For organizations of all sizes in today’s digital ecosystem, hybrid environments are the norm rather than the exception. Companies are faced with the problem of returning data on-premises as they manage multiple workloads, implement SaaS solutions, and shift applications to the cloud. This increasing data sprawl, combined with an ever-changing threat landscape that includes advanced, AI-powered attacks, emphasizes the crucial need of effective data protection policies in driving cyber resilience.
Organizations must integrate data protection measures from the start to ensure data security and compliance across their whole environment. This proactive approach reduces risks and potential weaknesses, resulting in total cyber resilience.
However, the path to cloud adoption is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. It’s app-specific and granular, rehosting certain apps and reworking others to use cloud-native PaaS and Kubernetes services. To get through this complexity, organisations want a clear plan for cloud data protection and resilience that extends to the environment’s edge.
This blueprint must include cloud data protection that ensures the security and resilience of the hybrid infrastructure as a whole. This encompasses all cloud workloads, applications, and services, no matter where they are located. Furthermore, it should allow for smooth data mobility across clouds and on-premises, all while providing a unified picture of the whole ecosystem.
What is cloud migration?
In its most basic form, cloud migration is the transfer of data from a local, on-premises centre to the public cloud. And, as simple as that may sound, it is frequently a time-consuming and error-prone process. Moving all of your digital assets—data, workloads, apps, and IT resources—to a cloud infrastructure has both recognised and unknown drawbacks. There are many variables to realising actual cloud value, including a lack of a cloud strategy that translates to business targets and underestimating the expense of cloud migration.
As a result, savvy firms are becoming increasingly conscious that transferring assets on their own carries some risk, and they are prudently hiring cloud migration consulting partners to protect their cloud journey and investments. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach that firms may adopt in-house, these partners provide cloud migration services and customised technology solutions that align an organization’s targeted results.
According to a recent study, 74% of 350 global IT decision makers reported moving an application back to their own infrastructure after not seeing the expected results.
Beyond the inherent hazards, what many business executives fail to recognise is that they expect the cloud migration to revolutionise their organisation.
Guess what. It won’t.
While powerful and seemingly ubiquitous, the cloud is essentially an infrastructure—a form factor that provides functions such as scaling and automation. These are important to compete in today’s fast-paced innovation environment, but they are meaningless unless they lead to a specific goal or planned conclusion.
Consider the cloud to be a central power grid. All you’re doing is connecting to that power. But, in order to make it accomplish what you want and become your own, you must map that power to the intentions and results that are important to you. For example, if increased product output is your goal, you will still need to customise your cloud applications and infrastructure to make your vision a reality.
Finally, the revolutionary benefit sought by enterprises from the cloud extends beyond migration to modernising specific business procedures that enable limitless capacities and potential.
How to migrate to the cloud
Any big cloud migration requires a strategy to check the various engagement, security, functionality, and other boxes throughout the course of what may be a protracted process. As with any business work, a checklist should be used to guide the complete process, from creating the strategy to determining who will be responsible for it and determining what can be moved quickly and what takes more rigorous effort.
Businesses and IT leaders should consider undertaking a cloud readiness assessment to guarantee a smooth transfer. You can minimise the impact on operational continuity by deciding whether your current apps and data can be transferred to the cloud.
Naturally, not every cloud transfer is flawless, and there are a few common blunders to avoid. The established best practice is to establish a Cloud Centre of Excellence to define and execute the project, while also ensuring that every affected leader and employee understands the reasons for the migration and its benefits.
The Progress Modernization Blueprint Consists of
Three Major Components:
1. Modernization Evaluation:
Determine how Progress can aid in the activities required to modernise an application in order to achieve the necessary business outcomes. The Assessment Phase can be marketed or provided separately from the Modernization Project. In some circumstances, an Assessment may be required before the company may proceed with modernization. In some circumstances, the Assessment might be delivered as part of a Proof of Concept or pilot project. Our strategy is adaptable enough to meet the individual needs of large and small customers, partners, or direct end users, based on the diverse needs of our customers.
2. Conceptual Proof:
A Proof of Concept (POC) might be organised as an optional next step. The proof of concept will show that the recommended strategy will work and what the end result could look like. The scope of the deliverable was specified during the Modernization Assessment. The proof of concept should be significant, i.e. it should answer an issue that the business must solve. Following the delivery of the proof of concept, the next stage is to create a project plan for the whole modernization project.
