DCN August 2017 | Page 34

cloud migration Finally, this phase may play a role in removing an application from migration consideration if it is determined that the migration is infeasible due to security concerns or service level requirements. it might seem challenging to guarantee a seamless end-user experience during the move, so it is no wonder that many organisations continue to hesitate over moving to the cloud. However, data centre migration need not be painful and costly. It just comes down to visibility. Visibility A journey of discovery Before embarking on a migration, it’s critical to have an in-depth understanding of applications and their dependencies. Observed, real-time application mapping is the most efficient, thorough, and accurate way to gain this understanding. This process also has the added benefit of identifying redundancies and inefficiencies to help improve overall performance once the migration is complete. This discovery phase is critical as it helps to define a candidate- list of systems to migrate, which is vital within multi-tier applications that have subsystems that effectively make up the application itself. This allows the creation of a plan to group devices logically and create a complete, contained view of the application. This phase can also be helpful in understanding which departments and users are accessing the application, allowing the proper setting of expectations should there be the need for planned downtime during the migration. It can also be a great way to prioritise which applications need to move first. For example, a sales database that plays a critical role in order processing might be prioritised over a human resources database that contains less time- sensitive information. 34 | August 2017 Before embarking on a