Unlocking the Power of Cloud Migration Services

The cloud has revolutionised business operations in Australia. Many organisations and government departments are actively embracing cloud-first policies, and prioritising the migration of their intranets, email servers, and other mission-critical functions to the cloud.

According to industry experts at Gartner, it’s anticipated that within the next three years, having a corporate no-cloud policy will become as uncommon as having a no-internet policy is today. With cloud migration being an inevitable transition, the key question arises: What is the most intelligent approach to navigate this change? How can organisations ensure that security concerns are minimised, and the adoption and return on investment are maximised?

The solution lies in a straightforward yet crucial strategy: thorough planning and a robust cloud migration strategy.

Read about our Migration success with AVEO

What is Cloud Migration?

Cloud migration refers to the process of moving data, applications, databases, servers, and other digital assets to the cloud. It typically involves the migration of data from outdated, on-prem system to a cloud platform but can also refer to the movement of applications from one cloud system to another.

Approaches to Cloud Migration Services

There are six different approaches to cloud migration and each vary in accordance with business needs, complexity, and risk.

Rehosting
This method is commonly referred to as the ‘lift and shift’ approach as it entails taking the on-prem systems and shifting them to a cloud environment. As one of the most popular strategies, it does not require extensive changes nor new functionalities making it a quick and easy migration process. With this approach, the applications do not leverage the advantages that the cloud has to offer and is often undertaken by organisations who do not have a comprehensive cloud strategy in place.
Replatforming
Similar to the rehosting approach, replatforming retains the core architecture of the existing applications but with a few adjustments to ensure that it is better optimised for the cloud infrastructure. This is a cost-efficient method that integrates some of the benefits of the cloud without needing to implement significant changes to the environment.
Repurchasing
Repurchasing is where your existing application is replaced by a cloud native SaaS platform that provides the same capabilities. In essence, it is a simple process with just a license change. Whilst your organisation would lose the familiarity of existing code with users having to be trained in use the new platform, it is a cost efficient approach as you only have to purchase the licence for an existing solution.
Refactoring
Refactoring would be the most suitable approach for organisations who wish to unlock all the cloud capabilities. Applications and systems are completely built from scratch to ensure they integrate seamlessly with the new cloud ecosystem. This method is both costly and labour intensive but delivers the maximum benefits to an organisation in the long run. As the migrated system is now cloud-native, organisations have complete access to the full suite of the cloud such as scalability, resilience, security, and elasticity.
Retiring
As the name suggests, retiring involves switching off legacy systems which are no longer in use. Retiring can help your organisation save on ongoing costs which can be better spent on upgrading other aspects of the business’s IT framework.
Retaining
Due to multiple reasons such as budget constraints or compliance issues, some applications may be best kept as-is. Retaining these systems on-premise can be part of a wider hybrid cloud migration strategy.

Cloud Migration Best Practices

Determine the project scope: Every good project begins with defining the parameters and planning out the specific data, resources, and budget that will be required. Without a clearly defined scope, it is easy for scope-creep to happen whereby additional requirements are continuously added. This can lead to significant delays and budgeting problems.
Evaluate the as-is state of your data: Ask yourself questions that allow you to garner a better understanding of your data and whether the migration plan is in line with your organisation’s policies. Examining any existing compliance or security guidelines can ensure the data migration will be aligned to your underlying data and technology strategy.
Establish the migration timeframe: As the data migration should not disrupt or slow down normal business operations, it is essential that plenty of time is allocated to the project to accommodate delays and changes. By planning in detail and setting realistic expectations, you will be able to garner a better understanding of when the migration should be completed by.
Back up data before the migration: Whilst every precaution can be undertaken to ensure a smooth migration, there is still the possibility that something may go wrong and lead to losing partial or complete data. Back up your data and run the migration in a testing environment to avoid this potential pitfall.
Validate the data periodically: Check in with your data to prevent the costly error of migrating inaccurate data over. By periodically validating your data, it will be far easier and quicker to correct any mistakes than checking the bulk of the data at the end of the project.

Discover the right tools and processes – Read more

How our Cloud Migration Services can Help You

Antares offers cloud migration services that are focused on the Microsoft’s Office 365 with specialisations in on-prem to cloud migrations and cloud to cloud migrations. The cloud offers a wealth of flexibility and scalability to organisations that is not possible with on-prem solutions. We can help migrate your data and systems to a cloud environment in a seamless and streamlined fashion that does not affect everyday operations. Whether you are looking to migrate to the Office 365 suite or move from another cloud solution, we provide recommendations and implement an appropriate migration solution based on your needs.

