How to Plan the On-Premise To Cloud Migration Process

The value of the cloud is now a widely accepted truth, prompting companies from all sectors to embrace cloud computing. Research highlights that transitioning segments of your business to the public cloud can reduce by up to 40 percent the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), underscoring the immense value of a well-considered cloud migration strategy.

However, not all migrations are alike. Enterprises often adopt an incremental approach, dictated by both business and technical needs. This is driven by factors such as escalating digital demands, the rise of remote work, scalability constraints, and the imperative to modernize outdated systems.

Yet, essential as it is, cloud migration hinges on one critical factor: a meticulously devised plan, which is a step-by-step blueprint that must encompass every technical nuance of the migration process to ensure success. Questions surrounding business operations, backup systems, costs, and total ownership expenses necessitate careful consideration.

Seeking inputs from our experts at Finoit, who carry a vast experience of planning the on-premise to cloud computing process, we deconstruct each facet of the planning process. These inputs will arm you with the knowledge and insights crucial for orchestrating a seamless transition to the cloud.

Mapping out the on-premise to cloud migration process

Transitioning from traditional legacy infrastructure to the cloud is a pivotal shift for today’s enterprises, for so is the advantage of the cloud. The process involves careful planning and execution that make this transition seamless and efficient. Below, we break the entire migration planning process for various phases for successful migration and guide you on following them meticulously.

Pre-Migration Planning

Pre-migration Planning is the vital initial step in transitioning from traditional on-site systems to cloud-based solutions. It encompasses a thorough assessment of existing infrastructure and the careful selection of migration strategies. Let’s discuss the essential stages in this process.

• Know your objectives

Understanding objectives involves a detailed assessment of current on-premise infrastructure and the desired cloud infrastructure for SaaS products or applications you would like to be hosted on the cloud. This includes evaluating hardware specifications, virtualization technologies, and software dependencies.

Additionally, it necessitates identifying performance bottlenecks, such as CPU, memory, or storage limitations, which may require specific solutions in the cloud environment. For example, if the objective is to enhance scalability, a containerized approach using Kubernetes or a serverless architecture might be considered.

Next, you must evaluate the technical considerations associated with different cloud computing services such as Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Amazon Web Services (AWS), or Azure, and check what these cloud providers offer.

• Conduct Budget and Cost Analysis

It involves itemizing costs associated with specific cloud services, where you will first need to consider various cloud computing service models. Then, you will have to compute resources (virtual machines, containers), storage, data transfer, and any specialized services required for the migration process, such as database migration tools. Next comes forecasting future expenses based on projected usage patterns.

Furthermore, implementing cost optimization strategies like auto-scaling, reserved instances, and leveraging cost-effective storage options (e.g., object storage for archival data) are all critical considerations that you will have to take into account.

• Drive Inventory Assessment

Conducting detailed scans and analyses of on-premise systems is essential to manage assets and metadata. To identify all hardware, software, and their configurations you can employ tools like discovery agents and network scanners.

Dependency mapping tools like AWS Application Discovery Service or third-party solutions assist in understanding application interdependencies. These tools help build the foundation for crafting a migration plan and give a further direction on determining whether a lift-and-shift approach or re-architecting would be more suitable for each component.

• Examine Security and Compliance

Now comes the time for deciding how you are going to implement robust access controls, encryption mechanisms, and network security configurations. This would entail carrying out necessary steps such as configuring firewalls, setting up Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), and employing VPNs or Direct Connect for secure connectivity.

Importance of compliance in cloud development cannot be overstated. In respect of it, the measures may involve using specific encryption protocols, data residency requirements, and ensuring that the chosen cloud provider complies with industry-specific certifications (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR). Implementing Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), and regular vulnerability assessments are also crucial.

Technical Planning

In your endeavor to move to the cloud, after preliminary analysis, you need to delve into the technical nitty-gritty of the migration process, considering factors like data migration, migration method, system compatibility, and security measures. The planning phase needs you to formulate:

• Data Migration Strategy

Always start by conducting a comprehensive data assessment where you identify critical data, categorize it, and determine dependencies. Next, establish a robust backup and recovery plan, ensuring data integrity throughout the process.

Prioritizing security measures, including encryption and access controls is not least important. It must be followed by how you will conduct thorough testing before full-scale migration, and implement a rollback plan in case of unforeseen issues and peak cloud performance.

• Migration Strategy for Applications

Crafting a comprehensive Application Migration Strategy from on-premise to the cloud necessitates a systematic approach. Begin by categorizing applications based on complexity, criticality, and dependencies.

For simpler applications, Rehosting (Lift and Shift) is a viable option, involving minimal modifications. However, for more intricate systems, consider Refactoring to optimize for cloud services or even Rearchitecting for a complete overhaul. Prioritize data migration concurrently with application migration to maintain data integrity. Throughout the process, rigorous testing and validation would be imperative.

• Application Compatibility Assessment

In this process, you will identify the course to catalog all applications, their versions, and dependencies and scrutinize compatibility with the target cloud environment, verifying OS, middleware, and database requirements.

