7 best practices for on-premise to cloud migration

A migration has taken place over recent years, as enterprises of all sizes have started moving data, applications and other business elements from their company’s local servers to a cloud environment that’s managed by a third party. The benefits of cloud migration are substantial, but the process isn’t without challenges. On-premise to cloud migration can be complex, expensive and fairly risky if it’s incorrectly managed. This article explores the reasons behind this relatively recent data migration from on-premise to cloud, along with its benefits, the phases of migration and best practices to ensure a smooth, cost-effective transition.

Data users are increasingly migrating their data and applications to the cloud. The cloud offers a range of benefits that traditional on-premise solutions can't match, including cost savings, improved agility and access to advanced technologies. 

Before diving into the benefits, it’s good to understand the different types of cloud environments available.

• Public cloud: These are owned and operated by third-party cloud service providers and offer resources over the internet. Examples include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. Public clouds are cost-effective and scalable but may raise concerns about data security and governance.

• Private cloud: This cloud environment is used exclusively by a single organization. It can be hosted on-premise or by a third-party provider. Private clouds offer enhanced security and control but can be more expensive and complex to manage.

• Hybrid cloud: Hybrid clouds are a combination of public and private clouds, allowing data and applications to be shared between them. This model provides greater flexibility and optimization of existing infrastructure, offering a balanced approach to security, performance and cost.

Organizations’ migration to the cloud has happened for a reason. By switching to the larger and more flexible architecture available in enterprise-scale cloud operations, businesses get more storage, faster processing and more advanced security tools. Further benefits of cloud migration include the following.

Cost effectiveness

One of the most significant drivers for cloud migration is the significant cost savings. Moving to the cloud can eliminate the need for expensive hardware, reduce energy consumption and minimize maintenance costs. Cloud providers offer pay-as-you-go models. Since organizations pay only for the resources used, this model leads to efficient budget management.

Scalability and flexibility

Cloud platforms provide attractive scalability and flexibility for enterprises of every size. Organizations can easily scale their resources up or down based on demand, ensuring optimal performance without the need for significant upfront investments. This agility is particularly beneficial for businesses with variable workloads or those looking at rapid or unanticipated growth.

Better collaboration

Cloud environments facilitate improved collaboration by enabling access to data and applications from anywhere with an internet connection. This accessibility supports remote work and real-time collaboration. For most teams, this has the potential to enhance productivity and foster seamless innovation across departments, as many teams can be in completely different regions and timezones.

Disaster recovery and business continuity

Cloud services typically include some element of disaster recovery, usually with extensive backups and remote server storage. The protection reduces the risk of catastrophic data loss or denial-of-service issues. These services help maintain a continuity of operations, from continuous uptime for the website to unbroken access for complex querying and data analysis. Additionally, modern cloud solutions enable data replication across different regions and cloud providers, further ensuring that business continuity is preserved in the event of a disaster.

Closer focus on core business functions

Moving to the cloud involves giving up more than the organization takes on. Specifically, a business moving to the cloud can offer up its IT drudgery, data security work and analytical requirements to cloud providers, giving them access to high-end professional services they couldn’t have in-house and freeing teams to focus on innovation.

Innovation and competitive advantage

The cloud provides access to advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics across fields. Leveraging these tools in the cloud helps drive innovation, improve decision making and provide a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Migrating to the cloud is a big step, and it's not to be done lightly. Enterprises usually have to plan their move in advance and carry it out in stages. Successful cloud migration typically involves four key phases.

In the preparation phase, organizations assess their existing IT infrastructure, identify the data and applications to be migrated and establish clear goals and objectives for the migration. This phase typically involves assembling a migration team and defining a project time line. Organizations must also assess the costs associated with the migration and consider the potential impact on business-as-usual activities. The migration process can place considerable strain on existing staff. To mitigate this impact, companies may need to engage temporary workforce support during the migration period to ensure that critical operations continue smoothly while the migration is underway.

The planning phase requires the project team to create a detailed cloud migration strategy. This usually includes selecting the appropriate cloud environment, determining the migration method and developing a comprehensive migration plan that outlines tasks, responsibilities and timelines. Project management should develop a set of benchmarks to evaluate success during the transition period.

The actual transfer of data and applications takes place during the migration phase. This phase requires careful execution to minimize disruption to business operations. Testing and validation are implemented at this stage to make sure everything functions correctly in the new environment before functions are added into the cloud ecosystem.

The operate and optimize phase comes after the migration, where data users monitor the performance of their cloud environment. This is the time to address any issues that arise and continuously optimize infrastructure for cost and performance.

Effective cloud cost management ensures the migration delivers the expected financial benefits and supports long-term sustainability. By paying close attention to the details of how costs are structured and where the main cost drivers are located, teams can control the disruption and initial outlay of a major cloud migration.

• Cost savings: Effective cost management during migration helps organizations realize the cost savings promised by cloud adoption. With careful planning and optimized resource usage, businesses can avoid overspending and only pay for what they need.

• ROI: Maximizing the return on investment is a primary goal of cloud migration. By minimizing migration costs, organizations can achieve a faster ROI, which demonstrates the value of the migration to stakeholders.

• Budget constraints: Many organizations operate within strict budget constraints. Effective cost management during migration ensures the project stays within budget. It also prevents financial strain and allows for the allocation of resources to other critical business areas.

• Competitive advantage: Cost-effective cloud migration can provide a competitive advantage by freeing up capital for innovation and strategic initiatives. Organizations that manage their migration costs can invest in new technologies, enhance their product offerings and improve their market position.

Implementing best practices can significantly enhance the success and cost-effectiveness of any cloud migration. These practices help ensure a smooth transition to the cloud.

