Understanding Cloud Migration: A Beginner’s Guide

Companies wishing to move on from outdated and increasingly inefficient legacy infrastructures, such as aging servers or potentially unreliable firewall appliances, or to abandon hardware or software solutions no longer operating at optimum capacity are now turning to the cloud to experience the benefits of cloud computing. This is why so many organizations are, at the very least, making a partial migration to the cloud.

Understanding what cloud migration is, how it can benefit your business, and what is involved in making it happen will help you decide on the best strategy for a smooth transition to the cloud.

Keep reading to learn more about the benefits, strategies, and best practices.

Cloud migration is the process of moving applications and data from one location, often a company’s private, on-site (“on-premises”) servers, to a public cloud provider’s servers or between different clouds.

Google Cloud says companies typically move data, applications, and IT workloads from on-premises servers to the public cloud. However, cloud migration also includes moving data and applications from one cloud provider to another. Once migrated, systems might remain as is or undergo ongoing optimization and modernization. Cloud migration can also work in reverse, from a cloud provider to on-premises servers.

The main benefits of cloud migration include reducing IT costs and improving performance, but there are also security, convenience, and other advantages. According to Gartner, Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to total $723.4 billion in 2025, up from $595.7 billion in 2024.

Cost savings and predictable spending

Cloud providers offer managed services that lower operational overhead and simplify maintenance tasks such as upgrades. As a result, companies migrating to the cloud can spend significantly less on IT operations and devote more resources to innovation—developing new products or improving existing products.

Scalability and flexibility

Cloud computing can scale faster than on-premises infrastructure to support larger workloads and more users. In traditional IT environments, companies had to purchase and set up physical servers, software licenses, storage, and network equipment to scale up business services.

Access to advanced services

Cloud platforms provide access to AI and ML by offering a readily available infrastructure with powerful computing power, storage capabilities, and pre-built AI/ML tools, allowing users to develop, train, and deploy machine learning models without needing to manage their hardware, making it easier and more cost-effective to utilize AI and ML capabilities for various applications.

Enhanced security posture with modern security tools.

Managing operations through the cloud allows organizations to use the cloud provider’s security tools and services, such as identity and access management, encryption key management, data loss management, and zero-trust architecture.

Looking ahead, Accenture’s Cloud Migration Index predicts that over 90% of global enterprises expect to adopt a hybrid or multi-cloud approach by 2025.

A cloud migration strategy constitutes an overarching plan outlining the transition of an organization’s digital assets—including services, databases, IT resources, and applications—from on-premises or co-located infrastructures into a cloud-based environment.

There are several cloud migration strategies. Organizations migrating to the cloud should consider which migration strategy best answers their needs. The following is a brief description of each:

1. Lift and Shift (Rehost): Migrate an application to the cloud without implementing changes to utilize cloud features.
2. Refactor (Re-architect): Transform an application by altering its architecture and leveraging cloud-native features to enhance agility, performance, and scalability. This usually involves porting the operating system and database.
3. Re-platform: Transfer an application to the cloud, incorporating some optimization to benefit from cloud capabilities.
4. Replace (Repurchase): Transition to another product, often by adopting a SaaS model instead of a traditional licensing approach.

Although cloud migrations happen often, even expert IT leads get nervous when it’s time to make a move, and granted, it entails some unknown variables you’ll need to factor in. Here are some key considerations:

• Assessment: A cloud migration assessment comprehensively evaluates an organization’s IT infrastructure, applications, and processes to determine the most effective approach to moving to the cloud. It helps identify suitable workloads for migration, potential challenges, and the expected benefits of cloud adoption.
• Security and Compliance: A cloud migration security and compliance plan should prioritize data governance by establishing clear policies and procedures to manage data throughout its lifecycle, considering relevant privacy regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, and adhering to industry-specific standards like PCI DSS, ensuring data is protected and compliant during the migration process to the cloud;
• Cost Management: The total cost of ownership in cloud computing refers to the total cost of adopting, operating, and provisioning cloud infrastructure. Organizations often perform a cloud TCO analysis when considering moving to the cloud because it allows them to weigh the cost of cloud adoption against the cost of running their current on-premise systems.
• Vendor Lock-In: Cloud vendor lock-in occurs when an organization heavily depends on a specific cloud service provider, making it difficult to switch to another vendor without significant effort, cost, or disruption. Understanding potential limitations is essential if you rely heavily on specific cloud providers.
• Team and Skillset: Transitioning to the cloud demands specialized expertise that your current IT staff may lack, such as proficiency in cloud architecture or familiarity with specific cloud service providers like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. Assess whether your team has the expertise to identify skill gaps so you can train the right staff or determine if you need assistance from a partner.

