What is cloud migration? It’s the process by which data, applications, and other business components are moved to the cloud. Cloud migration involves transferring data and applications from an on-site data center to the cloud. Other forms of cloud migration include moving from one cloud platform to another and reverse cloud migration, which is when data and applications move from the cloud back to an on-site server. We will also discuss hybrid cloud migration, which is often the optimal choice for small businesses.

If you’ve not yet moved your business elements to the cloud, you may be wondering what the benefits of cloud migration are.

Benefits of Cloud Migration

  1. Reduced IT Costs– Your organization will see savings across several areas such as maintenance, real estate cost, and total workload. Only pay for the resources you use.
  2. Flexibility– Organizations don’t have to migrate everything to the cloud, in fact, a hybrid cloud model can have many benefits.
  3. Better Security– Choose a public cloud with security features built in. Your resources will be protected, and security updates and patches are automatic.
  4. Management Efficacy– The cloud is simple to manage and monitor and many public clouds offer a central management tool.
  5. Scalability– Scale up or down with ease thanks to cloud resources.
  6. 24/7 Uptime

Read this blog for more in-depth analysis of the benefits of cloud computing.

Challenges of Cloud Migration

  1. Cost– Migrating to the cloud enhances ROI but first, you must invest in performing the migration, which takes time, money, and resources.
  2. Planning– A large-scale migration takes inter-organization planning. A strategy must be defined and implemented.
  3. Downtime During Migration– It is up to you to minimize the downtime for your business as massive amounts of data move to the cloud. We recommend migrating in waves using manageable sets of data.

Hybrid Cloud Migration

For small businesses, hybrid cloud migration often better suits their needs. Hybrid cloud migration allows you to leave some resources on your servers while using both public and private clouds. This maximizes the value of the equipment you currently have on-site. Your on-site servers, workloads, and the cloud work together under a data management system. Data is backed up securely to the cloud so that in cases of disaster recovery you have peace of mind.

Your on-site infrastructure works together with the cloud to provide digital business transformation and savings. You won’t need to spend as much on data center equipment. With your data, applications, and other elements in a hybrid cloud situation, service reliability increases. Hybrid cloud setups allow you to store sensitive information on your private cloud while using a public cloud to run other business applications.

Still Unsure Whether to Move to the Cloud?

If you want your organization to be more competitive and agile, cloud migration or hybrid cloud migration is the way to go. Small businesses that migrate to the cloud are more prepared for unexpected disasters because the cloud allows them to execute robust disaster recovery without significant, upfront investment. Security is handled by the cloud with automatic updates that save you time and money. Your employees can work any time, anywhere with an internet connection. Using a cloud provider allows small businesses access to cutting-edge technology that used to be reserved for large and established businesses that could afford it.

Check out our blog on the top cloud storage services for individuals and businesses. Other top cloud service providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

If you’ve decided to move forward with cloud migration using Microsoft Azure, please read our blog to decide which deployment model is right for your business.