaaS applications may offer all needed functionality, allowing for future replacement and easing the transformation process. Replatform (Lift, Tinker, and Shift) Replatforming involves making minor adjustments to an application to make it compatible with the cloud environment. This approach is suitable for applications that need slight modifications to operate efficiently in the cloud. When to Choose: Choose replatforming when your application is almost cloud-ready but requires a few tweaks to take full advantage of cloud capabilities. Retire (Eliminate) Retiring involves decommissioning or eliminating applications that are no longer needed. This approach helps streamline your portfolio and reduce unnecessary costs. When to Choose: Opt for retirement when you have applications that are redundant, obsolete, or no longer serve a purpose in your organization. Retain To select the right migration approach for each application, follow these steps: Assess each application's complexity, dependencies, and business criticality. Consider factors like performance, scalability, and regulatory requirements. Ensure the chosen approach aligns with your overall migration goals, such as cost savings, improved performance, or innovation. Assess the availability of skilled resources for each migration approach. Some approaches may require specialized expertise. Conduct a cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the expected return on investment (ROI) for each migration approach. Consider the risks associated with each approach, including potential disruptions to operations and data security. Ready to harness the potential of the cloud? Let us take the complexity out of your migration journey, ensuring a smooth and successful transition. Security and Compliance in Cloud Migration Organizations moving to the cloud must prioritize strong security and compliance. Security is crucial in any cloud migration plan. Here's why it's so important: Data Protection: Cloud environments handle large amounts of data, including sensitive information. A breach could cause data loss, legal issues, and harm your organization's reputation. Access Control: It's vital to control who can access your cloud resources. Unauthorized access may lead to data leaks and security breaches. Compliance: Many industries have strict regulatory requirements like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. Failure to comply can result in fines and legal penalties. Here's a short case study for HIPAA compliance - CI/CD Pipelines and Infrastructure for an E-Health Platform Best Practices for Data Migration to the Cloud Data Inventory Start by cataloging and classifying your data assets. Understand what data you have, its sensitivity, and its relevance to your operations. Data Cleaning Before migrating, clean and de-duplicate your data. This reduces unnecessary storage costs and ensures a streamlined transition. Data Encryption Encrypt data both in transit and at rest to maintain security during migration. Utilize encryption tools provided by your cloud provider. Bandwidth Consideration Evaluate your network bandwidth to ensure it can handle the data transfer load. Consider optimizing your data for efficient transfer. Data Transfer Plan Develop a comprehensive data transfer plan that includes timelines, resources, and contingencies for potential issues. Data Versioning Maintain version control of your data to track changes during migration and facilitate rollbacks if necessary. By following these best practices, considering various data transfer methods, and conducting thorough data validation and testing, you can ensure a smooth and secure transition of your data to the cloud. This diligence minimizes disruptions, enhances data integrity, and ultimately contributes to the success of your cloud migration project. Cloud Migration Success Stories When considering cloud migration, success stories often serve as beacons of inspiration and guidance. Here, we delve into three real-life case studies from Gart's portfolio, showcasing how our tailored cloud migration strategies led to remarkable outcomes for organizations of varying sizes and industries. Case Study 1: Migration from On-Premise to AWS for a Financial Company Industry: Finances Our client, a major player in the payment industry, sought Gart's expertise for migrating their Visa Mastercard processing application from On-Premise to AWS, aiming for a "lift and shift" approach. This move, while complex, offered significant benefits. Key Outcomes: Cost Savings: AWS's pay-as-you-go model eliminated upfront investments, optimizing long-term costs. Scalability and Flexibility: Elastic infrastructure allowed resource scaling, ensuring uninterrupted services during peak periods. Enhanced Performance: AWS's global network reduced latency, improving user experience. Security and Compliance: Robust security features and certifications ensured data protection and compliance. Reliability: High availability design minimized downtime, promoting continuous operations. Global Reach: AWS's global network facilitated expansion to new markets and regions. Automated Backups and Disaster Recovery: Automated solutions ensured data protection and business continuity. This migration empowered the financial company to optimize operations, reduce costs, and deliver enhanced services, setting the stage for future growth and scalability. Case Study 2: Implementing Nomad Cluster for Massively Parallel Computing Industry: e-Commerce Our client, a software company specializing in Earth modeling, faced challenges in managing parallel processing on AWS instances. They sought a solution to separate software from infrastructure, support multi-tenancy, and enhance efficiency. Key Outcomes: Infrastructure Efficiency: Infrastructure-as-Code and containerization simplified management. High-Performance Computing: HashiCorp Nomad orchestrates high-performance computing, addressing spot instance issues. Vendor Flexibility: Avoided vendor lock-in with third-party integrations. This implementation elevated infrastructure management, ensuring scalability and efficiency while preserving vendor flexibility At Gart, we stand ready to help your organization embark on its cloud migration journey, no matter the scale or complexity. Your success story in the cloud awaits – contact us today to turn your vision into reality.

