In today’s world, as we create and use more information, businesses are searching for a simple way to keep and understand all this data. Instead of having in-house data centers filled with machines and wires, many companies are now using a service called Cloud. Think of the Cloud like a big digital storage box in the sky. It’s easier to use, can hold more, and is often cheaper than the old ways. More importantly, the total cost of ownership is cheaper as compared to in-house data centers.

As the data deals with both volume and complexity, a huge number of companies are looking for an efficient solution to store, manage and analyze data. Instead of maintaining a huge on in-house data centers those include hard drives, servers, networks, firewalls, backup storage and cables, organizations have turned to the new leader in data storage and management: Cloud Service Providers (CSP). CSP brings scalability, flexibility, ease-of-use, and cost-effectiveness compared to its traditional, in-premise counterparts.

Transitioning, however, can be a daunting task. Especially for those, who have gotten used to using in-house data centers for a long period. To determine if a transition is suitable, the organizations must consider some factors – the right Cloud service provider, security and compliance among others, for example.

In this article, we’ll talk about the most compelling reasons why you should transition to Cloud, how to do so, and what difference it could make.

 

Why transition to the Cloud?

While we cannot deny the challenges of transition, there is an immeasurable benefit to embarking on this data adventure. Cloud enables companies to access data from anywhere at any time. This makes remote work and collaboration even more possible.

 

 

Here are some of the best reasons to transition to Cloud services:

1. Data Explosion. Have you ever wondered why decades ago you would only need a handful of megabytes for your storage? And today, your gigabytes are not taking up to task. This phenomenon is called data explosion, meaning as computers advance and learn newer tricks, more data is created. A 2021 estimate of the world’s overall amount of data says we’re currently at 79 zettabytes, with an expectation of doubling in the next three years. Transitioning to Cloud enables companies to store huge amounts of data without having to go through the hassle of manning and maintaining their own individual data centers, and instead become part of a vast infrastructure that is both robust and stable. 

2. Cost Benefits. Some of the benefits in costs and finances that the Cloud brings to the fore are economies of scale, lower energy costs, a streamlined workforce, zero upfront costs and resilience without redundancy. Basically, the resources you’d need to manage your highly important data are cut down to the meat of the matter. Unnecessary costs are minimized, if not eliminated. The pay-for-what-you-use models where you can add and reduce services and spending depending on your business goals provide for optimized resource management. Not to mention, the Cloud is better for the environment and the reduction of carbon footprints compared to in-house data centers.

3. Operational Efficiency. Cloud, as intelligent as it is, helps you solve problems of operational efficiency. The infrastructure modernization allows for cost reduction, scalability and agility without the need to re-architect and retrain your staff. Specialized infrastructure migration also enables you to migrate unique workloads – exactly which ones you want when you want them. Analytics and big data solutions are also part of the package. AI capabilities also provide insight to drive productivity and improve customer support and marketing. And with your treasured data up there in the Cloud, you can work and collaborate with your team anytime, anywhere without the costs and hassle of meeting up physically.

Understanding Cloud Services

 Cloud services has indeed transformed the way we deliver and consume IT resources and services.

There are three types of cloud deployment models: public, private and hybrid cloud.

Public clouds offer resources over the Internet. These include the delivery of resources such as compute, storage, network, develop-and-deploy environments and applications. These are owned and run by third-party cloud service providers.

Private clouds, on the other hand, are Cloud networks located on-premises and are typically used by a single organization. Greater customization, control and security are guaranteed by this type of Cloud.

Hybrid clouds mix the use of public and private clouds. A hybrid cloud, sometimes also called multi-cloud when it employs the use of more than one provider, allows you to leverage resources from different computing environments depending on your determined workloads.

