Cloud computing offers a host of benefits to businesses including better data security, less operational issues, provides a competitive advantage, lightning-fast performance, and many more. This may be the reason why businesses are embracing cloud migration services irrespective of their sizes or industry verticals. You would be surprised to know that the cloud migration services market is dramatically growing over the last few years.
If reports are to be believed, the cloud migration market is estimated to reach USD 448.34 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 28.89%. Another report by Clutch says that over 81% of small businesses are paying for cloud storage solutions. If you are also planning to migrate your workloads or applications to the cloud environment, listed below are some key factors that you need to keep in mind.
#1 Security
Security is a prime concern among many CIOs when it comes to embracing the cloud environment. Though many cloud service providers employ best-in-class practices and have stringent security policies in place, yet it’s wise to make sure that your cloud service provider is equipped with robust security measures. Experts suggest that all your security concerns should be addressed at the beginning itself when you seek cloud consulting services from a vendor. This will help you ensure that your sensitive business data will be stored safely and securely in the cloud.
#2 Disaster Recovery
Before you embark upon your cloud migration journey, it's recommended to contemplate the disaster recovery strategy to ensure business continuity during an outage. Ask your cloud service provider what would be their backup strategy if they experience downtime or face any sudden disaster. What would be their immediate recovery plan to help you out of the disaster? Having sound knowledge of a disaster recovery plan will help your business to be prepared to tackle such situations.
#3 Cost and ROI
Another important consideration when moving your workloads or applications to the cloud is the cost. Before you opt for cloud consulting solutions, it is suggested to take a peek at your on-premise infrastructure and see whether you can cut down the soaring costs by squeezing third-party warranties or in some other ways. You can also compare the cost of on-premise vs cloud on the basis of certain factors including hardware, software, disaster recovery, and fault tolerance, etc. Once you’ve considered all these factors, you can make a strategic move to the cloud environment. The prime advantage of embracing the cloud is to convert your Capex into Opex.
#4 Business Goals
It is important to take cognizance of both pros and cons of cloud migration and how it will directly influence your business goals. CIOs should do a meticulous risk-benefit analysis of migrating the applications or workloads to the cloud. Apart from this, it is imperative to ensure that the cloud migration is compatible with legacy systems and applications that are already being used.
#5 Service level Agreements
It is strongly recommended to carefully read the service level agreement (SLA) in order to comprehend the responsibilities of your cloud service provider such as restoration, redundancy, and uptime. The reason being is that many cloud service vendors have a bit complex SLAs.
Final Words
When making a decision to move to the cloud environment, it is vital to take all the critical factors in consideration. This informative piece walks you through some crucial factors that every business should consider when opting for cloud migration services. By doing so, you can make a well-planned move to the cloud resulting in peace of mind. You may also seek help from experts to make a smooth transition to the cloud environment.