Embarking on cloud adoption is a significant transformation for organizations, demanding careful planning. Netflix, for instance, took seven years to fully migrate from data centers to Amazon Web Services (AWS). So, is the challenge of moving to the cloud worth it? [lwptoc] The shift to Devops & Cloud BeforeAfterDev teamWrite code, “toss it over tha wall”Write code, deployOps teamRack servers, deploy codeWrite code, deployServersDedicated physical serversElastic virtual serversConnectivityStatic IPsDynamic IPs, service discoverySecurityPhysical, strong perimeter, high trustVirtual, end-to-end, zero trustInfra provisioningManualIaC toolsServer configurationManualConfiguration management toolsTestingManualAutomated testingDeploymentsManualAutomatedDeployment cadenceWeeks or MonthsMany times per dayChange processChange request ticketsSelf-serviceChange cadenceWeeks or MonthsMinutes Adapting to the cloud without acknowledging these changes leads to problems. Simplified Cloud Adoption Strategy Cloud adoption plans start with a well-defined strategy, outlining motivations, business outcomes, and justifications. The positive outcomes are then balanced against the required efforts. Work begins with digital assets, transforming the strategy into tangible workloads and resources. Qualified staff in an appropriate organizational structure can then execute the technical work. The cloud adoption plan consolidates these aspects, enabling forecasting, budgeting, implementation, and management using flexible project management methods. Key focus areas include: Establish clear business outcomes: Enhance transparency and engagement throughout the organization. Define business justification: Identify opportunities for business value to select the right technology. Successful cloud adoption journeys begin with a defined business outcome supported by financial reasoning. Business outcomes are measurable changes in performance captured by specific metrics. The cloud strategy team, comprising leaders from finance, IT infrastructure, and application groups, is instrumental in this process. Read more: Why Your Business Should Make the Move? Developing a clear business justification involves assessing common cloud computing business value areas: Cost: Eliminates capital expenses. Scale: Provides elastic scaling for the right IT resources. Productivity: Reduces the need for many IT management tasks. Reliability: Simplifies data backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity. Unlock Your Business Potential with Gart's Cloud Computing Services. Elevate Performance, Enhance Security, and Transform Operations. Get Started Today! Digital Estate and Prerequisites To ensure a successful cloud adoption plan, focus on two crucial input categories: strategic and tactical. Strategic inputs involve motivations, business outcomes, and justification, guiding team members and leaders to measure success effectively. On the tactical side, accurate inputs address workload priorities, assets for cloud adoption, technical responsibilities, and skills readiness. Answering these questions is essential for precise planning and effective management of the cloud adoption journey. Digital estate: Assess and organize your digital assets based on assumptions aligning with your organization's goals. Understand the current digital estate to maximize returns and minimize risks through a workload assessment. There are five options for cloud rationalization, known as the Five Rs: Re-host: Lift and shift applications, virtualize infrastructure (IaaS). Re-platform: Move non-business-centric components to PaaS. Repurchase: Replace with a COTS product (SaaS). Refactor: Re-architect for cloud-native functionalities (transformation to PaaS). Retire: Eliminate obsolete applications. Retain: Status quo, decide later. Craft Your Cloud Adoption Plan Build a plan by defining and aligning prioritized workloads with business outcomes. Key steps include reviewing sample business outcomes, identifying leading metrics that track progress, and establishing a financial model aligned with outcomes and learning metrics. Cloud adoption plan example:  Before creating a plan, ensure all preliminary requirements are met. Define workload structure and priorities. Prioritize the first 10 workloads to establish initial implementation tasks. Align resources with workloads. Identify the resources needed