Benefits of Moving to Cloud

Cloud computing saves businesses time and money. It improves cash flow, increases efficiency and boosts productivity. Here are a few other benefits:

Flexibility : By using shared resources, automated distribution of Microsoft cloud services provides only the services users need.
Cost effectiveness : Only pay for the services used, reducing overall service costs.
Safety : Cloud computing can be more secure than any other traditional IT infrastructure.
Employee mobility : Cloud computing gives users the freedom to access important files, software and services anywhere, anytime and any device.
Employee collaboration : When files and documents are hosted in the cloud, virtual teams can collaborate in real-time.
Simplified maintenance : Cloud computing suppliers take care of server maintenance so you don’t have to.
Eco-friendly : Moving to the cloud can reduce carbon emissions and energy usage by up to 75 percent in small to medium enterprises.

Did you know?

Our team of highly skilled consultants specialise in delivering SharePoint solutions both in on-premise and Cloud environments as well as providing solutions around BI & Data Analytics, Custom Application, Mobility, Migration and Managed Services.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cloud Migrations

Why is cloud migration important?

The cloud has become a major driver in business growth by enabling organisations to store and access data on demand. Some of the key benefits that the cloud provides include:
1. Cost-efficient: The cloud has a pay as you go model, whereby you only pay for what you need. This eliminates the cost of paying upfront for physical infrastructure and features that you may never use.
2. Scalability: Cloud computing allows companies to scale up and down on demand to meet fluctuating needs. Rather than purchasing additional infrastructure, organisations simply need to increase their cloud storage.
3. Accessibility: With everything stored centrally in the cloud, staff can access, view, and work ontasks easily with one another. The ability to connect as a team via cloud computing allows for seamless collaboration on any device and in any location.
4. Disaster recovery: The cloud provides integrated backup and recovery solutions that ensure your organisation’s data is secure and protected at all times.
How do I migrate to the cloud?

Simplistically, a cloud migration follows three key steps: a migration strategy, choosing the cloud environment, and the actual migration process. The strategy should detail your migration plan and preparation such as why you are moving to the cloud, who will be overseeing the project, and which migration approach to use. The second step is to determine which type of cloud environment best suits your organisation’s needs and which provider to use. The preparation that is undertaken in the first step is critical to the success of the actual migration. In the final stage, your data and applications will be migrated over from an existing system to the cloud using various migration tools. Security tests are conducted at this step to ensure no vulnerabilities are present whilst resources are also balanced against the servers in the right manner to achieve maximum efficiency.
Is data migration the same as cloud migration?

Cloud migration is a form of data migration that encompasses the movement of an organisation’s digital assets to the cloud or from one cloud to another. Anything from data, applications, websites, databases, and servers can be migrated to the cloud.
What are the 3 common reasons to use the cloud?

1. Scalability and flexibility – Rather than having to purchase additional hardware when there is an increase in data or demand, organisations can simply increase their bandwidth on demand. This enables organisations to flexibly and quickly respond to changes which is essential to maintaining a competitive edge over competitors.
2. Cost savings – The cloud eliminates the need for purchasing hardware or additional storage when demand increases. Organisations can save on both upfront investments and administrative tasks that commonly required dedicated personnel to resolve. Security and system updates are all undertaken by the vendor without costing the company any time or money.
3. Improved security – With many cloud vendors providing state of the art security with additional remote servers, organisations can rest assured that their data is in a highly protected state. Encryption ensures that all data is safely transferred across networks whereby only authorised individuals are able to access. The additional layer of remote servers also prevent the occurrence of data loss in the potential events of natural disasters or damaged devices.
What are the types of cloud migration services Antares Solutions offers?

Antares offers two different types of cloud migration services:
1. On-prem to cloud
Our on-prem to cloud offering is suited to organisation looking to leverage the powerful capabilities of the cloud such as greater reliability, easy user access, and improved security. We provide a comprehensive implementation strategy to ensure the migration is executed using the most appropriate method.

2. Cloud to cloud
Our cloud-to-cloud migration service moves all your organisation’s data and systems from one cloud provider to Office 365. We can help with your migration whether it is from one cloud to another or if you are adopting a multicloud strategy.