When considered more broadly, the cloud migration process is called cloud transformation. The cloud transformation process is often broken down into five phases. These phases provide a holistic approach to moving workloads and data to the cloud, helping to minimize disruption and maximize benefits.

1. Planning and Assessment

• Conduct a readiness check: Assess your organization’s cloud readiness, identifying gaps in infrastructure, skills, and processes.
• Map out timelines and resources: Establish a clear timeline for migration with assigned resources, including personnel, tools, and budget allocation.

2. Choosing the Right Cloud Model

• Public, Private, Hybrid, or Multi-Cloud: Evaluate the best-fit cloud model for your organization based on factors such as security, compliance, cost, and flexibility.

3. Execution

• Migrate in phases or workloads to minimize downtime: Break the migration into manageable phases, starting with non-critical systems and moving to more complex workloads.
• Test thoroughly at each stage: Conduct rigorous testing after each phase to ensure functionality, performance, and security are intact.

4. Optimization and Governance

• Monitor performance: Monitor cloud performance, ensuring systems run efficiently and within expected parameters.
• Implement cost optimization and security best practices: Leverage tools and strategies to optimize cloud resource usage while enforcing security protocols and compliance measures.

5. Ongoing Management

• Regular updates, scaling, and maintenance: Update systems with the latest patches and features and scale resources as business needs evolve.
• Continual evaluation of cloud services: Regularly assess the performance and cost-effectiveness of your cloud environment to identify areas for improvement or optimization.

As we move towards 2025 and beyond, cloud migration is expected to advance in ways that will redefine digital transformation across industries.

The multi-cloud strategy, which allows businesses to leverage multiple cloud providers, is gaining popularity. Moving forward, a hybrid cloud approach that combines on-premise, private, and public cloud environments will further evolve to enable companies to balance security, compliance, and cost. According to Accenture’s Cloud Migration Index, most enterprises are moving toward hybrid or multi-cloud setups by 2025. Organizations will increasingly seek tools to streamline management across these environments, focusing on reducing complexity and optimizing performance.

Edge computing, which processes data closer to its source rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers, will significantly reduce latency and enhance real-time data analysis. As industries like healthcare, IoT, and manufacturing adopt this model, cloud migration strategies must incorporate edge components to enable faster and more responsive applications.

Many businesses also use edge computing and distributed cloud computing to process data in real time. This integration allows businesses to make faster decisions and improve operational efficiency.

Lastly, sustainability is no longer optional, and cloud providers are increasing their investments in green energy to support eco-friendly data centers. Businesses are now looking to migrate to cloud platforms, prioritizing energy-efficient operations, carbon offset initiatives, and sustainable practices. Expect migration decisions to be influenced by a provider’s commitment to sustainability and cost and performance metrics.

Plow Networks helps businesses of all sizes navigate their cloud migration with expert guidance and tailored solutions. We provide comprehensive consulting to assess your needs, choose the right cloud provider, and create a strategic migration plan. Our team customizes cloud strategies to fit your business size, goals, and industry, ensuring a smooth and efficient migration process.

After migration, we offer ongoing support, including maintenance, performance optimization, and troubleshooting, to keep your cloud infrastructure running smoothly. With Plow.net, businesses get the expertise and continued care they need for a successful cloud transformation.

A cloud migration project plan outlines the steps and processes required to move an organization’s assets to the cloud. It serves as a roadmap, detailing everything from initial assessments to the migration’s execution and post-migration evaluation.

A well-crafted migration plan ensures that the migration process is organized, minimizes risks, and aligns with the business objectives.

Reach out to Plow Networks for a consultation where we can learn more about your business needs or how we can help you seamlessly migrate to the cloud.