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Strategy Considerations

Updated Oct 03, 2022 ·

Project Planning and Time Management

A well-planned timeline with milestones, phased execution, and proper testing ensures a smoother cloud migration and reduces risks.

  1. Set a Realistic Time Frame

    • Align the migration timeline with the project plan.
    • Allow time for testing, phased implementations, and multiple deployment methods.
    • Ensure enough buffer for unexpected issues.
  2. Define Milestones

    • Identify key checkpoints such as deploying core cloud resources.
    • Helps track progress and measure success.
    • Communicate milestones to keep the team aligned.
  3. Phased Approach

    • Implement migration in phases for better control.
    • Review and learn from each phase before moving to the next.
    • Reduces risk and improves overall execution.
  4. Testing and Security

    • Conduct thorough testing at each phase to detect issues early.
    • Configure proper security and governance with compliance teams.
    • Secure data while maintaining operational efficiency.

Importance of Security

Applying layered security, controlling access, and leveraging encryption ensures a secure cloud migration and protects your organization.

  • Multi-Layer Security

    • Apply security to network, user, application, and service layers.
    • Prevents unauthorized access and deeper breaches.
    • Regularly review configurations for effectiveness.
  • Access Control and Permissions

    • Define who can access what services and data.
    • Use multi-factor authentication for critical users.
    • Grant minimum permissions required to reduce risk.
  • Data Encryption and Management

    • Encrypt data at rest and in transit according to compliance needs.
    • Decide whether to manage encryption keys internally or use vendor services.
    • Ensure monitoring and logging to detect suspicious activity.
  • Shared Responsibility

    • Cloud vendor secures infrastructure, users secure applications and data.
    • Follow internal policies and regulations to meet security standards.

Selecting a Cloud Vendor

Choosing the right cloud vendor depends on your specific requirements and expected benefits.

  1. Determine Cloud Usage

    • Identify workloads and architecture needs.
    • Choose vendors with services that match current and future requirements.
    • Market leaders can offer comprehensive solutions even for small projects.
  2. Evaluate Security and Services

    • Check vendor data center security and compliance adherence.
    • Assess available services for current and future use.
    • Ensure the vendor can handle workload and data retention needs.
  3. Assess Cost and Support

    • Understand pricing for compute, storage, and data transfer.
    • Evaluate vendor support and past performance in handling incidents.
    • Consider multi-vendor strategies for resilience and optimal fit.

Cloud Deployment Models

Different deployment models offer flexibility, security, and scalability depending on your needs.

  • Public Cloud

    • Shared infrastructure accessed over the internet.
    • Vendor handles maintenance; scalable on demand.
    • Suitable for global access with minimal upfront cost.
  • Private Cloud

    • Organization-owned infrastructure with direct control.
    • Enhanced security and compliance.
    • Requires investment in hardware and maintenance.
  • Hybrid Cloud

    • Combination of public and private clouds.
    • Allows workload distribution based on requirements.
    • Useful for testing, development, or regulated workloads.
  • Community and Distributed Cloud

    • Community cloud shares resources among organizations with similar needs.
    • Distributed cloud spreads services geographically for local access and performance.

Cloud-Readiness of Services

Ensuring cloud-readiness through decoupling, testing, and re-architecture leads to a reliable and optimized migration.

  • Understand Cloud-Readiness

    • Applications should be decoupled to operate independently.
    • Decoupling improves flexibility, scalability, and reliability.
    • Reduces the impact of failures on other components.
  • Performance and Compatibility

    • Test applications in a cloud environment for speed and reliability.
    • Identify legacy systems that may require re-architecture.
    • Address dependencies on external services before migration.
  • Re-architecture for Optimization

    • Redesign applications to use cloud features effectively.
    • Enhance security, scalability, and performance.
    • Focus on flexibility to maximize cloud benefits.

Alignment of Services

Aligning services with cloud capabilities maximizes flexibility, performance, and overall cloud benefits.

  1. Identify Services

    • Categorize applications, databases, and infrastructure components.
    • Break down complex systems into smaller, manageable parts.
    • Use a cloud architect for guidance.
  2. Map to Cloud Services

    • Match components to corresponding cloud services.
    • Leverage extra services to enhance flexibility and performance.
    • Continuously update the mapping as cloud offerings evolve.

Cloud Migration Design

Cloud migration provides an opportunity to improve legacy infrastructure and adopt best practices.

  • Avoid Lift and Shift

    • Avoid simply moving systems without redesigning.
    • Re-architect solutions to fully leverage cloud capabilities.
  • High Availability and Scalability

    • Design for auto-scaling, load balancing, and resiliency.
    • Ensure applications can grow or shrink based on demand.
    • Plan for failure to reduce risks.
  • Microservices and Monitoring

    • Break large applications into microservices for independent scaling.
    • Use cloud monitoring tools to track performance and detect issues.
    • Learn from past mistakes to improve design.

Migration and Deployment Options

Different deployment strategies help manage risk and ensure smooth migration.

  • Blue/Green Deployment

    • Maintain two environments; switch from old to new after testing.
    • Allows immediate rollback if issues arise.
  • Weighted and Canary Deployment

    • Gradually shift traffic to new environments for testing.
    • Minimizes impact on users and identifies potential issues.
  • Virtualized Server Migration

    • Move existing virtual servers using vendor tools.
    • Saves time compared to building new instances.
  • Data Transfer and Encryption

    • Use secure methods to transfer sensitive data.
    • For large datasets, consider physical disk shipment.
    • Ensure encryption during transfer and at rest.

Optimization and Cost Management

Effective cost management ensures resources are used efficiently and cloud spending remains predictable.

  • Budgeting and Alerts

    • Set budgets for resources and services.
    • Enable billing alerts to monitor spend and adjust as needed.
  • Right-Sizing and Storage

    • Adjust instance sizes based on performance metrics.
    • Select storage options that balance cost, speed, and durability.
  • Cost Optimization Tools

    • Use tools to identify underused resources.
    • These tools can be vendor tools or third-party solutions
    • Implement recommendations to save costs over time.

Business Continuity in the Cloud

Cloud enhances resilience and disaster recovery capabilities.

  • High Availability

    • Design systems to operate even during failures.
    • Use multiple geographic locations for redundancy.
  • Disaster Recovery Models

    • Backup and Restore

      • Store backups for recovery.
      • Recovery depends on backup size and network.
    • Pilot Light

      • Minimal core services running.
      • Scale up quickly when needed.
    • Warm Standby

      • Partially running environment.
      • Shortens downtime during failover.
    • Multi-Site

      • Fully replicated environments.
      • Achieves near-zero downtime.
  • RTO and RPO

    • RTO

      • Time to restore service after failure.
      • Helps plan disaster recovery steps.
      • Maximum allowable downtime.
    • RPO

      • Time window for acceptable data loss.
      • Guides backup frequency and replication.
      • Maximum allowable data loss.

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