 

 

The infrastructure, platforms and software applications are categorized into several types of cloud services. Usually, organizations make use of more than one service model, combining or using all of them at once. Here are the main Cloud service models:

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provides infrastructure resources – compute, storage, networking, and virtualization. These are managed by a service provider, but customers would still need to purchase and manage their software independently.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offers both hardware and software resources for developing, testing and delivering cloud applications. PaaS providers often offer development tools, middleware, and cloud databases to boot.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivers the full application stack as its own service, with ready-to-use applications managed and maintained by cloud service providers.

There are also several serverless computing, also called Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) that enables building applications as simple, event-triggered functions without the need to manage or scale infrastructure. Another example – Database as a service (DaaS) where you simplify build application and host data in these cloud databases without worrying about indexing or optimizations and data growth.

There are different purposes for each service model so you’d have to thoroughly align the tools you avail with your company goals. IaaS is overall the most flexible, PaaS works best for developers, SaaS is the best for a convenient, pre-set utilization, and DaaS and FaaS is a lean model for very specific uses.

 

Benefits of Cloud Data Storage

When we say that Cloud changes the ways we handle our data, we mean it. Take a look at the benefits of Cloud data storage and how it can impact the way we see and navigate the digital world.

 

 

Global Accessibility: When you use Cloud, your data can be accessed anywhere in the world from any location as long as you have an internet connection. What does this make possible? Seamless collaboration between your world-class team located in different geographical regions which gives them a greater hand at productivity and efficiency at work.

Security and Compliance: As soon as you migrate your data with a Cloud service provider, you are provided with robust security measures for protecting data. These services include encryption, access controls and timely security updates. These measures are aligned with existing industry standards, regulations and compliance requirements to ensure your data is secure while it’s up there in the Cloud. After all, most industries require strict regulations in terms of data privacy and security.

Scalability: Scaling the storage capacity up or down based on organizational needs is a very useful function of Cloud computing. You only use what you need, when you need to. This causes for efficiency in costs and operations. The resources you put into are aligned with your business goals and let you avoid spending on what isn’t needed.

Back-up and Disaster Recovery: Data backups and other disaster recovery solutions keep your data tight and safe in case of unforeseen events. Your data is securely replicated across multiple servers and data services. This minimizes the chances your data is lost or corrupted even in the event of hardware failure or a disaster. Systems are also set up for assistance for quicker data recovery when you need to.

Environmental Impact: Higher energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions are hallmarks of Cloud computing setting it a mile apart from traditional storage solutions. Scalability, flexibility and other features of the Cloud contribute to leveraging resources efficiently and making the entire world’s data infrastructure leaner and more optimized.

 

Steps to Migrate Data to The Cloud

Once you’re convinced, you’re ready to make the switch, you’d have to be prepared and take a strategic approach to migrating your data. Here’s a template we prepared for you that you can follow step-by-step, just so all your bases are covered.

1. Assessment and Planning. Begin by doing a rundown of what you have. Analyze your existing data infrastructure to align the process with what you’re aiming for. In this step, you should identify the data you want to move – including its sensitivity, volume and dependencies. Also, you’d need to set your objectives in migration, your timeline and your budget to make sure your requirements are ready. If your industry needs specific security requirements, take note of that as well. Then, you’d have your blueprint for the entire migration process.
2. Data Preparation. Preparing your data to sail through the new world is the next step. Make sure they’re cleansed and optimized – meaning redundancies and outdated information are already removed. Data formatting must also be done to make sure they’re compatible with the platform where they will be moved. This works in the same vein as putting your things in boxes before the move-in truck arrives. 
3. Data Transfer and Integration. There are many methods you can employ in data migration and you’d have to choose one based on your assessment. It could be a lift and shift, re-platforming or re-architecting. It ultimately will depend on the type of data you have and how you want to utilize the data once it’s uploaded into the Cloud. You could make good use of cloud-native tools, or even other third-party services, to have a secure and efficient transfer.  If ever you have prior applications and existing systems, integrating them into your new system will prevent malfunctions from happening.
4. Testing and Validation. All transferred? Let’s check and make sure your data is complete and accurate. You can test your data integrity by running the applications and services and validating if they work in the new environment. Inspect if there are issues that have to be resolved before you go all full-blown with your new system. Should there be issues or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact customer support.
5. Deployment and Optimization. Start using your new system. Although we’ve already tested, there still might be situations where issues may arise, so it’s best to keep close monitoring of its performance. While doing this, you’d be able to determine whether to further scale or cut costs helping you adapt the services to your usage patterns. Add a bit, remove a bit, until it feels like smooth sailing.

