TALKING
‘‘ business
As businesses evolve to a more hybrid way of working , many are moving to the cloud to enable employees to access company resources from anywhere in the world . Operating in a cloud environment not only gives staff infinite flexibility in where they work but it enables high levels of scalability . With system resources able to be dynamically increased or decreased depending on demand , businesses can better optimise infrastructure usage to effectively allocate bandwidth and save money . In truth , there are few disadvantages to using cloud technology , but cloud migration can require substantial investment . This is why getting cloud migration right is crucial .
Adrian Rowley , Senior Director EMEA , Gigamon
Laying the foundations of a successful strategy
Cloud migration should be a holistic process , with every avenue explored and assessed before any overarching decisions are made . If businesses jump straight in , or don ’ t review the migration journey as a whole , they risk impacting the speed and security of their existing infrastructure .
Strategy development should start with an assessment of the range of applications that the organisation uses in the cloud , as this will likely influence the operating system needed . Most cloud applications run in a Linux environment , but it ’ s important to be aware that some also make use of Windows Server or other operating systems . Next , businesses must consider the type of migration they need to undertake . In instances where data is moved from one provider to another , they must assess the portability of this data – does this require physical movement of hard drives , or additional code ? In a similar vein , legacy infrastructure can add another layer of complexity . In this case , data may need to be modified to ensure compatibility with more up-todate systems .
Logistically , cost is also a factor of a cloud migration strategy . Different cloud providers are likely to offer varying prices or cost differentiators in specific areas , so decisions need to be made about the budget allocated to this process and where a business ’ priorities lie . With all options fully explored , decisionmakers can ensure that they are choosing the provider with the best offering at the lowest cost . Finally comes people – cloud migration can be resource-intensive so businesses must decide whether they have enough staff to make it happen , and what to do if they don ’ t . www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO EUROPE 39