to support prioritized workloads, whether proposed or existing. Consider rationalization decisions. Review rationalization decisions to clarify the deployment approach—migration or innovative solutions. Create iterations and release plans. Iterations are dedicated time intervals for task completion, while releases define tasks needed before process changes. Estimate timeframes. Develop approximate timelines for release planning based on initial assessments. Prepare Your Team and Cloud Space Skill Readiness Plan to bridge skill gaps in your organization. Develop and implement a skills readiness plan to: Address current gaps, Ensure IT and business readiness for change and new technologies, Define support needs. Create Your Landing Zone Establish a migration target in the cloud for prioritized applications. Each landing zone is a part of a broader solution for organizing resources in a cloud environment. These resources include management groups, resource groups, and subscriptions. Seamless Cloud Migration Starts Here! Trust Gart for Expert Cloud Migration Services. Enhance Performance, Ensure Security, and Propel Your Business Forward. Consult with Us Now! Migration or Innovation: Finding Your Cloud Path Consider your motivation when pondering cloud use. Identify triggers relevant to your business and explore where cloud technology can offer the most benefits. This insight will shape your cloud adoption plan. Indicators for Innovation Cloud Innovation involves accelerating development cycles with cloud-native applications. Even older applications can benefit by modernizing components. Modern DevOps and SDLC approaches shorten the time from idea to product transformation, creating shorter feedback loops for better customer experiences. To determine if a workload is a good candidate for innovation, answer these questions: Does the workload resist lift-and-shift or modernization methods? Are there competing applications? Are there proposed or approved investments related to this workload? Can the data in this workload offer new product or service offerings? Are there proposed or approved investments to gain advantages from data related to this workload? Can the impact of market differentiation or new offerings be quantified? Consider high-level technical scenarios for rationalization using two questions: Will data structures or business logic change during cloud technology implementation? Is the existing deployment pipeline used for this workload in the working environment? If the answer is "yes" to any, the workload should be considered for innovation. Cloud Migration Indicators Migration is a quick and cost-effective way to adopt cloud technologies. It accelerates the pace of change, avoids planned capital expenditures, and reduces ongoing operational costs. However, it may not leverage innovation opportunities. Before investing in innovation, answer the following questions: Is the source code supporting the application stable? Does the workload support current working processes? Is the goal to enhance stability and performance? Are cost reduction and workload simplification the objectives? Does the current architecture or IT production process limit innovation? If "yes" to any, consider a migration model for short-term stability before expanding innovation opportunities in a stable cloud environment. This approach ensures short-term benefits and reduces costs for long-term changes. Conclusion In the dynamic landscape of the enterprise, navigating without the Cloud can be a formidable challenge. Cloud adoption is not just a trend but a strategic necessity, and approaching it without a well-thought-out plan is akin to sailing without a compass – directionless and unrewarding. This underscores the paramount importance of having a robust enterprise cloud adoption strategy. Such a strategy serves as a guiding light, providing businesses with a clear path forward and ensuring that every move is deliberate and purposeful. It acts as a safety net, guarding against the pitfalls of unplanned endeavors and paving the way for success. Selecting the right cloud computing services partner is pivotal to this journey. Look for a partner with a proven track record and expertise in crafting enterprise cloud adoption strategies. With the right guidance, success in your cloud adoption endeavors is not just a possibility – it becomes a certainty.