3. Modernization Project:
Progress will take responsibility for the analysis, design, implementation, testing, and deployment of the functionality outlined in the overall modernization project to the extent that the company demands. Based on business drivers, this is an agile, iterative strategy.
How to Apply the Formula
Here are the five steps in the advanced application modernization formula, which will be detailed in greater detail later.
Examine modernity via the prism of software.
Use a tried-and-true framework to evaluate the complete app portfolio.
Evaluate your readiness for modernization.
Find Amazon funding programmes through a verified AWS partner.
Prior to modernization, align the Ops model.
Examine modernity via a lens of software.
We strongly advise against separating development, security, finance, and operations. Instead, utilise DevSecOps to not only develop a holistic approach, but also to view it and the migration process from a software lens. Setting up repeatable automated procedures that can be used across the organisation, regardless of team, is a fundamental goal for realising the advantages of the cloud environment.
Although writing infrastructure code for a given three-tier web application may take longer, the work may be justified because the resulting code can be reused elsewhere. Furthermore, this strategy may aid in the management of cloud drift and configuration concerns. This method can also be used to legacy applications by introducing umbrella services that lessen the need for constant management and allow for better time management. Given the restricted labour pool, prioritising development efforts to solve issues early in the software development cycle is critical.
Use a proven framework to assess the entire app portfolio
When evaluating your application portfolio, it is appropriate to use an application modernization framework to guide your evaluation process. This entails investigating the various “R” migration patterns and calculating the return on investment for each one.
Another consideration is selecting the noisiest and most expensive apps in your portfolio, not just in terms of development but also of maintenance. The development of a strategy for migrating apps and ensuring they can be contained and controlled in the target environment is a critical part of modernization. Mapping dependencies, prioritising the order in which apps will be transferred, and obtaining visibility into emergent patterns are all part of this process. You may streamline the modernization process and maximise your rewards by using an organised approach.
A simple VM migration from on-premise to cloud platform is insufficient. What makes a difference is developing a standard set of services and a flexible pipeline for developers to enable quick updates and blue-green deployments. Furthermore, legacy software may not need to be destroyed or recreated because enhancing existing capabilities might minimise labour and improve usefulness. You may migrate code and data without having to move full machines to the cloud by using a pattern-based approach and optimising the pipeline.
Evaluate your readiness for modernization.
Transitioning to a DevSecOps methodology necessitates a full understanding of all the necessary components that will allow builders to produce while reducing toil. Conducting an application modernization evaluation with a product-oriented mindset that prioritises producing products for the entire organisation might yield such a comprehensive view. The transition to DevSecOps can be difficult to achieve without these critical components and a deliberate approach.
Work with a certified AWS partner
If you are having difficulty changing the culture of your organisation and getting everything and everyone aligned, try working with a strategic consulting firm that specialises in next-gen characteristics. They can evaluate your complete app portfolio and advise you on whether to retire, re-platform, re-host, or rework your apps. Look for an application modernization consulting partner who has experience developing secure and compliance environments, such as FedRAMP. They are expected to apply a software-centric approach and solve all organisational difficulties in order to achieve alignment and deliver unified operations capacity.
Align Ops model before modernization
To derive transformational value from the cloud, IT organisations must prioritise creating value and constantly expanding it over just maintaining services. The tools to get there include delegating more responsibility to the left side of the DevSecOps equation, fostering autonomy, for example, through self-selecting possibilities for users, and strengthening the innovative capacity that can potentially provide you a competitive advantage.
To achieve alignment, it is preferable to prevent continuously rising IT costs while keeping the system at the previous level. Adopting a contemporary, microservices-based technology stack is only the first step. Alternatively, organisations should achieve an inflection point and leverage the momentum to enhance their applications while keeping new capabilities in mind and utilising investment to promote innovation.
Final thoughts
The cloud is undeniably superior to legacy IT, which consisted of monolithic software updated every few years and unending rounds of hardware upgrades. Cloud computing brings performance and value to businesses of all sizes. Any firm can successfully implement cloud computing if they have a clear aim, apply strong business reasoning, and overcome their doubters.
Even a simple cloud solution and migration now could produce significant benefits in the future when factories, distributors, supply chain providers, and service providers all migrate to the cloud. Applications will soon be able to use advances in artificial intelligence to give more in-depth insights. Mixed media and virtual or augmented reality will improve training and advice, regardless of the issue, while 5G and IoT will alter factories and global hubs, bringing them all into the same dashboard and increasing the depth and information that businesses can pull from their data.