Utilizing tools for compatibility checks, ensuring software can seamlessly operate in the cloud would be a mandate during the migration. This will help in addressing any identified issues through updates, patches, or virtualization.

Next, establish a phased approach, starting with non-production environments and then proceed to conducting rigorous validation before transitioning production systems.

• Design and Architecture

Design and architecture process entails conducting a comprehensive assessment of current on-premise systems. You need to start by defining the desired cloud architecture, considering factors like scalability, redundancy, and security.

The cloud services you choose give direction to the designing and architecting process. So, select the appropriate cloud services (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) based on application requirements. Consider factors like hybrid cloud integration, which can offer a balance between on-premise and public cloud resources, helping manage cloud cost effectively.

Building architecture would necessitate analysis of existing network configurations, VPNs or Direct Connect for secure connectivity. All this is important to implement robust identity and access management protocols. The planning process must detail how you would:

• Strategize data storage, considering options like object storage or databases.
• Incorporate disaster recovery and backup mechanisms.
• Monitor and optimize the cloud architecture for peak performance.
• Update the design to align with evolving business needs and cloud capabilities.

Choosing the right cloud solution and understanding the implications on cloud cost is a crucial aspect of this process.

• Performance and Capacity Planning

How would you ascertain a consistent performance and plan for resources is an important question that calls for immaculate strategy in the migration journey. All you to do is to

• Start comprehensively analyzing current system performance metrics and resource utilization.
• Estimate future workloads and growth patterns to determine cloud resources needed.
• Choose appropriate instance types and sizes, factoring in CPU, memory, and storage requirements.
• Establish a monitoring mechanism to monitor the cloud environment post-migration and adjust resources as necessary.
• Build auto-scaling capabilities for dynamic workloads

Dependency Management

In the on-premise to the cloud transition, dependency management presents some challenges. For instance, you need to identify intricate legacy app connections and address reconfiguration requirements to meet cloud compatibility needs. Equally important is how you handle specialized hardware or software which requires careful planning.

These issues make coordinated phased dependency migration vital to avoid disruptions. However, carefully incorporating the below-mentioned steps streamlines the process:

• Conduct a meticulous analysis of inventory of your organization’s applications, databases, and services, mapping out their interdependencies. Pay particular attention to any legacy or custom-built components that might rely on specific on-premise configurations.
• Prioritize identified dependencies and assess their compatibility with the chosen cloud environment. It’s often prudent to modernize applications and embrace containerization or microservices to reduce tight coupling between components.
• Implement a phased migration strategy, tackling dependencies incrementally to mitigate risks. Rigorous testing is non-negotiable to ensure that dependencies function seamlessly in the cloud.
• Last but not the least, ensure that your plan keeps the dependency management strategy adaptable, as post-migration, it will help maintain constant vigilance.

Data Backup and Recovery

Data Backup and Recovery is paramount during the migration from on-premise to the cloud, as it is the custodian of data integrity and business continuity. The first step here is to conduct a comprehensive data audit to identify critical assets and their dependencies, which involves categorizing data based on importance and sensitivity to establish priority levels.

As a result, the planning process must incorporate a robust backup strategy that leverages automated tools for regular, incremental backups and mitigates data loss risk. This ensures a seamless transition of data to the cloud, safeguarding the integrity of cloud data and optimizing cloud storage efficiency.

A comprehensive data backup and recovery planning process would comprise of the following steps:

• You select a reliable cloud service provider with robust security measures and compliance certifications.
• Configure redundancy and replication options to safeguard against hardware failures and data corruption.
• Establish clear recovery point objectives (RPO) and recovery time objectives (RTO) to guide the recovery process.
• Regularly test backups to validate their integrity and readiness for restoration.

Likewise, the planning process cannot be complete without preserving the knowledge, and adopting a knowledge management strategy can render the migration process resilient and prevent unprecedented data losses. The following steps help in this direction:

• Document the entire backup and recovery process, including roles and responsibilities.
• Train the team on best practices and conduct drills to ensure everyone is proficient in executing recovery procedures.
• Continuously monitor and update the backup strategy to adapt to evolving business needs and technology advancements.

Network Considerations

Networks encompass critical aspects like designing the cloud network architecture, configuring virtual networks, subnets, security groups, and establishing VPN or ExpressRoute connections if required.

The planning process starts with a thorough assessment of existing on-premise network infrastructure where you determine bandwidth requirements, latency tolerances, and security needs for seamless cloud integration.

Next, you plan the virtual network layout, ensuring it aligns with the organization’s structure and security policies. The foremost step here is allocating subnets judiciously to segregate resources and apply security controls. And then you implement security groups to govern traffic flow and enforce access policies. A well-rounded planning process covers all these aspects without any exception.

In order to offer a base with enhanced connectivity for the migration process, a foolproof planning process must

• Evaluate the necessity of VPNs or ExpressRoute connections, considering factors such as data sensitivity and compliance requirements.
• Establish secure tunnels or dedicated connections to maintain a reliable link between on-premise and cloud environments.
• Continuously monitor network performance post-migration, optimizing configurations as needed to ensure optimal operations.