 

Choosing the Right Cloud Service Provider

As you’ve seen in the previous part, the choice of the Cloud service provider is an integral factor in data migration. You’d have to choose one that can do the job, after all. There are some key considerations that we can provide to help you find the best fit:

Security. Check if your provider offers encryption, identity and access management, and compliance certifications relevant to your industry.

Cost. Study the pricing models and determine which plans align with your budget. Dig deeper if there are hidden costs and other storage fees. It’s best to check with the provider on this.

Support. Research about the level and quality of customer support. Quick and comprehensive support is a must-have to foolproof your system when it suffers technical issues.

Scalability. Engage with a provider that offers the flexibility of adding or reducing Cloud storage according to your needs and plans.

 

There are many providers out there but the major ones offer a vast array of features. The Amazon Web Service, for example, is known for its extensive service offerings and mature ecosystem. This is great for enterprises with diverse needs, although it can prove to be pricier for startups. Microsoft’s Azure provides strong integration with existing and widely-used Microsoft products and services, which is ideal if your business already invested in those. Google Cloud offers cutting-edge technologies and exceptional support for data analytics and machine learning. If your business involves data-driven decision-making, this one’s for you.

Case Studies: Successful Cloud Migrations

Allow us to share two case studies on successful Cloud migrations – one in the healthcare industry and another in the manufacturing sector.

 

A mid-size medical devices and diagnostics company faced challenges in managing and analyzing the medical imaging data they have. Seeking a more scalable and secure solution, they partnered with Microsoft Azure to migrate their digital platform to maximize the platform’s data analytics and machine learning capabilities. This made possible accurate diagnostics, better revenue collection cycle, interoperability, improved patient care, reduced operational costs and enhanced innovation in healthcare applications.

Another would be the case of a large manufacturing company. They needed to consolidate their complex IT systems across multiple units to pave the way for efficiency and cost reduction. They collaborated with AWS to migrate a huge chunk of their data into the Cloud, streamline operations and increase the reliability of their manufacturing process. The AWS IoT services helped the company with real-time monitoring and analytics leading to cost savings, productivity gains and reduced downtime.

 

Challenges and Solutions in Cloud Transition

 

Cloud migration, much like our digital world in general, is an ever-evolving landscape. There will be challenges along the way, but effective solutions are catching up. As with the concerns of data security and compliance which in everyday terms means fortifying your data bank against threats, implementing security measures, utilizing the most updated compliance tools and establishing a sound data governance protocol can be very beneficial.

In using the Cloud, another cornerstone is the leaning down of costs – spending only on what you need – adding or removing the unnecessary. Cost monitoring – a scrutiny of your expenses is a hallmark of resolving this challenge. Then you pair it with a well-thought-of program of budgeting controls and resource optimization so your money does not leak into the drain.

Data migration is an intricate task, think of it as a major relocation. Comprehensiveness in planning and rigor in testing are two of the most important factors you’d have to consider. Plan different approaches. You can initially adopt a hybrid approach merging on-site and cloud resources and play around with it to further optimize your system.

Don’t underestimate the value of integrated and compatible systems. To achieve the seamless connection of your applications and achieve operational synergy, make good use of APIs, middleware and microservices. Put in effort as well in modernizing your legacy systems to make sure they’re running as robust as possible.

Now, you’ve seen how rigorous yet fulfilling a decision to transition to the Cloud is. Would you care to share your planned migration process? Let us know in the comments!

Do you have any more questions, like a chat, or want a deeper dive into the subject? Let’s schedule a meeting here for a free 30-minute assessment call.