In this special guest feature, Ian Masters of Vision Solutions provides a list of best practices for companies migrating their data assets to the cloud. Ian Masters is VP Cloud and Strategic Alliances at Vision Solutions, a premiere provider of software solutions designed to protect data, minimize downtime and maximize resources for the modern data center. With over 10 years of expertise in the industry, Ian specializes in high availability, disaster recovery, migration, cloud computing and recovery-as-a-service.
As the influx of data continues to accelerate across the board, companies are adopting cloud computing at a rapid pace, as it has the capacity to store enormous amounts of information. This virtually endless storage space is one of the main reasons organizations turn to the cloud to meet storage demands. Scalability also allows cloud users to adapt to market changes very quickly.
Cloud providers can help businesses stay ahead by refreshing their infrastructure on a regular basis. Users get access to the latest technology to support their storage needs, as providers tend to update their technology more often than other types of vendors.
Due to the aforementioned benefits, some of the biggest players in the business world are taking a bold approach to cloud adoption. For example, AT&T has thrown its hat into the ring, with plans to virtualize 75 percent of its network by 2020, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
But in order to take full advantage of the cloud’s benefits, IT must follow the appropriate steps to incorporate cloud. In order to realize the advantages of the cloud, companies must first have a migration plan in place with the software to support a swift, seamless process – without this foundation, the transition to cloud environments might force companies off of Cloud Nine, and back to where they started. Here are some best practices to consider when migrating to the cloud:
Create a Meticulous Plan-of-Action
Data migrations are incredibly complex, and IT must create a thoughtful plan for execution. It is also very important to work with partners who possess a high level of expertise. Equally important is selecting systems that allow test migrations, user acceptance testing and the ability to transition back to on-premises infrastructure quickly in the event that something goes wrong.
Understand the Difference between Virtualization and Private Cloud
Many enterprises believe they have built a private cloud, when, in reality, they have just virtualized their storage setup. The first step of cloud is virtualization, but the solution must also be fully orchestrated and automated to become a private cloud.
Determine the Interdependencies between Applications and Data Streams
With this information in hand, IT leaders should determine which servers they will migrate, and in what order. Taking a phased approach is best; the migration team should submit data to cycles of user acceptance testing. A common approach involves selecting a subset of random data and inspecting it to ensure the migration was completed “as designed”.
Tune Applications to the Cloud Environment
The migration team should never assume they will run properly without tweaks. For example, applications running on an in-house data center can access the company’s full computing power. But in the cloud, the very same apps compete for compute resources with other apps hosted on the cloud provider’s servers. IT must enable these applications to perform at an optimal level despite the reduction in available power or consider a private hosted cloud, with the potential to limit the flexibility achieved by moving to the cloud.
Choose Flexible Migration Solutions
Solutions that offer flexibility will support an effortless transition to the cloud, allowing users to feel confident in their decision. And when companies execute successful data migrations, they will enjoy the benefits of a cloud solution that helps them soar toward new horizons.
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