Why Are Businesses Migrating To The Cloud?

Over the last several years, cloud migration has experienced extensive worldwide acceptance, but our current trend to remote working has caused businesses to rely on cloud services and apps more than ever.

While many small companies have been sluggish to embrace cloud services, 94 percent of organizations have already done so to save costs, streamline operations, and accelerate application deployment.

That trend is likely to continue, as companies of all sizes rethink how much of their personnel will continue to work remotely. While the advantages of cloud migration are tempting, small companies must do their research to guarantee they can reap those advantages while limiting the dangers.

A thorough awareness of all expenses, both legacy and cloud, will aid in determining the return on investment and prioritization. A well-documented and well-resourced strategy may help keep the migration on schedule and budget, and selecting the proper cloud partners can spell the difference between success and failure.

The practice of migrating apps and other IT operations to a cloud computing environment is known as cloud migration. This usually entails transferring applications and data from on-premises, ‘old’ infrastructure (e.g., servers) to centralized cloud services hosted by a vendor or cloud provider.

Many businesses have a struggle with legacy gear and software since it is costly to maintain, difficult to update, and may not be covered by manufacturer support. Migrating apps and data to the cloud provides small companies with a consumption-based, “pay-as-you-go” approach that maximizes flexibility while reducing capital expenditures.

The Advantages of Migrating to the Cloud

Small companies are rapidly embracing the cloud, with the majority doing so to save money. According to Microsoft, 59 percent of SMBs employing cloud services experienced substantial productivity gains from IT, and 82 percent saw cost savings after using cloud technologies.

The advantages of shifting to the cloud for many small firms go beyond cost reductions and increased productivity:

Costs are more predictable. While cloud migration might save money, this isn’t always the case, and the image can be confusing. To achieve an accurate cost comparison, IT teams must create a complete picture of both cloud and legacy expenditures (e.g., license, hardware, maintenance, and real estate). Cloud expenses, on the other hand, are far more predictable than legacy costs. They grow linearly depending on user numbers and functionality, making cloud expenditures easy to plan and budget.

Capital Expenses are lower: Licenses, servers, and other hardware infrastructure are required for traditional applications. Companies may save funds or utilize it for other strategic objectives by using OPEX-based cloud services.

Simplicity: Many small firms struggle to adopt and maintain premises-based apps and the hardware infrastructure that goes with them. Companies may decrease or remove servers and other infrastructure by transferring applications to the cloud, and outsourcing most activities (such as monitoring, updating, reporting, and troubleshooting) to the cloud provider.

Faster Deployment for apps: For most businesses, beating the competitors to market is a must. Cloud applications can be reviewed, deployed, and scaled in a matter of weeks, but conventional programs need long hardware procurement and staging procedures.

Reduced risk: It’s dangerous to run apps on older hardware platforms. Manufacturer maintenance may be reduced or even discontinued when older equipment approaches ‘end of life.’ Furthermore, aging infrastructure may be incapable of supporting application updates. Customers that use cloud solutions, on the other hand, get the most recent software versions, including important upgrades and security patches, all while using current hardware platforms.

Security has been improved : Small organizations must make a significant, continuing investment in order to protect apps and sensitive data. Specialized security personnel are in short supply, and acquiring them may be time-consuming and costly.

Risks and Challenges of Cloud Migration

In a poll conducted by multinational IT supplier Unisys in 2021, 47% of top executives indicated they “had failed to gain substantial advantages from their cloud computing initiative.” Companies should be aware of the most prevalent cloud migration hazards and how to avoid them to get the best outcomes from cloud migration:

There is no clear strategy or plan in place. Not all applications can, or should, be moved to the cloud. A comprehensive migration strategy will aid in identifying and prioritizing apps that provide the most benefit while posing the least risk. Apps like Email, Sharepoint, email, and the Office Suite, for example, are widely used and reasonably easy to convert to the cloud. They are also less affected by downtime if unanticipated problems arise during relocation.

Data loss is a possibility. Before transferring, be sure to back up all of your data. Files may be lost or damaged during the transfer process, albeit this is an uncommon occurrence. Any lost files may be recovered using complete backups. As part of their migration services, several cloud providers provide thorough backups and safe storage.

Visibility and control are lacking. When migrating apps to the cloud, visibility, and control over infrastructure, policy, and performance might be lost. Customers often get monitoring tools, warnings, and thorough data from cloud partners, and most also receive performance SLAs.

Cloud safety: The perceived lack of security is perhaps the most prevalent barrier to transferring apps to the cloud. Executives from data centers disagree, with a panel of industry experts concluding that cloud-based corporate infrastructure is typically more secure than premise-based enterprise infrastructure.

Security and compliance are essential competences for cloud providers, unlike most small firms. Most companies utilize many levels of physical and cybersecurity protection and rely on third-party auditors to validate their security procedures. While cloud services are more secure than most on-premises alternatives, end users remain the weakest link. According to Gartner, “at least 95 percent of cloud security breaches will be the responsibility of the client until 2022.” IT administrators may reduce cloud security risks by enacting and enforcing strong cloud usage and data protection rules.