5 Cloud Migration Mistakes to Avoid

Getting to cloud successfully can be a big challenge. Increase the chances of success by taking steps to avoid these mistakes when you plan your cloud migration:

1. Thinking too small

Migrating a workload to the cloud requires understanding that workload in detail, but it’s a mistake to focus only on individual applications or datasets. All of your cloud migration work should be guided by an overall cloud strategy. The strategy should determine how you select cloud resources and ensure that your end state in the cloud is efficient from both a technology and a spending perspective.

2. Thinking too big

Attempting to migrate all your data at once or starting with your mission-critical application is likely to run into obstacles your team doesn’t have the skills to handle, at least at first. It’s better to begin with smaller datasets and less important applications that allow your team to gain familiarity and expertise in the cloud with relatively low risk.

3. Forgetting about security

Don’t forget that you are responsible for the security of your data in the cloud, and don’t plan to add security after the migration is over. Before you migrate a single byte of data or line of code, you should have an understanding of the security capabilities in your cloud and the risks you face. Configurations should be set up with appropriate security from the beginning.

4. Forgetting about the network

Too much of cloud talk is about hardware and software, but your access to those resources depends on the network. You can experience performance and security issues related to the network that connects your users to your cloud, as well as the network connecting resources internal to the cloud. Understand these issues and take the network into consideration when you architect for security and performance.

5. Mimicking your on-premises environment

Lift-and-shift is certainly a legitimate approach to cloud migration, and can be the most expedient and speediest approach to the cloud. However, lift-and-shift shouldn’t mean that you don’t tailor your cloud environment to the demands of your application. You also still need to be conscious that cloud can require changes to configurations, monitoring, and security, even if the workload’s overall architecture isn’t altered.

Learn more in Choose the Right Approach for Moving Applications to the Cloud.

Another big mistake? Thinking training your team provides the expertise needed to succeed in cloud. While training your team is an absolute necessity, becoming comfortable with cloud and developing a true cloud mindset requires more than a few hours of classroom training. It requires time working with cloud, experiencing and overcoming challenges. Instead of relying on your team’s book learning to guide your adjustment to cloud, it’s often better to bring in a team that’s already experienced in cloud. They can make sure the cloud journey succeeds while your team learns from them and goes solo only when they’ve got the skills needed to keep your business operations in the cloud successful.

Contact CCS Technology Group to learn how our IT consulting and managed cloud services can help you plan and execute a successful cloud migration.