Benefits of cloud migration
Nowadays cloud deployment is the basis of the majority of database modernization initiatives. The benefits of database migration to the cloud become all over acknowledged and promoted. Consequently, more and more organizations want to move their legacy software to the cloud in order to cut maintenance expenses and to gain unlimited quantities of other opportunities. Usually cloud technologies are implemented to raise scalability, enhance database security and integration abilities.
We’ll review the key steps of migration to cloud based on LSMSoft practice. If you’re looking to modernize your legacy systems fast and run in the cloud environment uneventfully, take a look at our professional conversion services (What We Offer).
Your migration roadmap
To make cloud adoption straightforward you need an elaborated transition plan to follow. Framing a roadmap of moving to cloud guarantees that the migration process is brought into accordance with a company’s requirements.
I. Preparation
1) Migration goals. Every company has different goals and enterprise models that have to be aligned with a suitable cloud migration architecture. Before the project starts you need a coherent idea of the company’s requirements. Cloud readiness assessment tests can be performed at this stage. Beyond dispute, one of the objectives that every single one company sets is to perform the migration to the cloud as smoothly as possible.
2) Concept statement. As soon as the goals are specified, it’s time to develop your own plan based on your IT infrastructure and business processes requirements. Having a project scheme on the table will help you to select the right migration techniques and tools. Moreover, you will be aware of some integration requirements for business continuity after migration.
3) Assets assessment. This preparatory stage is devoted to the migration scope evaluation. Workloads that need to be migrated to cloud should be specified in order of priority (data, database, applications). It is wise to migrate the mission-critical assets at the end of the process.
4) Security control. Evaluate your security before the migration to identify risks. Pre-migration auditing of vulnerable assets helps to avoid huge security breaches during the transfer.
5) Replication. Another beneficial item of the plan is replication of the database you’re going to move to a cloud environment. It would facilitate recovery in case of any incident.
6) Budget and time limits. Precise terms will depend on the migration strategy, the quantity of subcontractors and many other circumstances. But still the time expectations of the main project steps need to be determined before it starts. Expenses for the licenses, migration services or tools (if you consider third-party providers) and post-migration modernization should also be outlined.
II. Cloud Strategy
That little demand for Delphi skills available nowadays mostly refer to Delphi maintenance and support projects. Companies having some legacy applications aiming at outsourcing a Delphi programmer who most likely have never built a Delphi application from scratch. A new programmer enters such a company and has to deal with an outdated piece of software, which is hard to modify and to add functionality. He may be assigned the task to modernize Delphi applications without changing the technology and will try in vain for a couple of years.
Leave Delphi and move forward for more opportunities
1) Choose a migration approach. A properly selected database migration strategy improves and facilitates future operation of your system. There are several common strategies to migrate databases to the cloud, which suit different requirements.
- Lift-and-Shift. This technique refers to transferring a software element “as is” to the cloud. It is a straightforward migration with no code features modification. That’s why it seems to be the safest approach, but not the most effective. There are other ones that are more tailored and optimized to the cloud environment.
- Rehosting. The move of an exact copy of your current environment to the cloud platform requires changing the host configuration.
- Replatforming. It refers to migration of a database to a new platform with no or few adjustments and changes of the code functioning in order to optimize cloud landscape.
- Repurchasing. This technique means a complete software components elimination and introducing new cloud-native ones in order to improve systems running in a cloud environment.
- Refactoring (or rearchitecting). This strategy is about altering the code in its entirety with the new features and cloud capabilities in order to meet all the requirements of the new environment.
- Retiring. After assets assessment you may decide to abandon some legacy databases or applications, which are no longer in use.
- Retaining. This approach is about delaying cloud introduction after opportunities assessment and analysis. In some cases the workloads can be migrated partially to the cloud environment.
The point that needs to be considered during this stage is the type of cloud selection (public, private, hybrid, or community). Cloud opportunities should comply with your data, processes and performance requirements. Another vital item to determine is whether your on premise DBMS suits the cloud environment or it should be migrated to another database.
2) Find resources. Analyze whether a company has the expertise required for a cloud migration internally or a third-party service will be required. While selecting service providers it is vital to keep in mind a vendor lock-in problem.
3) Pre-migration testing. Performance checks or a proof-of-concept contribute to the whole project success, since they help to reveal the unforeseen issues if there are any. Performing a POC allows to evaluate the providers and helps to consider challenges and risks at a small scale and minimize problems in the stage of actual migration.
III. Launch the process
1) Migration
Migration is the key step of the cloud modernization journey. At last the plan we have been elaborating will be brought into action. By this stage you should have prepared the team, the licenses and all the necessary resources to perform the move of your critical databases to the cloud environment.
Your databases and other assets will be decomposed into workflows for facilitating the migration process. All the necessary configuration of architecture will be made. As the setup is ready, all the workloads will be converted and moved to the cloud environment according to the priority grade preset.
Selecting correct services or tools is of front-rank importance for timely and high quality migration to the cloud.
2) Deployment
As soon as the database schema, data and all the assets are being converted to the target, it can be ready for deployment to the cloud. After assessment of completeness and accuracy and repair (in case any errors occur), the data and schema will be migrated to the cloud environment.
The deployment process will depend on the type of the cloud you have chosen: single cloud, multi, hybrid or community option. The timeline of the load is contingent upon the volume of data and LOC in databases. 1-2 months can take the migration and configuration of a complex system to the cloud.
3) Testing
Once in place the deployment, there is much work ahead. The loaded databases need to be tested well in a cloud environment. The check refers to performance, integration abilities, all the functions needed and security audit. A professional cloud migration team will do a range of evaluations required, adding backups, management and monitoring tools for the system reliability.
4) Optimization
Following the migration of the database scope to the cloud platform and checking the performance, usually optimization is required. It doesn't refer to bugs fix, but small efforts that contribute greatly to the system performance and business continuity.
Moreover, take into consideration that optimization is a never-ending process. It is important to monitor the level of efficiency of all the assets in the post-migration period.
5) Decommission
After all the required backup copies are made and security of your new cloud assets is checked, you have to decommission the on-premise system. There is no need to keep running the old workloads for emergency cases. It is better to devote resources to optimization of the cloud environment. Decommission involves closing down and cleaning up the on-premises system, which results in expenses shortage.
IV. Training
In order to enjoy the advantages offered by cloud technology, your team should be well trained. All the staff engaged in work with assets stored in the cloud need to learn about the new approach to infrastructure, database management and related applications. As a rule, training courses are offered by cloud providers.
Moreover, every company implementing cloud solutions should develop new policy documents embracing the procedures of cloud usage.
How can we help?
It is vital to perform database migration to the cloud smoothly and avoid data loss. By assigning this step to a credible cloud migration team you approach cloud benefits without compromising the security. In case you choose a cloud strategy which involves conversion to another database, it is critical to perform it accurately.
LSMSft techniques allow you to convert databases flawlessly and enhance the performance of your business processes. We at LSMSoft follow the best practices of database migration and guarantee project flow without incidents.