Digital transformation is the buzz word across the globe irrespective of the industry categorization. Migrating the workloads, applications, storage, database, etc. to cloud completely or in phases is a vital cog in the DX wheel. The rapid fashion in which organizations embrace digital transformation express the keenness to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their IT environments and to improve the focus on core business. This makes cloud migration as top priority and not a good to have option. It is part of every organization’s roadmap but in various stages of the adoption. Based upon the use case and the specific requirements, there are different types of cloud models being deployed. Not to forget the hybrid scenarios as well. The cloud migration is a series of sequential steps to be performed in a well-planned manner, so that overall experience both in terms of the end users as well as the business perspective is seamless. The below are a few categories of cloud which are worth mentioning in a broader context- Public cloud- Private cloud- Hybrid cloud- Community cloud There are further sub categories within each of these cloud models and the definitions varies on a case basis. But in general, all these models deliver all the key benefits of cloud as a common characteristic feature. Where & how does the cloud story begin? For sure, migrating workloads and applications can be a complex and challenging task. It’s not just the IT organization’s or the finance, it impacts the entire enterprise, the way in which they work on day2 will certainly change for good! So, any organizations planning to make the move should chalk out their cloud model, drivers, business benefits expected, operational model, communication strategy internal as well as external, train the user based on their roles and responsibilities. The below are the guidance or check list collated from the industry best practices, but not restricted to. Define the cloud strategy This is the corner stone for the cloud migration, starting with identifying & investigating the applications, host systems, infra components which are to be migrated to the cloud and also identify the respective owners for the same. Its fundamentally, the “As-Is Vs to Be” on cloud, a measure of taking stock of the current ecosystem. Differentiate the essentials & the good to have ones in the requirements, also the approach to be clearly defined - whether complete migration or phases. Create, publish a RACI for the identified areas of work and arrive at mapping of the requirements Vs expected business solutions. Firm up the type of cloud to be deployed. This will be helpful in defining the metrics for evaluating the cloud migration at various stage right from the initiation. These metrics or performance indicators will vary on a component-to-component basis covering all the ones in the entire ecosystem. Potentially response times, uptime requirement, latency, traffic handling capability, processing speed, reports, etc. are a few examples for the metrics. There can be scores against each of the defined metrics and tracked at various stages of the migration. Migration evaluation This step involves estimating which component of the existing ecosystem to be migrated, taking due cognizance of the following and more - Why it should be migrated?- What kind of a cloud solution fits? Justify– why public or private or hybrid?- Migrate as a whole or create a mix and match of cloud & on prem - Is there a need for redesign or reconfiguration of the apps? If yes, what and who does that?- Impact of migrating on the ecosystem- Timelines for achieving the same- What is the commercial model for consumption?- How does it impact the revenue model?- Business benefits, ROI, Risks, etc.- Support model - Security Data migration plan The next step is to assess the data which is inherent part of the “as-is “ecosystem; to ensure that the inherited data is migrated to the cloud. The plan should clearly describe the checks and balances to be deployed for securing the historical data and the new data in a seamless way to ensure that there are no operational or run time hiccups. A detailed analysis on the complete system data flow, its dependent components which process and sub-process the data to be figured out as part of the plan. Further the data retention policies, preservation format and mechanism to be considered. Not to forget the reports which are generated out of these data which are mission critical w.r.t smooth operations of the enterprise. Identify the right cloud provider Evaluating and figuring out the right cloud provider to meet all the requirements of the organization is the most important aspect of the digital transformation journey. A cloud provider, who in every aspect should be a good fit as the whole journey is multi-dimensional in nature. Every possible investigation should be carried out as part of the evaluation as below. - Is the cloud robust to support the requirement?- What sort of HA architecture is designed?- Details on the availability zones and regions?- Geographical redundancy?- Industry standard accreditations?- Does it adhere to region specific data protection & privacy laws?- Support model? Is it a single pane of glass or multi-vendor support?- What are the tools & utilities available?- Third party integration capabilities – cloud to cloud, cloud to on prem, readymade plug -ins for leading players?- Can it support different forms of cloud – public, private, hybrid, community?- Do they provide migration support?- How’s the partner ecosystem of the cloud provider?- Do they offer SLAs & uptime commitment for each of the service on cloud?- Is it in line with expansion plan of your organization? Cost Analysis Cost analysis can be major consideration factor for any cloud migration. There are generic calculators as well as the configuration specific cloud provider calculator which will help in arriving at the approximate spend out on a monthly basis. These calculators can give the costing at per resource level as per the billing unit defined for the same. The accuracy of the information fed to the estimator is directly proportional to the margin of the cost approximation. Also, the TCO comparison of the cloud solutions should not be looked in silos, but in a broader context considering- Upfront capex- Cost of capital- Annual Maintenance Charges- Upgrades- Technology forklift- Idle capacity, fill factor- Underlying Infra cost – IDC, power, support, etc. - Specialized IT resources Importantly in case of cloud services, you pay only for what you consume and nothing fixed or recurring. Finally, moving to cloud will enable an enterprise to focus on the core business and negate the overhead of running a full-fledged internal IT shop. This will enable any enterprise to realize the commercial benefits of migrating to cloud. Security & Industry standards As we all understand, different industries mandate a variety of data protection standards and accreditations. In addition to those, there are country or region-specific regulations on processing customer data and restrictions in terms of data flowing outside the region. So, this should also be an evaluation criterion while choosing the cloud provider. Start the migration Sequentially all the above check points will lead to the actual migration and experience should be relatively predictable. However, the complexity of the existing application, architecture, user base and the traffic will determine the actual effort estimate and timelines. Also, the migration approach for applications and the cloud model will add to the list of variables determining the journey & experience. It’s advisable to opt for a controlled introduction and migrate applications in a phased manner with a roll back plan ready. Test and trials along with validation iteratively for every application or customer will help in containing the challenges and make a remarkable cloud migration.
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