From Chaos to Clarity: Overcoming AWS Cloud Migration Challenges Like a Pro

Cloud migration is the need of the hour for enterprises of all sizes as they seek to accelerate innovation, drive digital transformation, improve agility and operational efficiency, increase flexibility, and reduce IT costs and infrastructure complexity. In fact, Cloud migration has brought a paradigm shift by offering distinct advantages to organizations over on-premise computing. This may be the reason why more and more enterprises are recognizing the need to move their workloads, applications, IT resources, databases, and other digital assets to Cloud-based services. Today, 94% of enterprises worldwide are using Cloud services whereas the infrastructure of 67% of enterprises is cloud-based. A report by Gartner reveals that by 2025, over 50% of IT spending will be shifted to the public cloud from traditional solutions. Furthermore, the global Cloud computing market is estimated to grow from 619.01 billion USD in 2023 to 1,554.94 billion USD by 2030 at a CAGR of 14.1%.

When it comes to Cloud migration, there are many Cloud computing service providers on the market, such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, and more. Amidst all this, AWS has been dominating over others as of Q1 2023, capturing 32% of the Cloud infrastructure market. Besides capturing the highest market share, AWS stays ahead of the game by offering 100+ cloud computing services that enable businesses to set up scalable, dynamic, and automated computing environments. Furthermore, AWS keeps evolving its Cloud infrastructure environment by embracing the latest technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), Data Analytics, Data Lakes, and more. This makes sense for enterprises to consider AWS Cloud migration to take advantage of modern IT infrastructure capabilities that are not accessible on-premise. Having said that, enterprises may face some challenges while moving their workloads, applications, databases, and infrastructure to Cloud. Now, let’s dive deep into some common challenges in AWS Cloud migration and how to easily overcome them.

Unraveling AWS Cloud Migration Challenges and Their Solutions

Challenge 1: Developing a Cloud Migration Strategy

One of the prevalent challenges encountered by enterprises in the process of migrating assets from on-premise environments to the AWS Cloud is the lack of a comprehensive migration strategy. Assuming AWS Cloud is a home, and the migration strategy is the foundation of that home. If the foundation is not strong enough, the house can easily collapse from unforeseen events, such as an earthquake. Similarly, not having a detailed and clear AWS migration plan can derail the Cloud migration process and let the digital transformation goals of a business take a backseat. Therefore, establishing a resilient and well-defined AWS migration strategy is imperative to navigate through potential challenges, ensuring a robust foundation for successful migration and uninterrupted progress toward digital transformation objectives.

Solution

The trick to successful AWS migration is to start small. Instead of migrating everything at once, it’s considered wise to start the migration process with a single workload or application that is non-mission critical. Gradually, one can move on an upward trajectory and migrate multiple components. Upon achieving success, it’s safe to migrate more complex and mission-critical workloads and applications to Cloud. Whether migrating a single non-mission critical application or moving the entire database center at once, it’s important to have a robust Cloud migration strategy in place. Partnering with an expert can help enterprises devise a Cloud migration plan in absolute detail. Besides this, it is important to take all potential unforeseen consequences into account when developing a migration strategy to avoid any downtime.

Challenge 2: Not Having Clarity on What and How Much to Migrate

There is a popular misconception that AWS Cloud migration means abandoning the existing legacy infrastructure, platform, existing environment, and business processes altogether. Equally perplexing for enterprises is determining what and how much of the existing workloads or infrastructure to migrate to AWS Cloud. Generally, the availability of seasoned Cloud migration professionals, maintenance cost of the new Cloud infrastructure, data loss risk, and data recovery measures are some critical factors that influence this decision-making.

Solution

To ensure a successful migration, it is important for businesses to conduct a detailed cost-benefit analysis of their existing on-prem infrastructure against the AWS Cloud environment before the migration process takes place. Begin the cost-benefit analysis by calculating the annual cost of running existing on-premise infrastructure, architecture, and legacy systems, followed by comparing the cost of running workloads and applications in a hybrid cloud environment. It’s wise to seek end-to-end consultation from a Cloud migration expert to tread the right path in a cost-benefit analysis. This detailed analysis provides clarity pertaining to the estimated cost of running the IT infrastructure on the AWS Cloud. After conducting the analysis, choose an option that is not only economical but also delivers unmatched performance with guaranteed minimal disruption.

Challenge 3: Legacy Systems and Application Migration

When it comes to migrating legacy systems and applications, there are different approaches out there, right from lift and shift (rehost) to replatform, refactor, repurchase, relocate, retain, and retire. Each approach differs in complexity, risk, cost, and overall impact. However, they also improve the ability of an enterprise to deliver at pace, innovate faster, and take advantage of Cloud-native capabilities. With so many options available, organizations often get confused about choosing the right one when they begin their Cloud migration journey.

Solution

Partnering with a Cloud service provider can be helpful in choosing the right migration path since they bring a wealth of expertise to the table. A managed AWS Cloud service provider can quickly perform the analysis by taking into account crucial factors such as architectural intricacies, system dependencies, and performance requirements. Based on the assessment, the managed service provider offers tailored recommendations on whether the lift and shift approach will work optimally or whether the legacy application requires refactoring to be compatible with the Cloud environment. Lastly, the managed service provider’s experience in managing migrations can be instrumental in minimizing disruptions, proactive risk mitigation, and ensuring a smoother transition.

Summing Up

Migrating to Cloud is no longer a choice; instead, it has become a necessity for businesses of all sizes. However, Cloud migration may pose a slew of challenges for you. After going through this informative piece, you can overcome AWS challenges and achieve seamless Cloud migration. If you still encounter challenges, you may seek help from a Cloud migration partner.