Cloud Migration

Reliable movers facilitate secure migration into the cloud

Cloud migration describes the process of transferring data, applications, and infrastructures into the cloud. It is among the most critical steps in any cloud transformation because it is accompanied by broad changes to the IT infrastructure, for business processes, and for all the affected stakeholders. Meticulous planning is indispensable in order to minimise risks such as limitations to business-critical, IT-driven processes both during and after migration.

What cloud migration involves

Screening the existing application environment

Smooth cloud migration requires the detailed documentation of the properties and dependencies of all the concerned applications. In practice, this kind of documentation is not always available in the required scope and must first be prepared or broadened as part of the migration project. Without a clear and complete view of the affected application environment, there is the risk of unpleasant surprises emerging within the course of implementation. Even an overlooked or unnoticed dependency could result in substantial limitations to critical services as a consequence of migration.

Ensuring broad acceptance

The migration of data, applications, and infrastructures marks the point where all the affected stakeholders are confronted with change in practice. Depending on the configuration of the cloud project, employees, customers, and business partners could be impacted. Close communicative support is required to promote acceptance for these changes. In addition, limitations during the transition should also be kept as brief as possible. 

Reviewing the technical prerequisites

Cloud migration is a dramatic intervention into the IT infrastructure of an organisation. The technical prerequisites must be thoroughly reviewed prior to the transition. This relates both to the data to be migrated, rights structures and accounts, and the affected applications with their interfaces, both within the IT landscape and to external systems. Careful thought must be given to the question of which migration options are worth considering for each individual application and what position they would assume within the newly organised IT landscape of your organisation.

Establishing target-group-specific change management

Many different parties are involved in cloud transformation. Depending on the nature of the cloud project, this could include the employees and management of various departments and executive management, as well as customers and business partners. A major challenge typically entails creating a common framework for communication and change management, while at the same time adequately taking the individual information needs of the various stakeholders into account.

Ensuring interaction with existing systems

In the rarest of cases, the entire system landscape is migrated all at once in the course of cloud transformation. The company IT almost always continues to operate a series of existing systems to support its central business processes. As part of the migration process, it must be ensured that these systems continue to run smoothly, including if old applications are ported on new servers, for example. For this purpose, the effects of all required modifications must be analysed prior to migration to prevent failures due to modified configurations or other modifications.