Facing the Challenges of Cloud Migration

It has been a difficult year for businesses as some have suffered gravely while others have excelled due to their flexibility and ableness to meet customer demands in the midst of a global pandemic. These circumstances have proven just how important it is for businesses to remain agile, especially when technology continues to force fundamental changes in commerce and those who have embraced these changes are performing well under the circumstances.  

Cloud Migration is one of the biggest game-changers that have allowed businesses to remain flexible. The turbulence of 2019 and 2020 have taught businesses the importance of this and many are eager to adopt cloud infrastructure. However, Cloud Migration is not as simple as pressing a single button and may contain an overwhelming number of moving parts. This discourages companies from considering the process at all, despite the many benefits. Here, we will take a realistic look at a few of the most common challenges of Cloud Migration and approach them with the best practice.  

1. EXPENSES:  Cloud Migration is a large-scale project that requires time and money to complete. Since many business executives are uninformed about what the cloud is and how they can benefit from switching over from an on-site data center, they are unable to see that the benefits outweigh the risks. It is also common to see executives embrace the cloud out of pressure to compete with others in their industry without knowing exactly what they want to achieve in the transition.  

iSmile Technologies offers IT consultations to identify a clear business goal and determine the scale of operation unique to the needs of any organization. Goals for adopting the cloud can include but are not limited to enhancing data security, faster data deployment, and eliminating clutter from existing infrastructure. Once a goal is determined, our expert professionals will guide you through a multitude of IT solutions and develop a migration plan complete with a working budget and timeline.  

2. ASSESSING INFRASTRUCTURE: Legacy Infrastructure refers to any outdated software or hardware that is still in use. This includes equipment, applications, and on-site databases. Businesses that have failed to update their infrastructure are likely to fall behind their competitors and are even at higher risk for a data breach. For these reasons, businesses built on legacy systems may want to prioritize Cloud Migration.  

To get things started, we help businesses determine the applications and workloads that are either to remain in their internal data center, moved to the cloud, or removed completely. This is because applications need to be changed in order to be cloud compatible. These changes can vary from small adjustments to a complete rebuild. At iSmileTechnologies, our IT specialists comb through the existing data infrastructure to identify any bugs or redundancies that could potentially slow down or harm the new Cloud Infrastructure. As this is a lengthy process, there is a large margin for error along with a higher risk of threat from data thieves. 

3. DATA AND SECURITY  

Of course, data security is on the mind of any business executive considering Cloud Migration. Precious data must be safe all along the migration process from downloading the data before it is moved to the Cloud to its maintenance once the migration is complete. There are many opportunities for a data breach, so our IT professionals take preemptive cautions by making sure they are executing the process on a secure network, placing firewalls surrounding data banks, and encrypting the data altogether. As a well-experienced IT firm, iSmile Technologies prioritizes the secure transfer of the client’s data and eliminates any worry.  

Any large-scale operation comes with its own challenges and Cloud Migration is no exception. Oftentimes, the Cloud Migration process is bogged down by the assessment of the current infrastructure, discouraging businesses from moving forward with the already developed plan. It is important to remember that updates require time and will prove to be beneficial once completed. This, along with data security concerns is relieved by a system of trust in which businesses have chosen a reliable and experienced third-party to guide the process. Luckily, iSmile Technologies has over thirty years of experience in the IT industry and is a trusted partner of major cloud service platforms including Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure Cloud.