2022-12-05 | Article | Insights
Before understanding what and why we should migrate into a cloud we need to understand what the cloud is and offers. Cloud services can be divided into two separate groups, storage, and computing. Cloud storage is the process of using 3rd party storage resources in a server location to save data, for example whenever you upload photos to Google Drive. Cloud computing describes the process of using foreign resource power over the internet. Many providers like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have standardized this process to make their resource power available for everyone. There are three main advantages of Cloud computing:
Cloud migration describes the action of moving your applications, processes, and data from typically on-premises infrastructure into the Cloud. Most cloud providers offer a wide range of services to achieve this goal. The services can be categorized into the following domains:
A well-defined strategy is very important when migrating your application into the cloud. There are different approaches to achieving this goal. The choice of approach is dependent on the business requirements, the current status of technological infrastructure, and the use cases needed from the cloud infrastructure.
When most of the services you offer are migrated into the cloud, you fully integrate the flexibility of the immense resource power over the internet, and you are able to scale down the operations in times they are not needed. This makes it possible to save costs and cover high workloads. This allows the company's resources to be shifted solely to development as the company is no longer required to maintain the underlying hardware or even the infrastructure depending on what cloud services are used. Furthermore, it allows anyone to easily set up a secure environment that can be accessed by anyone with permission from anywhere in the world.
Migrating to the cloud is almost always a reasonable approach with the current state of technology and cloud computing. However, there are some challenges associated with migrating to a new environment. Each use case is unique, but there are some recurring challenges that many companies might face.
Database migration is especially critical as the data needs to be always available, reliable, and secure. This is why in most cases the migration is only slotted with very small downtime. The most important thing is to prepare for it properly and have a plan for it. The procedure should be tested at least once in advance.
Vendor Lock-In - Using serverless services is very tempting as they automate processes, however, those processes require customized configurations and workflows. This makes it difficult to migrate to another server when required as you need to build up the new system from scratch.
Go Live - Even with extensive system and load tests, the final migration requires a plan and a lot of awareness and caution as every small mistake can be very expensive. It's very important to test beforehand and to prepare for the worst-case scenarios.
Infrastructure as Code
When moving your application it is very important to keep track of all your configurations and changes in the cloud. This is why we always decide to implement it with Infrastructure as Code. Some architectures require a complex environment and this is how we can use the advantages of code to provide a stable and reproducible environment. Furthermore, every component is well documented and all changes can be checked. In a worst-case scenario, we are able to roll back the changes.
Infrastructure as Code provides even more advantages. Let us know if you want to learn more.
Containerization
Especially when dealing with stateless applications it is recommended to run them using containers. This is not only how you can move your application easily into the cloud but also how to avoid locking into any vendors. Additionally, this helps in achieving full flexibility as the application can be scaled or scaled down easily.
Monitoring
Cloud Providers already have built-in capabilities to monitor your application. Moreover, you are able to access tools to query your logs, create alerts and build dashboards.
Overall, migrating your company’s applications, processes, and data from typically on-premises infrastructure into the Cloud has many advantages. It allows you to reduce costs, improve accessibility, productivity, and flexibility in the way you deploy your tech infrastructure. This can create a significant competitive advantage for your organization, in turn benefiting your bottom line profitability over time.
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