Before starting out on a cloud migration journey, it may help to assess the existing IT architecture. This assessment involves conducting a comprehensive data inventory, data mapping and analyzing current usage patterns. Understanding the current state of infrastructure helps identify which data should be ported over to the cloud first.

There are three primary cloud migration strategies.

• Lift and shift (rehosting): This involves moving applications and data to the cloud without significant changes. It's a straightforward method but may not fully leverage cloud benefits.
   

• Refactor (replatforming): This strategy involves making some changes to applications to optimize them for the cloud environment. It balances effort and benefits and offers improved performance and cost efficiency.
   

• Rewrite (refactoring): This strategy involves redeveloping applications to take full advantage of cloud-native features. While this approach can be resource-intensive, it offers the most significant long-term benefits.

An important aspect of these migration strategies is the incorporation of self-service tools, which can drastically improve the migration timeline. By enabling each team to work independently, these tools streamline the process, allowing for more efficient resource utilization and faster migration outcomes.

Deciding on the right strategy involves evaluating the specific needs, goals and constraints of the organization. Factors driving the strategy choice include the complexity of current applications, the desired level of cloud optimization and any budget limitations. 

The major cloud providers offer varying services, pricing models and capabilities. Before choosing a provider, organizations should evaluate their perceived needs, such as data security, governance requirements and scalability, to choose the right platform for them. Conducting a thorough comparison of leading cloud providers, such as their pricing structures and service offerings, can help in making an informed decision. Choosing the right platform helps with cost-effectiveness and aligns with the organization’s long-term strategic goals.

Thorough testing offers a painless way to find and resolve potential issues before they impact production environments. Testing should encompass all aspects of the migration, including data integrity, application functionality, performance and security. Rigorous testing conducted during the migration helps avoid costly post-migration downtime and data loss.

Automated deployment tools and scripts enable consistent and repeatable deployments, minimizing the risk of human error and correctly applying chosen configurations. Automation also supports ongoing management and maintenance, which makes it easier to scale and update cloud environments as needed.

Any data migration plan should include procedures for restoring data and applications to their previous state. A streamlined rollback and recovery process minimizes downtime and disruption to business operations. By preparing for potential setbacks, users can mitigate risks and rely on their migration strategy's ability to keep up business continuity even during a disruption in local architecture.

Effective monitoring and optimization tools are essential for maintaining the performance and cost-efficiency of cloud environments. These tools provide visibility into resource usage and help address issues promptly. Capital One Slingshot is one such tool, and it offers comprehensive monitoring and optimization capabilities. Slingshot’s unique features include real-time analytics, automated alerts and optimization recommendations.

While the benefits of migrating from on-premise to cloud are substantial, the process comes with its own set of challenges, which must be carefully managed during the migration. Here are some of the most serious challenges to watch out for.

Cost management can be a challenge in cloud migrations of any size. While cloud solutions can offer significant cost savings, improper planning and execution can lead to unmanaged expenses. For example, underestimating data transfer costs, over-provisioning resources or failing to decommission old infrastructure can result in financial strain. To manage costs effectively, organizations should:

• Perform a detailed cost analysis. Understand the total cost of ownership for on-premise and cloud environments.

• Optimize resource allocation. Use tools to monitor and manage resource usage to avoid over-provisioning.

• Leverage cost-saving opportunities. Use reserved instances, spot instances and other cost-saving options provided by cloud service providers.

• Regularly review expenses. Continuously monitor and analyze cloud spending to identify and address cost overruns promptly.

Migrating legacy systems and applications to the cloud can be complex and challenging. These systems may not be compatible with cloud environments, requiring significant modifications or complete redevelopment. Legacy applications also may have dependencies on outdated technologies that aren't supported in the cloud. To address these challenges:

• Assess compatibility. Conduct a thorough assessment of legacy applications to determine their compatibility with the cloud.

• Plan for refactoring. Identify applications that require modification, and plan for refactoring or rewriting as needed.

• Prioritize critical systems. Focus on migrating critical systems first, and gradually transition some of the less critical ones.

• Engage with experts. Consider partnering with cloud migration experts or consulting firms to ensure a smooth transition of legacy systems.

Security is a paramount concern when migrating to the cloud. This is especially true for financial service providers like Capital One. While cloud service providers routinely implement robust security measures, the responsibility for securing data and applications in the cloud is shared between the provider and the customer. To keep data secure:

• Implement strong access controls. Use identity and access management to control who can access data and applications in the cloud.

• Encrypt data. Ensure data is encrypted in transit and at rest to protect it from unauthorized access.

• Maintain governance. Develop a reporting schema to document that the chosen cloud environment complies with relevant regulations and industry standards.

• Regularly update and patch. Keep applications and systems up to date with the latest security patches and updates.

• Conduct security audits. Regularly audit the cloud environment to identify and address security vulnerabilities.

• Implement and monitor tags. Tag resources appropriately in order to easily identify data ownership and enable effective chargeback of costs. 

Migrating from on-premise to cloud environments offers numerous benefits, including cost savings, scalability and improved collaboration. It also comes with several challenges that must be carefully managed. By implementing best practices like assessing existing infrastructure, choosing the right migration strategy, conducting thorough testing and using effective monitoring and optimization tools, organizations can ensure an easy transition.

During our own journey to modernize our data operations in the cloud, we adopted Snowflake to help us scale efficiently. To accelerate that adoption, closely manage cloud costs and automate governance we then built Capital One Slingshot—a  cloud data warehouse management solution that provides cost optimization and performance management for Snowflake customers. Whether you're transitioning from a legacy cloud provider or starting fresh, Slingshot will give you granular visibility into your costs and give you the tools to efficiently manage your Snowflake Data Cloud from the outset. 

Request a personalized demo today to learn how Slingshot can help you maximize your Snowflake investment.