Protecto
March 2, 2022
If you are considering cloud migration for your business, a primary consideration is choosing the right type of migration approach. The cloud migration journey of every business differs on several aspects and considerations. Given the fact that cloud migration impacts a business on a granular level unless a business carefully strategizes their cloud migration, the move to the cloud can turn out to be counterproductive as businesses fail to leverage the full potential of their cloud environment.
While businesses are increasingly considering cloud migration, cloud spending, business efficiency and data privacy and security continue to be major concerns for businesses across industry types. How efficient, safe and productive your cloud migration will be, depends on how well you plan out your migration journey. One of the first considerations in this context is choosing the right type of cloud migration for your business.
Every organization has its own goals, motivations, and business requirements that influence its decision in selecting a cloud migration type. Understanding and identifying your cloud migration goals and objectives is the first step in crafting a successful migration strategy.
In addition, the cloud migration approach you choose will also depend on the state of your current on-premises infrastructure. You will need to carry out an in-depth audit of the architecture of your current applications, the different challenges you face with your infrastructure, and the security gaps or risks you face. When you have a clear picture of these issues, you will know which of your applications you need to move to the cloud and which applications you need to replace or retire. This step to a very large extent will shape your overall cloud migration strategy and the type of cloud migration approach that will work best for your business.
This article will shed light on some of the most common cloud migration approaches, their complexities, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Understanding what to expect from each cloud migration approach will help you plan and customize all aspects of your migration strategy.
Interesting Read: Top Cloud Migration Challenges & How To Overcome Them
The following are the most common cloud migration types and their advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the right cloud migration type or approach for your business will ultimately determine your cloud migration success story.
Rehosting also called the "lift and shift," is a common Cloud Migration type. Rehosting involves moving an entire application from the internal servers of a business unit and then moving it or placing it in a cloud environment ' minus any changes.
Advantages of Rehosting
Rehosting is one of the fastest, easiest, and cheapest types of Cloud Migration. Businesses most often use rehosting as the process requires minimum time and expertise. In addition, rehosting lowers the risk of any changes or interference with the application's codes.
Disadvantages of Rehosting
While the rehosting migration process is simple to execute, it is not ideal for every business type. Since every business has its complexities, using a uniform and simple migration approach might not offer the kind of cloud dividend that a business might expect.
The process can present challenges due to complex application dependencies, or if a virtual server goes down, the application will suffer an outage ' a feature shared by traditional servers. Another disadvantage of the rehost Cloud Migration approach is that this option can limit the ability of a business to leverage all the capabilities of the cloud environment.
With re-platforming, both data and applications are moved to a cloud environment via certain PaaS services of the cloud solution. With the re-platforming migration approach, the overall system architecture does not change.
Advantages of Replatforming
A major advantage of re-platforming is that businesses are not required to invest heavily of their money or time. Several SaaS options offer re-platforming solutions. Furthermore, re-platforming supports enhancing a part of an application ' the other part(s) of the application can continue to be operational within the cloud platform.
Disadvantages of Replatforming
Replatforming can lead to risks such as code or configuration errors. For this reason, it is necessary to do due diligence about identifying which features need to be changed or enhanced and how to implement those changes in advance.
With the repurchase migration type, the existing SaaS solution is replaced with a new SaaS solution.
Advantages of Repurchase
Because the solution that needs replacement has already been configured for the cloud, the repurchasing Cloud Migration process cuts down on the time and effort you would otherwise spend on configuring the solution to the cloud.
Disadvantages of Repurchase
One of the disadvantages of the repurchase migration type is that it needs a high-speed bandwidth connection to limit the risk of downtime. This approach can also be a costlier alternative to hosting the service or the app in an on-premises environment. Repurchase might also not be an ideal option for specialized applications that are feature rich.
One of the reasons to have a Cloud Migration roadmap is that it allows you to identify applications that need to be withdrawn. However, you need to have archived and sanitized data to retire an application. In certain cases, businesses may also choose to discontinue an application if a part of the application's functionality has been rebuilt, repurchased, or refactored.
Advantages of Retire
Retiring an application can offer you some much-needed space on your on-premises servers and help you organize your infrastructure. Cost dividends are another advantage of retiring applications. The maintenance budget can instead be spent on applications that are necessary for the business.
