Small Business Technology Planning: Cloud Migration

PublisherSol Minion Developmenthttps:https://assets.solminion.co/logo.svgPublished Small Business cloud migrationdigital transformationstrategy

What is “The Cloud,” anyway? Is it a fancy marketing term created by Microsoft or Google or Amazon? No, it’s real. The cloud is simply a data center that is accessed via the Internet. Your technology strategy needs to address cloud technology and possibly even include a cloud migration. Let’s get into the details.

What Is Cloud Migration?

Cloud migration is moving your software and technology to or from a cloud computing environment. There are basically three types of cloud migration:

  1. To The Cloud: Moving data and software from your site to a cloud computing environment.
  2. Cloud-to-Cloud: Moving your systems from one cloud to another.
  3. Out-of-the-Cloud: Moving from a cloud computing host back to your premises.

The focus here will be on that first option -- moving from an on-premises setup to a cloud operation. In that case, rather than installing software on machines at your location(s), your software will reside on services in a secure data center.

How Is Cloud Migration Done?

Moving the digital part of your business to the cloud will have some great benefits (see below), but it will also involve some noticeable changes in the way your team uses technology. It will be important to have the users (internal and external) of the technology be part of your migration plan. That said, there are six methods for cloud migration, known as the “The 6 Rs of Cloud Migration.” These options include everything from a “lift and shift” strategy of simply “forklifting” your solutions into a cloud data center, to a complete Repurchase (or Rebuild) by creating the new solution from scratch while migrating existing data to the new solution.

The Benefits Of A Cloud Migration

As you develop your company’s technology strategy, you’ll likely see that it would be beneficial to host your software in the cloud. It provides access to remote workers, integrates with other solutions, is scalable, and can even provide some cost savings in terms of maintenance and updates.

Here are the primary benefits to doing a cloud migration of your technology:

  1. Agility and Flexibility: Making changes won’t require planning on internal network changes.
  2. Scalability: The whole benefit of “the cloud” is its elastic design -- it grows with you as you need more (or less).
  3. Security: You need to have a cybersecurity plan no matter what, but having a central place where your data is stored and protected offers another layer of security protection when combined with a robust data retention policy.
  4. Cost: The costs to maintain a cloud-based solution are often reduced. As you scale your business, the costs are incremental rather than wholesale upgrades.
  5. Compliance: Running your technology from a data center (cloud) that has compliance built-in will help you stay out of compliance trouble.
  6. Backup and Recovery: You won’t have to run backups. Your data is backed up and ready to restore should anything happen.
  7. Simplified Control: Managing technology can be a headache. Moving your solutions into the cloud can make managing software much easier.

Where Does Cloud Migration Fit In My Technology Strategy?

This is a strategic-level decision. Migrating to the cloud will affect just about every other level of your software and technology. Therefore, cloud migration needs to be part of your overall technology plan, including plans to prepare for and execute the migration.

How Does Cloud Migration Help Me Execute My Strategy?

Migrating your data and software to the cloud will likely enable the execution of your overall technology strategy. Your technology plan will help you take advantage of new opportunities -- think security, remote workers, software integrations. Hosting these solutions in the cloud will provide the flexibility and scalability you need to make these plans a reality and achieve your business performance goals.

How To Start Your Cloud Migration

Your Cloud Migration plan begins with your technology strategy. Your technology strategy is one part of your overall business strategy: revenue, growth, operations, competitive advantage, etc.

The first step is to start the planning process. Contact us now to have that first conversation and see what’s possible. A cloud migration might just be the one thing that opens your business up for next-level success.

Contact us now