Due to technological progress, new solutions appear on the market for many spheres. Business is not an exception. Leading a successful business means providing the best service for clients and good and stable work for the company. One of the most popular trends nowadays is a cloud migration strategy.
It is a solution that offers to move local data into the cloud. Before choosing the right plan, it is necessary to understand all the features of the technology. Not all the elements will win in case of moving it into the cloud. Every manager must understand why he needs it. In general, the process of migration includes 4 steps:
- Migration planning. Here the company must put all the accents. Everyone must know the reasons for migration and the exact strategy.
- Choice of a cloud solution. There are several types of clouds available for the clients:
- Public cloud;
- Hybrid cloud;
- Private cloud;
- Multi-cloud.
All these types have their advantages and disadvantages. So, everyone must clearly understand why he needs to use this or that type.
- Moving data and apps.
- Check-out process.
After all these steps the data must be kept in a cloud solution.
What are the strategies available?
There are more than a hundred cloud migration strategies available. The choice of a certain kind depends on the companies’ demands. The most popular strategies are:
- Rehosting;
- Refactoring;
- Repltaforming.
It is quite enough to choose one of these strategies to achieve good results. Some companies are sure, that a combination of several strategies can only bring the best performance. It is not necessary, naturally, to combine these strategies. If one of the strategies is working and handled properly, there is no need to use additional resources for another one. Let’s look at these solutions in more detail.
Rehosting
It is one of the simplest ways of moving data and apps. It implies moving separate apps and data connected with them to the cloud. The main advantage of the strategy is that the client doesn’t need to rebuild the platform architecture. It is a good solution for companies that want to protect their data from hacking attacks. It is quite reasonable, as local software is tended to be attacked by millions of viruses available.
Though this idea is quite easy to perform, every manager must confirm that all the data will correspond to a new cloud solution. Beforehand, you need to check if all the apps have the necessary resources for working in a new cloud strategy. Sometimes it happens, that some apps are unable to start from the cloud. Before doing it, any company must work out a detailed plan of moving its data and a lot of docs for it. It is one of the main disadvantages here.
Refactoring
This process implies running apps in the sphere of a cloud provider. As a result, it requires the rebuilding of the architecture. All the apps must correspond to a new sphere. It will let the apps use all the potential from a new solution. This approach seems to be complicated in comparison with other solutions. The main problem here is the setting of the apps. They must behave the same way in a cloud sphere as they used to be in a local center.
Some companies face problems after the migration if their apps are quite demandable. It contains lots of graphics and other resources. It leads to extra expenses for data processing.
Replatforming
This approach is going to be the best among all the available cloud migration strategies. This way of transferring data implies significant, but not critical changes in the apps. It is necessary to change the app just to adjust it to a cloud sphere. The way it will change, depends only on the aim the company wants to achieve. An example of it can be the way of the app’s correlation with the cloud. It makes the process automatic.
Besides, it is possible to add extra functions in the app, just to provide better scaling. It is also possible to integrate the app with personal cloud functions. It is just necessary to edit a code a little.
The advantages of all the methods
| Rehosting | Refactoring | Replatforming |
| Provides fast cloud migration | Reduces long-term expenses | Very profitable |
| Profitable | Enhances resistance | Cloud functionality is available |
| Requires fewer resources | More flexible system |
What are the disadvantages of the approach?
Though the process is aimed to reduce risks and prices in servicing the apps, it also has some disadvantages. The main disadvantages are the following:
- The waiting time. In the process of moving data from local storage to a cloud, servers can be switched off. Sometimes, such failures can lead to disastrous problems. The main way to avoid problems here is to use backup.
- Loss of data. While transferring data to the cloud, your data are subjected to extreme risks. Some of them can be unavailable or even damaged. Just to avoid this, IT specialists advise using encryption and other settings of the cloud, such as privilege access.
- Resources handling. Moving data to the cloud is connected with new roles in handling. It means that the company needs to hire a specialist for controlling the process of migration and work.
- Compatibility. Sometimes it is difficult to make apps work properly in a new cloud sphere. All the apps must be adapted to a certain cloud sphere.
Conclusion
There are lots of ways of moving local data to cloud services. Nowadays the most popular and reasonable choice is to use re-platforming. Such a strategy is a good balance among all the strategies available. It seems to be profitable and supports lots of functions that can be implemented in the apps.
It doesn’t mean that other strategies are not popular. In fact, everything depends on the company’s demands. Sometimes, it is cheaper and faster to use rehosting. At the same time, such a solution can be unsuitable just for a certain app. Before making any decision, the company must work out a detailed plan. This plan must include all the pros and cons of using this or that way. Besides, it is necessary to realize whether the company needs it or not.
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