Disadvantages of Retire
One big consideration when retiring an application is that you will, in all likelihood, have to replace the application with a brand-new application ' in most cases, this requires going through the whole process of building a new app.
With the refactor approach, an existing application can be fully or even partially redesigned to boost its performance and lower costs.
Advantages of Refactor
Applications that are refactored often provide businesses with a cost advantage since they are redesigned to be optimized and improved. Furthermore, refactored applications can be provisioned on-demand.
Disadvantages of Refactor
High cost and investment of time and effort are the major disadvantages of the refactoring Cloud Migration process.
The re-architect Cloud Migration approach involves architectural redesigning to leverage native and multi-cloud environments.
Advantages of Re-architect
With the re-architect Cloud Migration approach, the functionality of the code is changed, thereby enabling optimized use of the cloud environment. In turn, this allows leveraging the cloud-native benefits of the application.
Disadvantages of Re-architect
Re-architecting can be extremely time-consuming. Furthermore, re-architecting is a complicated process that increases the chances of creating security issues.
In the rebuild approach, an application or the solution is redeveloped completely in the cloud environment utilizing the latest solutions and frameworks.
Advantages of Rebuild
Since rebuilding involves redeveloping an application from scratch in the cloud, it allows you to leverage all the capabilities of the cloud environment.
Disadvantages of Rebuild
Rebuilding is time-consuming and could be an expensive approach. In addition, since the application is completely redeveloped within the cloud, it can lead to new bugs.
Also read: Ensure the Security of Your Data in the Cloud
A major aspect of planning your cloud migration is to choose the right type of cloud migration approach for your business. The above-mentioned cloud migration types can give you an idea of the different kinds of cloud migration types. Based on your cloud migration goals and objectives, you can go ahead and choose a cloud migration type that is ideal for meeting your business requirement.
Also, prior to transitioning data to the cloud, it is crucial to comprehend how cloud migration data security can address the challenges that come with cloud migration. It is essential to select solutions that align better with the specific requirements of your business. Safeguarding sensitive data is imperative to adhere to regulations and uphold customer trust. However, it may not always be evident whether the same standards for data storage and protection on-premises are applicable to cloud data. Discover the advantages of data tokenization in the context of cloud migration. Schedule a demo or sign up for a free trial today.
What is cloud migration?
Cloud migration refers to the process of moving applications, data, and IT resources from on-premises infrastructure to cloud-based platforms. It aims to leverage the benefits of scalability, cost-efficiency, and flexibility offered by cloud services.
Why is data security crucial during cloud migration?
Data security is essential during cloud migration to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access, data breaches, and other cyber threats. Ensuring data security maintains customer trust and complies with data protection regulations.
What are the common challenges faced during cloud migration regarding data security?
Common challenges include data exposure during transit, data integrity assurance, proper access controls, and ensuring consistent security measures across on-premises and cloud environments.
How does data tokenization enhance data security during cloud migration?
Data tokenization replaces sensitive data with tokens that have no intrinsic value, reducing the risk of data exposure. Tokens can be used for data processing, while the original sensitive information remains securely stored, limiting its vulnerability.
What types of data can be tokenized during cloud migration?
Any sensitive data, such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII), financial data, or proprietary information, can be tokenized during cloud migration to enhance data security.
Does data tokenization impact data analytics and reporting in the cloud?
Data tokenization allows authorized users and applications to perform data analytics and reporting while using the tokens instead of the original data. It ensures data privacy without hindering data analysis.
Can data tokenization be applied to both structured and unstructured data?
Yes, data tokenization can be applied to both structured data (e.g., databases, spreadsheets) and unstructured data (e.g., documents, emails) to protect sensitive information during cloud migration.
What are the advantages of using data tokenization over other data security techniques during cloud migration?
Data tokenization offers several advantages, including minimal impact on data processing speed, reduced data storage requirements, simplified compliance with data protection regulations, and enhanced data privacy.
How can organizations implement data tokenization for cloud migration securely?
Organizations should select reputable data tokenization solutions that offer robust encryption and secure key management. Additionally, they should have a clear data governance strategy and perform regular security audits.
Is data tokenization suitable for all types of organizations and cloud migration scenarios?
Data tokenization is a versatile data security technique suitable for various organizations and cloud migration scenarios. However, its implementation may vary based on specific business needs and compliance requirements.
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