How to Migrate Your Business to the Cloud

Are you wondering how to migrate your business to the cloud? Cloud technology has been around for a while now, yet only in recent years have businesses around the world started to adopt cloud computing en masse. The fact that cloud computing is one the rise should come as no surprise, as it brings numerous business-boosting benefits to the table. From providing your workforce with a centralized digital work environment, to improved cybersecurity, all the way to reducing operational costs and beyond, migrating to the cloud should be one of your top priorities.

5 Effective and Essential Tips for Successful Cloud Migration

That said, it’s not like you can just migrate your entire operation to the cloud overnight. This is a complex process that requires diligent research and preparation along with professional execution and management to ensure long-term success and constant uptime throughout the process. With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at the most effective and essential tips you need to use to ensure a successful business migration to the cloud. 

Start by Listing and Prioritizing Your Software Applications

First things first, you need to prepare for the migration process by making a clear inventory of all information technology assets and software applications that should be migrated to the cloud. It is imperative that you know who is using all your applications and to what extent, and how these applications impact your business on a daily basis. Be sure to get your IT experts and leaders involved throughout this process and list all IT assets you should migrate, but also the IT applications that cannot be migrated to the cloud, if there are any.

Most importantly, you’ll need to qualify and prioritize your software assets and applications in order to build a solid migration plan that will eliminate any possibility of system failures and downtime. The last thing you want is for a mission-critical application to go offline during the migration when you need it most, so prioritizing should be at the top of your to-do list. 

Prepare Your Employees Early

Employee onboarding for the use of cloud technology and applications should begin as early as possible in order to prevent human error and maintain productivity once you have migrated your business. Your employees are probably not acquainted with cloud technology, Software as a Service (SaaS), and online applications it provides to your digital work environment, so it’s important that you train and educate them properly on the use of your cloud assets. 

This will help preserve efficiency and efficacy in the workplace and allow you to maximize the potential of your new business platform. Provided that you’re working with the right cloud provider, you might get free training and onboarding from them. If that’s not included in your plan, then be sure to get your IT experts or external educators to conduct workshops on mockup cloud solutions to familiarize your staff with the way this technology works. 

Manage Your Cloud Infrastructure for Growth

Of course, cloud migration is not a set-it-and-forget-it type of deal, and you will have to manage this transition every step of the way in order to ensure constant uptime and a seamless experience for everyone. If you’re migrating to AWS, for example, you will need professional guidance and support, and even continuous AWS cloud management in order to maximize the potential of the platform while minimizing operational costs. 

Given the fact that AWS is the leading cloud system in the world, it provides many perks and features that will automate certain processes to help you scale your business in the cloud, but it’s still a complex platform that requires expert management and upkeep. Be sure to work with an experienced team throughout the process in order to realize the money-saving potential of the cloud that everyone’s talking about.

Migrate in Stages to Ensure Uptime

Depending on the size of your business and the number and complexity of assets you’re migrating to the cloud, the process can last quite a while. This is not something you can do in a day, so you can’t migrate your entire business in one go because that would cause a complete system shutdown until you’re settled in the cloud. 

To ensure uptime and operational efficiency, you’ll need to migrate your business in stages. Your dedicated migration team should use the list you made earlier to set up a migration schedule and make sure there is no overlap with co-dependent applications. 

Focus Heavily on Security and Backup Solutions

Last but not least, you need to choose a cloud provider and platform that provide stellar cybersecurity for your business. Data security is paramount for business growth and success, as it only takes a single cyber-attack to ruin your brand’s reputation.

Cloud computing is known for its leading cybersecurity solutions, but how these solutions are implemented will depend on your cloud provider, so be sure to check their track record. What’s more, make sure your cloud provider is constantly backing up your system to ensure uptime and facilitate disaster recovery. Regular backups are essential to a smooth migration process as well.

Migrate Your Business to the Cloud

Migrating your business to the cloud is a step every growth-oriented business should take in order to minimize expenses and elevate operational efficiency. This is a tricky process, though, so be sure to use these tips to ensure a smooth and seamless experience that will get you up and running on the cloud in no time.