What Is Cloud Migration?

Moving to the cloud requires up-front investment, but cloud computing unlocks major benefits and measurable savings in the long run.

Cloud computing has practically become the norm in today’s business world, and its popularity is only expected to grow. According to McKinsey, most companies expect $8 out of every $10 they spend on IT hosting to go toward the cloud by 2024. There’s less friction ahead for companies launching in the cloud on day one, but for established companies and legacy brands that have already invested in legacy infrastructure, cloud migration is the way forward. In this article, you'll look at what cloud migration is, the benefits it can unlock, and the costs and savings associated with moving business processes and development operations into the cloud.

What Is Cloud Migration?

Cloud migration is the process of moving digital assets and business operations into the cloud. Storing and processing data, applications, IT resources, and development workflows in the cloud is generally considered the norm in today’s business landscape, since it makes technology more accessible and benefits companies and consumers alike. This cloud migration overview typically refers to an initial wholesale move from on premises infrastructure into the cloud, but it can also describe the kind of cloud-to-cloud transfer that occurs when a company chooses a new cloud provider and moves from one cloud platform to another.

What Are the Benefits of Moving to the Cloud?

There are many sound business reasons to complete a cloud migration. Here are a few of the key benefits to consider:

Reduce costs

Migrating to the cloud reduces IT overhead because most cloud platforms offer pricing structures that only require companies to pay for the resources they use. Cloud providers also manage everyday maintenance, upgrades, and the day-to-day of running and sustaining their systems in the cloud.

Increase scalability

It’s easier to scale up to support more users, data, and resources in the cloud than it is on premises, because there’s no need for companies to invest time, effort, or financial resources in expanding their infrastructure as they grow or their needs change.

Improve performance

Hosting data and workflows in the cloud shortens the distance they need to travel to reach end users, reducing network latency and improving overall user experience without impacting performance.

Expand flexibility

Migrating to the cloud makes it easier for both internal employees and end users to access the data they need anytime and from anywhere. That flexibility enables remote and hybrid work, since employees no longer need to be located in the office to connect to business systems, and also unlocks farther flung business verticals since companies can reach customers around the world.

Maintain agility

Cloud operations keep companies agile and ready to respond to the rapidly changing tech landscape, whether that means introducing new tools and systems or scaling up and down as traffic and use patterns evolve over time.

Strengthen security

Simply by reducing the risks associated with physical data centers, cloud systems can provide stronger security protocols than on premises infrastructure. Most cloud providers also offer built-in regulatory compliance, managed updates, and self-service security analytics.

How Much Does Cloud Migration Cost?

The cost of any cloud migration depends almost entirely on the size and scale of the project. Here are some crucial factors to consider while anticipating how much moving to the cloud will cost:

• Volume, complexity, and type of data, resources, and workloads to be migrated
• Migration readiness and preparation, configuration, and refactoring required
• Migration strategy (rehosting, refactoring, revising, rebuilding, or replacing)
• Type of cloud (public or private cloud, multi-cloud, hybrid cloud)
• Data transfer fees
• Licensing costs for migration management software and tools
• Cloud platform services, infrastructure, and support fees
• Training and education to get your team up-to-speed on cloud operations
• Development costs once your operations are migrated to the cloud

How Much Can Cloud Migration Help Me Save?

While there are many elements that contribute to the total cost of a cloud migration, moving business workflows and development operations into the cloud can also unlock huge savings. To calculate your exact savings, take the time to calculate your current IT and infrastructure costs and compare that figure to the projected costs of your cloud migration (and post-migration operations). In general, plan on reducing your expenses in categories like these:

• Hardware and real estate costs associated with physical data centers (vs. cloud-hosted services that don’t require additional office space or huge investments in tech hardware)
• Maintenance and labor associated with supporting owned systems (vs. managed services that are the responsibility of cloud providers and third-party vendors)
• Increased productivity and near-immediate output (vs. forcing entire workforces to wait months for deployment to be complete before they can get back to business)

What Tools Can Help Me Move to the Cloud?

Cloud infrastructure is challenging, and it can sometimes seem like there aren’t enough technical experts available to help get your products off the ground and into the cloud. DuploCloud DevOps automation platform puts cloud deployment within reach, without having to hire new IT staff or train your team in a whole new discipline. DuploCloud helps small- and medium-sized businesses achieve cloud provisioning at 10x the speed and reduce costs by 75% with a fully-compliant low-code/no-code solution with security and compliance out-of-the-box.