What is my IT consumption?
When migrating to the cloud, many companies make the same mistake; they simply recreate their on-premises infrastructures but in the cloud. For instance, they will opt for the same server capacity and resources.
With the cloud, you pay only for the resources you use, which is what makes the cloud an environment that is scalable, flexible, and adapted to your IT workloads. You should therefore calculate your needs and estimate the costs in a different way than you do with traditional infrastructures.
Think of your infrastructure as a delivery truck. Most of the time, it only transports 3 boxes and 2 envelopes. Wouldn’t it be more cost-efficient to use a regular car instead? And only use the truck when it’s filled to capacity?
To design the best cloud scenario, you should first and foremost monitor your current on-premise environment for a few days/weeks. Take the time to analyze your company’s use of processors, memory, storage, bandwidth, network, etc. That will help you estimate the requirements of your future cloud environment.
What legacy systems am I working with?
Migrating to the cloud doesn’t mean you have to get rid of all your currently installed IT infrastructure! That would be too costly and even dangerous. Before making any decisions, make sure to take stock of your current equipment, software, and processes – these are your legacy systems.
Why? Because some work processes are not compatible with the cloud. A simple “lift and shift” is an approach that comes with its sets own of challenges, some caused by a high latency that could impact the performance of your systems. Moreover, moving certain workloads to the cloud could be so costly that the benefits would be negligeable.
The cloud is only an appealing option if you need resources that are scalable and flexible. It is not always an appropriate choice if your apps always require the same amount of resources.
In summary, it might be more efficient and profitable to keep some of your activities housed in your own data centre. The solution? A hybrid infrastructure. Your integrator needs to have a thorough understanding of your organization’s business and operational requirements to plan the right cloud migration for your company. It is in your best interest to go over the figures with them!
How good is my communications network?
Even if you opt for the Rolls-Royce of cloud environments, at the end of the day your project’s success depends on how robust and adapted your communications network is! After all, your employees will need to access it to use some of the apps remotely.
Once you analyze your IT consumption and your legacy systems, you’ll have the information you need for the next step: speaking with your telecommunications provider to ensure you have enough bandwidth, availability, and speed.
Ask them to provide you with the right solution for an optimal experience in the cloud! And a redundancy plan to ensure your activities remain unaffected in the case of a network outage. This will help you avoid the costs of an interruption in service.
The analysis step is a key part of your cloud migration project because no cookie-cutter solution will meet your company’s specific needs. You need an expert who has experience working with both the cloud and traditional infrastructures.
Need help in planning, justifying, and carrying out a cost-effective transition? Together, we can build a cloud environment suited to your business and technological reality. Get in touch with us today!