As part of the cloud computing vertical, Amazon Web Services (AWS) stands as a beacon of innovation while providing businesses the scalability and flexibility they need to thrive. However, migrating to the AWS cloud is a significant undertaking that demands a strategic approach. It helps ensure a smooth transition & optimal outcome.
Industry reports suggest that cloud computing spending has increased 35.3 percent year-over-year since 2021 to $191.7 billion. They demonstrate that cloud computing is becoming increasingly popular, especially for business purposes. Companies of all scales and sizes are embracing cloud computing to help improve their agility, scalability, efficiency, and more. As the cloud computing market grows, the next question is: which provider should one use? The popular answer is Amazon Web Services (AWS) which is currently leading the market, with a market share of 34 percent.
With this article, we’ll try to delve into the best practices that act as a guide for migrating to AWS while exploring the keys to success in terms of planning, execution, security, and performance, ultimately paving the way for a seamless and successful migration journey.
AWS Cloud Migration
As more and more companies set their sights on migrating their legacy systems to AWS, it has become imperative first to take the time to strategize their move carefully. Besides that, it is also important to take cognizance of the challenges they are likely to face and how to deal with them successfully. So, we compiled a list of best practices to help you successfully migrate your systems to AWS.
AWS Cloud Migration: Best Practices
- Define migration strategy: Before you kickstart the migration process for your organization, it is crucial to ensure that you have a well-defined plan in place. The cloud migration strategy for your company must consider factors such as the scope of migration, app dependencies, data transfer methods, and the target end state. Of course, please also factor in the timelines and the budget, i.e., the two most important considerations to get a strategy that works for you.
- Use automation: There is no denying that automation can be incredibly resourceful — no matter the scale of your operations or the industry in which you operate. After all, automation stands to help companies not only significantly streamline the migration process but also minimize the risk of errors. Besides that, automation can also help to reduce the time as well as resources needed for the migration, and it can also help boost the accuracy and reliability of the migration process. Unsurprisingly, AWS brings several services to help companies automate the migration process. The services enabling automation include AWS CodeDeploy, AWS CloudFormation, and AWS DataSync.
- Do pilot tests with small migrations: It would be a good idea to start the migration process for one’s company with a pilot migration. Such a migration would ideally involve a small subset of apps or workloads. Why a test run for the migration? Well, this will allow you to identify and address challenges beforehand and validate your migration approach. Oh, and let us not forget that you also learn from the experience before migrating larger, more critical workloads. Suffice it to say that piloting helps you fine-tune your migration strategy.
- Training: The migration process to AWS will require your team to learn new skills and strategies. So ensure your IT and development teams are well-trained in using AWS services and tools. It may help to know that AWS also provides extensive documentation and training materials along with certification programs to help individuals and teams develop the required skills for effectively managing cloud environments.
In addition to following these best practices, paying close attention to your choice of vendor for services for developing AWS applications is essential. After all, their experience and expertise will play a key role in ensuring the success of your migration process.
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