14 Tips for a Smooth AWS Cloud Migration Strategy

Perhaps you’re looking for better scalability, or maybe you’re simply tired of maintaining on-premises infrastructure. Whatever your reasons, you’ve decided to migrate to the AWS cloud.

Before you begin your migration, you need to develop your AWS cloud migration strategy. As with any major infrastructure change, there will be challenges along the way. While you can use AWS cloud migration tools for the bulk of the heavy lifting, you still need to have a comprehensive plan in place for processes, employees and costs.

Let’s take a look at 14 important tips for a smooth AWS cloud migration.

1. Define your business goals and objectives first.

Before you begin your migration, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your business goals and objectives. What are you hoping to achieve by migrating to the AWS cloud? Once you know this, you can develop your migration strategy accordingly.

While the cloud is critical to many organizations today, you also don’t want to move to the cloud for the cloud’s sake — there should be clear business values and metrics being tracked.

2. Estimate the cost of moving to the cloud, including any upfront investment and ongoing operational costs.

You need the help of a cloud professional. The cloud is often significantly less costly than on-premises solutions. But that doesn’t mean that it’s always cheap. It can be hard to track where your money is going on the cloud because all your money is measured in terms of resources.

There are a lot of cost estimators out there that can help you calculate the cost of your migration and ongoing cloud usage. To get a real estimate, though, work with an MSP who understands your needs and existing resource usage.

3. Evaluate your current data center infrastructure and identify which workloads are best suited for the cloud.

Not all workloads are a good fit for the cloud — some may be better suited to stay on-premises. It’s important to do a full evaluation of your current data center infrastructure before you begin your migration. You’ll want to identify which workloads are best suited for the cloud and which ones should stay on-premises… and create a plan for integration.

4. Develop a comprehensive data backup and disaster recovery plan.

No matter how well you plan, things can always go wrong. That’s why it’s important to have a comprehensive data backup and disaster recovery plan in place before you begin your migration.

Make sure you understand the different types of backups available and how they work with AWS. Build processes and make sure someone is responsible for the backups.

5. Perform a thorough assessment of your application portfolio to identify which apps can be migrated to the cloud and which ones need to be rewritten or replaced.

Now that you know which workloads are a good fit for the cloud, it’s time to take a closer look at your applications. For each application, you’ll want to identify whether it can be migrated to the cloud as-is, needs to be rewritten or needs to be replaced. Your MSP can help you create an elegant technology pipeline that is both efficient and cost-effective.

6. Select the right cloud applications based on your specific business requirements.

There are a lot of great cloud applications out there. But it’s important that organizations not get shiny new object syndrome. You do not want to move towards solutions that are either too complex or just unnecessary. Your MSP will help you assess new solutions that will fill not only your needs today but your needs tomorrow.

7. Migrate your data and applications to the cloud in a phased approach, starting with non-critical workloads.

The big bang approach is not recommended when migrating to the cloud. Instead, it’s best to take a phased approach, starting with non-critical workloads and then moving on to more critical ones. This will help you avoid disruptions to your business and give you time to iron out any issues that arise.

8. Configure appropriate security controls and monitoring tools to secure your cloud environment.

It’s important to remember that the cloud is not inherently less secure than on-premises solutions. In fact, in many cases, it’s more secure. But you do need to configure appropriate security controls and monitoring tools to secure your environment. Your MSP can help you identify the right solutions for you before you start relying on your cloud environment for your day-to-day operations.

9. Optimize your cloud resources for cost-efficiency.

Don’t do this later. Get everything started on the right foot by optimizing cloud resources. Doing so will help you avoid wasting money on resources that you don’t need. Work with an MSP to help you understand your utilization and find the right mix of resources for your workloads.

10. Establish governance procedures to ensure compliance with company policies and industry regulations.

For instance, if you need CMMC compliance, you should start now, rather than when you need it. Most companies need to fall under certain branches of regulatory compliance. In addition to helping you with resources and costs, an MSP to help you establish the governance procedures necessary for compliance.

11. Educate and train your employees on the new cloud platform and tools.

Your employees are your biggest asset. But they can also be your biggest liabilities when it comes to a cloud migration. Make sure you educate and train them on the new platform and tools before you make the switch. Otherwise, you risk having them inadvertently do something that could jeopardize your data or your company’s compliance.

12. Monitor the performance of your applications and systems post-migration to identify and fix any issues.

Just because you’ve migrated to the cloud doesn’t mean your job is done. You need to monitor the performance of your applications and systems post-migration to identify and fix any issues. Some issues won’t crop up until a month or two after using your system. So, plan ahead for this period of testing.

13. Adjust your migration plan as needed based on learnings from the initial phase of migration.

There’s no such thing as a perfect migration. You will inevitably run into some issues along the way. But that’s okay. Pad your migration journey so that delays won’t be devasting. Don’t be afraid to revisit your plan if it becomes obvious that there are complications.

14. Continuously assess the business value of your cloud environment and make sure it aligns with your company’s overall objectives.

The cloud is not a static solution. It’s constantly evolving, and so should your use of it. As your company changes and grows, so too should your cloud environment. Assess the business value of your environment on a regular basis to ensure that it aligns with your company’s overall objectives.

Is Your Organization Ready for AWS Migration?

If you’re thinking about migrating to AWS, it’s important to assess your readiness first. There are a lot of factors to consider, from technical readiness to organizational readiness. Fortunately, Red River can help. We can fully audit your existing system, determine the best migration path for you and identify the areas in which an AWS migration will convey the most benefits.

Get started on your migration to AWS by contacting Red River today.