Cloud migration has become a strategic priority for many organizations. By moving data, applications and IT resources from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-based environment, they can see multiple benefits. But cloud migration also comes with its own unique challenges.

Gaining a deeper understanding of both the benefits and possible pitfalls of cloud computing is crucial before embarking on your cloud journey. Whether your goal is to reduce infrastructure expenses, improve time-to-market, or more easily scale your IT environment, these insights will empower you to make informed decisions and navigate the migration process with more confidence.

Benefits of cloud migration

We’ve said there are multiple advantages for an enterprise that makes this move, so here are some of the details.

Scalability

  • Resource elasticity: Cloud platforms offer elastic resources that can scale up or down based on demand. This enables businesses to handle diverse workloads without additional hardware investments.
  • Global reach: Cloud services have a global reach. Businesses can deploy applications closer to their users, reducing latency and improving performance.

Cost efficiency

  • Pay-as-you-go: Cloud computing operates on a pay-as-you-go model where businesses only pay for the actual resources they use. This aligns perfectly with scalability and contrasts with traditional subscription models where customers pay a fixed fee on a regular schedule regardless of their actual usage.
  • Reduced or eliminated infrastucture costs: Since organizations that move to the cloud no longer need to deploy extensive on-premises architecture to support operations, the costs of buying and maintaining those systems are minimized or eliminated.

Business continuity

  • Backup solutions: Cloud providers offer comprehensive disaster recovery solutions, ensuring business continuity in the event of infrastructure failures or other disruptions.
  • High availability: Cloud platforms are designed for high availability, with multiple data centers and redundancy measures in place to minimize potential downtime.

Security

  • Advanced protection: Leading cloud service providers invest heavily in security capabilities in order to protect cloud-based applications and their users from cyber threats and vulnerabilities. These include access control, identity management, encryption and compliance across multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud environments.
  • Regular updates: Cloud providers constantly update their security protocols to protect against emerging threats and ensure that businesses benefit from the latest security advancements.

Agility and innovation

  • Innovative technologies: Cloud platforms offer easier access to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics, enabling businesses to remain competitive.
  • Faster time-to-market: Cloud services can support faster application deployment, reducing time to market. With fewer infrastructure barriers, businesses can rapidly respond to changing market conditions and competitive threats.

Collaboration and remote work

  • The Everywhere Workplace: Cloud-based tools and services facilitate collaboration among teams, regardless of their physical location, enhancing productivity, efficiency and the overall employee experience.
  • Secure everywhere: The cloud supports remote work by providing secure access from anywhere to necessary applications and data, which has become crucial in the modern work environment.

Cloud migration challenges

As just seen, once applications have been migrated to the cloud, there are numerous benefits. But cloud migration can pose certain challenges. Anticipating them can help IT teams prepare for any potential issues.

Data security and privacy

  • Breach exposure: Migrating applications and sensitive data containing personally identifiable information (PII) to the cloud might expose that data to potential security breaches, so ensuring robust encryption and access control is critical.
  • Maintaining compliance: Ensuring compliance with industry regulations and standards can be challenging in a cloud environment. Regulated financial services, healthcare and e-commerce industries must choose a cloud provider that’s fully capable of supporting their specific compliance requirements.

Downtime and disruption

  • Migration downtime: The migration process can potentially cause downtime and disrupt business operations. Careful planning and a phased migration can help mitigate this risk.
  • Service interruptions: Although rare, cloud service outages can occur and impact business operations. Having a contingency plan in place is essential. Organizations with zero tolerance for downtime should design for redundancy by utilizing two or more cloud service providers.

Cost overruns

  • Uncontrolled usage and spend: Even with a pay-as-you-go model, cloud costs can spiral out of control without proper management. So, it’s essential to implement cost management practices and constantly monitor usage.
  • Hidden costs: Every cloud instance is unique. Beware of costs associated with data transfer, CPU, storage, memory and additional services that may not be initially apparent.

Vendor lock-in

  • Single provider dependence: Relying too heavily on a single cloud service provider may result in vendor lock-in, making it difficult to switch to an alternate provider or move back to on-premises.
  • Limited flexibility: Vendor lock-in can limit flexibility, as the cost, capabilities and limitations of their chosen provider may constrain businesses.

Skill gaps

  • Specialized skills: Migrating to the cloud requires specialized IT skills and expertise. Investing in training for your team and hiring experienced professionals is crucial for a successful migration.
  • Change management: Adapting to new cloud-based processes and tools can be challenging for employees at all levels. Effective change management strategies and pre-migration training are necessary to ensure a smooth transition.

Performance Issues

  • Latency and bandwidth: Although cloud resources are elastic, specific applications may experience latency and bandwidth issues, especially if the data centers are far from end user locations.
  • Resource contention: Over-subscribed cloud resources can lead to performance degradation if not properly managed.

Summary: Planning can equal migration success

Cloud migration offers many benefits, including scalability, cost efficiency, enhanced security, employee flexibility and access to the latest technologies. On the flip side, it also may involve several challenges, including exposure to security breaches, potential downtime, cost management issues and the risk of vendor lock-in.

But by carefully planning the migration process, addressing potential pitfalls and leveraging the expertise of skilled professionals, organizations can successfully navigate their cloud migration journey and open new opportunities for growth.

Learn how solutions like Ivanti Neurons for Zero Trust Access can protect enterprise cloud applications, data and devices from unauthorized access and threats. Team it with other cloud-enabled security solutions such as Neurons for RBVM and Multi-Factor Authentication to empower your organization with secure anytime, anywhere access to business-critical apps and data.