High Availability and Redundancy

Redundant resources are pivotal in on-premise to cloud migration, as they act as a safety net, ensuring continuity by duplicating critical components. In case of failures, they backup the data, minimizing downtime and upholding performance, and thus bolster business resilience and data integrity.

Critical aspects in the planning process for leveraging redundant resources and distributed architectures to fortify operations would include

• Begin by identifying critical components and services, prioritizing redundancy measures accordingly.
• Implement load balancing to evenly distribute traffic across multiple servers, preventing overloads and enhancing performance.
• Embrace auto-scaling to dynamically adjust resource allocation in response to demand fluctuations.
• Deploy resources across multiple availability zones or regions to safeguard against localized outages.
• Utilize data replication and synchronization techniques to maintain consistent data across redundant systems.
• Employ Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to cache content geographically, reducing latency and enhancing user experience.
• Regularly conduct failover tests to validate redundancy configurations.

Security and Access Controls

Earlier we saw how security plays an important role even during the pre-migration phase. And security does stand paramount throughout the process as well as in the post-migration phase, too. On-premise to the cloud migration is thus virtually impossible without robust security and access protocols in place.

In order to regulate the access, incorporate identity and access management (IAM) tools to enforce least privilege principles, so that you ensure that only authorized personnel have access to specific resources. Additionally, implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection, as we look at all steps that you must include in your security and access plan:

• Employ robust encryption mechanisms, both in transit and at rest, using protocols like TLS for communication and AES-256 for data storage.
• Make use of Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), Network Access Control Lists (NACLs), and Security Groups to establish network perimeters and control inbound/outbound traffic.
• Conduct regular audits to check configurations and permissions to follow compliances and to identify potential security gaps.
• Consider the use of intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) to monitor for suspicious activities.

Also, don’t miss the following general but important steps:

• Regularly update and patch all systems and applications to protect against known vulnerabilities.
• Employ automated monitoring and alerting systems to swiftly respond to any security incidents.
• Keep training your teams to ensure they remain aware of security best practices in the cloud environment.

Monitoring and Management

How will you determine if your migration is working along the right lines? It is here that “monitoring and management” comes into the picture. By tracking resource health, performance, and security, the step enables proactive issue resolution, and ensures a smooth and secure transition to the cloud.

KPIs are key to any monitoring process, so the planning process would set up all key performance indicators (KPIs) which include:

Let’s see how you can implement the process to obtain data for building these KPIs and executing the monitoring and management process:

• Implement centralized logging and analysis tools like ELK Stack or Splunk for comprehensive visibility into system and application logs.
• Utilize infrastructure as code (IaC) to automate resource provisioning, configuration, and scaling.
• Implement container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes for efficient container management.
• Employ configuration management tools like Ansible or Puppet to maintain consistency across your cloud environment.
• Leverage cloud-native management tools like AWS Systems Manager or Azure Automation for streamlined operations.
• Implement auto-scaling policies to dynamically adjust resources based on demand.
• Establish a robust incident response plan and perform regular disaster recovery drills to maintain business continuity.

Pilot Migration and Testing

Pilot migrations allow for a controlled trial of the migration process, minimizing risks and ensuring system compatibility. The process begins by identifying a representative subset of applications and data for migration, focusing on non-critical workloads initially. You then set up a staging environment mirroring the target cloud environment to simulate real-world conditions, followed by thorough compatibility tests that help check for dependencies, configurations, and performance metrics.

In order to accomplish the pilot phase successfully, testing must be permeated across the migration lifecycle. As once migrated, functional tests start playing their role and guarantee that the applications are performing optimally in the cloud. After successful testing, armed with insights gained from the pilot phase, you can proceed with the full-scale migration confidently.

Change Management and Communication

Change Management and Communication are vital pillars in migrating from on-premise to the cloud. They offer a smooth transition, minimal disruptions, and stakeholder buy-in.

But what is it that you need to have in your plan and where to manage change and have hassle-free communication amongst stakeholders?

First and foremost, build a dedicated change management team, including representatives from IT, operations, and key business units. Next, incorporate the plan to conduct thorough training sessions to equip staff with the necessary skills for the cloud environment. This would require implementing a phased approach to changes, scheduling migrations during off-peak hours to minimize business impact. Some basic steps that must be taken here are:

• Providing stakeholders ample resources, such as user guides and FAQs, for ongoing support.
• Regularly engage with stakeholders through status updates and feedback sessions. Use this feedback loop to capture user concerns and make necessary adjustments.
• Utilize change management tools such as Jira, Microsoft Azure DevOps, etc. to track progress and address any issues promptly.
• Establish a feedback loop to capture user concerns and make necessary adjustments.

Implement the plan with deft hands to Migrate to the Cloud

As we saw, the planning process for migrating from your legacy system to the cloud involves several complexities. There is no way you can compromise any of these as it can lead to costly disruptions.

The role of a professional cloud consulting company becomes inevitable in countering these cloud migration challenges. With its invaluable support and services, you can smoothly transition to the cloud, while mitigating potential risks.

You can connect with our cloud computing services team and enter into partnership for a smooth and efficient migration, thus setting the stage for enhanced operational efficiency and technological innovation.