Cloud migration is increasingly a question of when and how. But moving at the wrong time or to the wrong provider can increase bills instead of delivering savings. This article answers three critical questions.
When should you migrate?
If at least two of the following apply to your business, it may be time to seriously consider cloud migration:
- Your hardware refresh is approaching, and moving to the cloud may be more sensible than buying new servers
- You operate across multiple locations and want centralized management
- Your business continuity and disaster recovery requirements are growing
- Your team works remotely or plans to do so
- Your capacity requirements are seasonal or unpredictable
Which cloud?
Azure, AWS and Google Cloud each have different strengths. Azure can suit organizations heavily invested in Microsoft, AWS can serve data-intensive applications, and Google Cloud can be considered for AI and scaling. There is rarely one universal answer; the right question is which platform fits your workloads.
Cloud migration is a business transformation. Done well, it changes the speed at which you operate, not just your budget.
How should you migrate?
Big-bang migrations often fail. A better approach is migration in waves: move noncritical workloads in small groups first, then apply the lessons from each wave to the next. This keeps risk under control while the team gains experience.
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