Cloud Migration Checklist: The Steps to Project Success
Our cloud migration experts have created a checklist for businesses to follow when planning for a successful migration. We run through what businesses may expect to see happen in each stage of migration, and what you need to do to ensure success.
How to ensure a successful I.T. Cloud Migration
Step 1: Planning and Blueprinting Phase:
Before Migration
Define Business Objectives:
Clearly outline what your company aims to achieve with cloud migration.
- Understand clearly why the move to the cloud. Benefits delivered.
- Align ICT strategy with your business strategy.
- Define measurable success metrics and KPIs.
- Conduct a business impact analysis (BIA)
- Ensure flexibility is a core factor. We know the only constant is change.
- Staff adoption by educating through clear paths of communication.
How to choose the right cloud provider
Consider factors such as total investment with transparency, certifications, security capabilities, and future integration capabilities with existing technologies like telecoms and CRM.
- Consider public vs. private vs. hybrid cloud
- Evaluate data centre locations with compliance
- Carefully consider security for compliance
- Beware of supplier lock-in’s
- Consider customer support and SLAs
Review Security Policies
Ensure that the security policies align with the new cloud environment. Set-up appropriate security measures to protect cloud resources and access rights, and review data compliance and governance.
Allocate Resources
Ensure adequate budget and personnel are available for the migration project.
Developing a detailed migration plan
The plan should include the following:
Timelines
Customers expect detailed forecasts on how long the migration will take. This can be broken down to each stage of the migration.
Investments
Customers expect detailed investment forecasts.
Risk management strategies
Reduce risk by:
- Conducting pilot small-scale migrations where possible.
- Back-Up data prior to migrations
- Move data and applications in stages.
- Ensure data privacy and security during the migration process.
- Ensuring appropriate training with staff implanted pre and post migration.
Transparency with clients
Customers expect clear communication about what will happen, when, and any expected disruptions.
Cost and Time Estimates
Detailed forecasts on how long the migration will take and how much it will cost.
Step 2: Preparation Phase:
Assessment of Current Infrastructure
Analyse the existing IT infrastructure to understand what hardware, software and networking devices are possibly migratable and what may need modifications.
- Perform an inventory and create an asset register for hardware and software.
- Identify current software versions and if outdated and so vulnerable.
- Analyse existing performance, possible capabilities and capacities.
- Conduct a security and compliance assessment
- Determine application compatibility and dependencies
Step 3: Designing your Cloud Architecture Phase
- Analyse and prioritise your applications..
- Define a clear recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for each critical component of your cloud infrastructure
- Design your cloud infrastructure with redundancy and multi-availability zones to ensure high availability.
- Consider scalability and expansion capabilities v investment.
- Determine the best cloud data management and storage approach.
- Networking and connectivity.
- Develop a comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan.
- Include data back-ups and data replication.
Step 4: Establish a Governance Framework
- Develop a comprehensive set of cloud policies and standards based on best practices in key areas.
- Collaborate across various business units.
- Employ risk management and compliance monitoring.
- Institute auditing and reporting.
Step 5: Migration Phase:
During Migration
- Engage with Stakeholders:
Keep key stakeholders informed and involved throughout the process. - Monitor Progress:
Keep track of the migration progress through dashboards or regular updates from the migration team. - Data Backup:
Ensure all critical data is backed up before the migration to prevent data loss. Map data and ensure compatibility, and choose the right migration method. - Pilot Testing:
Conduct a small-scale migration to identify potential issues and refine the approach based on findings. - Execution:
Move data, applications and services to the cloud according to the migration plan. - Validation:
Check that all components are correctly migrated and fully functional. - Minimal Downtime:
Customers expect the migration to cause minimal disruption to their operations. - Progress Updates:
Regular updates about the status of the migration and any issues that arise.
Step 6: Post-Migration Phase:
- Optimise Performance:
Tune configurations to optimise cost, performance and security. - Avoid Unnecessary Costs:
Identify and manage idle resources. - Training and Support:
Provide training to staff and establish a support structure for handling post-migration issues. Identify cloud roles and skills gaps. - Promote and Reward:
Promote cross-training and collaboration among different teams within your organisation. Recognise and reward learning achievements - Continuous Monitoring:
Implement tools to monitor performance and security to ensure ongoing operational efficiency. - Implement Auto-Scaling Policies:
Automate procedures to adjust resources required based upon real-time demand dynamically. - Regularly test your disaster recovery plan:
Back-up procedures to ensure they work as intended. - Audit the Implementation:
Verify that all elements of the migration checklist have been satisfactorily completed. - Implement Change Management Strategies:
Adapt internal processes and policies to leverage the new cloud capabilities fully. - Plan for Future Needs:
Consider future scalability and potential integration of additional cloud services.
This structured approach helps ensure that customers are not only prepared for the migration but are also actively engaged in the process to maximise its success.
What businesses expect to see in each stage of cloud migration
Improved Performance and Accessibility: Customers expect to see tangible benefits from the migration, such as better performance and easier access to services.
Feedback Loop: An opportunity to provide feedback on the migration process and outcomes.
Minimal Downtime: Customers expect the migration to cause minimal disruption to their operations.
Progress Updates: Regular updates about the status of the migration and any issues that arise.
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