Moving to the cloud demands significant investment, effort, and time due to its costliness and labor-intensive nature. In other words, it demands extra finances. At the same time, for many technical specialists, the language of business sounds like a foreign one, complicating communication between the development team and the financial department of your company. That's why any successful transformation always starts with clearly defined business results that are understandable to all participants in the process. So, what advantages does cloud migration bring to the business? [lwptoc] Cost Savings When it comes to the benefits of migrating to the cloud, the first thing that comes to mind is the financial aspect. This is the most straightforward business outcome for many business owners, although not the only one. In simple terms, the financial motives for cloud migration boil down to: Increasing revenue. Reducing expenses. How does this play out in practice? Cloud computing can reduce costs related to hardware and software, data center setup, and its operation. Expenses for servers, continuous power for operation and cooling, as well as IT specialists to manage the infrastructure, can quickly add up. Closing a data center is often referred to as "getting out of the datacenter business." Additionally, you avoid expenses for software updates and purchasing new equipment. The cloud can create opportunities for offering new products to customers or delivering existing products in a new way. For example, a regular fitness center introduces online workouts accessible through a subscription-based mobile app. Users can join live sessions or access a library of recorded workouts, creating a new stream of revenue beyond the traditional gym visit. Cloud migration can also increase revenue from existing customers. For instance, an e-commerce company enhances its customer experience by implementing a cloud-based recommendation mechanism. By analyzing customer behavior and preferences, the platform provides personalized product recommendations, leading to increased sales and profit growth. Elevate Your Business with Our Cloud Consulting Expertise. Unlock Efficiency, Security, and Innovation – Consult with Us Today!! Flexibility Quickly adapting to market changes can help a business retain existing customers or gain market share from competitors. Cloud technologies can significantly speed up product development. For example, Azure DevOps offers engineers a set of tools to accelerate: Azure Repos for managing code versions, Azure Test Plans for automated testing of ready solutions, Azure Pipelines for deploying software for applications in different environments. Reducing time-to-market can motivate a manager to allocate budget for IT transformation. Changes in the operational needs of a company often create a demand for new IT services or the scaling of existing services. Purchasing and installing new hardware and virtual resources can take weeks. After migrating to the cloud, the IT team can set up the necessary resources in a matter of hours. Globalization The modern world is global, meaning a large portion of businesses has the potential to enter international markets. Cloud technologies noticeably simplify this process. Cloud solutions shift the costs of globalization to the cloud provider. Companies can quickly deploy resources in the same region as their customers without the need to purchase and maintain local data centers. For instance, today, an online store selling products worldwide and interacting with customers in different time zones and languages is not uncommon. In practice, the store can use Azure Bot Service and various features in Azure Cognitive Services, including Translator, Language Understanding (LUIS), QnA Maker, and Text Analytics. This ensures that their customers can get information when they need it, and it will be provided in their language. Furthermore, cloud computing allow managing the product assortment displayed on the store's pages, adapting it to geographic tastes, preferences, and the current availability of products. Operating in global markets imposes additional constraints on businesses due to regulatory aspects, especially in industries like fintech or healthcare. Cloud technologies offer compliance solutions that help clients adhere to regulatory requirements in regulated sectors and global markets. In other words, cloud providers ensure secure storage and processing of confidential data. For example, let's consider an American healthcare service provider that has secured a contract in Europe. European legislation requires their data to remain in each specific country in Europe. Therefore, the American company deploys its software using fully scripted DevOps processes. Productivity In our world, it is taken as a given that applications work quickly and without glitches. If such expectations are suddenly not met, it can significantly damage the company's reputation. Cloud technologies simplify backup and disaster recovery since data can be mirrored on multiple backup sites within the cloud provider's network. One of the most crucial functions of IT is ensuring that corporate data is never lost, and applications remain accessible despite server failures, power outages, or natural disasters. You can protect your data and ensure the possibility of recovery by creating a backup in the cloud. Carbon Footprint Today, it is crucial to build a responsible business that cares for the environment. Cloud computing can help your organization reduce carbon emissions, use resources more efficiently, and minimize environmental impact. Statistics show that migrating to the cloud reduces carbon dioxide emissions into the ecosystem by 98%. If you doubt the importance of this point, consider government initiatives: The UK government aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The US government plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The European Climate Law aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. The European Union's goal is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Of course, these are not the only business drivers that should motivate you to migrate to the cloud. However, I hope you have already made the decision that is right for you.