Migrating to the cloud is a growth-focused step that can enhance business performance but has attendant risks. Poor product adoption, bloated running costs, and data breach are some of the consequences of a poorly executed cloud migration.
So, before your company moves to the cloud, you should know the common cloud migration challenges and their solutions.
This article reviews the top challenges of moving to the cloud and their solutions; read on.
Your team's adoption of the new cloud system determines the ROI. So you must focus on bringing your team onto the new technology as much as moving your on-premise systems to the cloud.
One of the biggest challenges to technology adoption is a lack of knowledge. Naturally, people don’t use tools they don't understand. The best solution is to design and implement a technology change management plan with product training at its core. This way, non-IT team members can get on the new platform without significant resistance.
Getting the management's endorsement for a cloud migration plan can impact adoption across teams significantly. You can get their support by sharing the business benefits of using the cloud over on-premise applications. Also, demonstrate product usage to the management to show the ease of use.
Cost uncertainty is a major challenge to cloud migration. Moving to the cloud comes with significant cost implications, which can spiral out of control when there is no plan.
Even though cloud migration can become beneficial over time, it still helps to know how much it will cost. When you understand the cost implications of migration, you can prepare for it.
A change management plan helps you manage the cloud migration process, project scope, budget, and disruption to your business.
Perform a thorough analysis of your business objectives, current technology, and available cloud options. With this analysis, you can identify your company's cloud infrastructure needs, which determines migration costs.
Before you consider moving any app to the cloud, you should audit the application's relevance. Do you need the apps? Are they worth moving? Will the application be required in the future or replaced by another technology?
Asking these questions will help you value the app better and decide if it is worth moving to the cloud.
Implementing your cloud transition in phases will spread the cost and make the technology switch subtle. This approach is excellent if you want to implement cloud migration without committing huge resources upfront. Ask your cloud migration consultant to break down the migration into independent phases and start with the first one.
Depending on the nature of your business, you may not need a full cloud migration. If a system analysis confirms you don’t need complete migration, then a hybrid cloud is ideal for you.
Running a hybrid cloud means some of your organization's resources would be powered-by on-premises systems, while others run on private or public cloud resources.
Cost management continues after migrating to the cloud. You have to manage your cost continuously while maximizing product use. Microsoft 365 users can take advantage of CoreView to get their license management under control.
Cloud sprawl is when your company does not have complete, centralized control and visibility of its cloud resources. This can happen when your organization uses several public cloud service providers to run different parts of its business.
Cloud sprawl can cause data silo, unnecessary maintenance costs, data leaks, and compliance risks due to poor oversight.
A migration framework helps identify the solutions you want to move and where they will be hosted. A good migration framework eliminates duplicate cloud resource purchases and breaks every action into phases.
Adopting a cloud management tool will help you keep a clear view of your cloud resources and their use. Microsoft 365 users can manage their environment, optimize license costs, and ensure continuous compliance with CoreView.
Another top challenge for organizations considering cloud migration is the skill gap.
Most organizations considering the cloud don't have an IT team to handle the move effectively. A lack of personnel makes it doubly difficult for an organization to move to the cloud.
Currently, the demand for experienced cloud engineers exceeds the supply. So you may not find an expert easily. This means your organization must be creative with hiring talents.
Hiring cloud experts for your migration doesn't have to be a bring-in-the-new-and clear-out-the-old process. Your in-house tech team understands your on-site and legacy systems more than a cloud consultant or new team member. They can help with your cloud transition and subsequent maintenance with the right skills.
Training your in-house tech team on cloud technology saves resources and ensures maintenance continuity. Develop a plan to train your staff frequently on cloud technology and how to use your preferred cloud platform.
Your company should hire a cloud migration expert to oversee cloud migration and help train the in-house team. A cloud migration consultant will add experience to the team and reduce the learning curve.
Concerns over data security and compliance risks prevent some organizations from embracing the cloud.
Most companies are worried about hosting their data on third-party applications they don't own despite a secured cloud environment. This concern is well-founded; however, it shouldn't stifle growth.
Always use a top-tier cloud platform like Microsoft Azure, built with security in mind, to remove the risk of a data leak. In our data-driven business landscape, your business data is a market advantage, and you shouldn't lose it. Also, poor data handling can incur fines from regulatory bodies.
The cloud security settings allow your organization to replicate its on-site data protection rules in the cloud. If your company policy prevents state-based teams from accessing national records, you can set the same restriction in your cloud organization. This is as simple as creating file access permissions for each team within your cloud organization.
After acquiring and setting up your cloud environment, implementing data access control should be a top priority.
Increased productivity, reduced overhead cost, higher flexibility, and team collaboration are some benefits of operating in the cloud. If these advantages appeal to you, consider moving your organization's operation to the cloud.
As we've already discussed, cloud migration has huge cost implications. After spending money and time moving to the cloud, you must get the most out of it. You can learn how to use your cloud environment efficiently over time or simply use CoreView to manage your cloud tools effectively.
CoreView helps Microsoft 365 users gain full oversight of their environment and move at full speed.
