Moving to the cloud is an increasingly popular option for businesses looking for a secure, cost-efficient way to store and access their data. If your organization has yet to move its hosting services to the cloud, you are missing out on many benefits. It’s important to know some cloud migration mistakes to avoid when making the transition. This article will examine some of the most common mistakes people make when moving to the cloud and how you can ensure a smooth transition.
1. Lacking a Clear Cloud Migration Strategy
One of the biggest cloud migration mistakes you can make is failing to develop a clear migration strategy. A cloud migration strategy is an entity’s plan to relocate its infrastructure, applications, and data from on-premises architecture to the cloud. Without a plan, you’re likely to run into problems that could have been easily avoided.
Here are some things to keep in mind to develop a clear cloud migration strategy:
- Define your goals. What do you hope to accomplish through cloud migration? Once you know this, you can develop a plan to help you achieve your goals.
- Consider your workload. Not all workloads are suitable for the cloud. Determine which ones can be migrated and which ones should remain on-premises.
- Choose the right provider. Not all cloud providers are created equal. Do your research and select one that meets your specific needs.
- Create a timeline. Migrating to the cloud is not a quick or easy process. Plan when you want to start and finish your migration to avoid disruptions to your business operations.
2. Migrating Everything at Once
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when moving to the cloud is trying to migrate everything at once. This is a recipe for disaster and will likely lead to data loss, application downtime, and frustrated users.
Instead, take a phased approach to migration. Start with non-critical applications and data first. This will allow you to work out any challenges in your process and better understand the cloud platform before migrating mission-critical applications and data.
Not only will this phased approach help prevent major headaches, but it will also allow you to realize the benefits of the cloud sooner.
3. Ignoring Security and Compliance
Ignoring security and compliance is another big mistake many organizations make when moving to the cloud. The cloud is not inherently secure, and organizations must take steps to ensure their data and applications are secure. Additionally, before performing cloud migration, the organization must conduct a cyber-security risk assessment, identify potential threats, and evaluate the cloud provider’s capability.
Organizations that constantly ignore security and compliance warnings expose their data and applications to more risks. Some common cloud security threats include misconfigurations, insider threats, lack of IAM, poor regulatory requirements, insecure APIs, and lack of visibility.
However, there are some essential measures entities can implement to enhance security compliance. Some include encrypting all data (both in transit and at rest), utilizing multi-factor authentication, implementing required security control measures, and isolating individual workloads. Again, supporting the team in the entire process is highly recommendable for reducing some cloud migration mistakes.