What you need to know to make data migration work for you

Data migration to the cloud is, much like cybersecurity, a topic that consistently merits exploration. One reason why is because migrating to the cloud and data management shares a common thread: both are fundamental to any successful digital transformation strategy, which in turn is critical to effective innovation. 

This makes tackling migrating to the cloud, if an organisation hasn’t done so already, unavoidable for any forward-looking business.

As my colleague MJ Scholtz, Data Engineer at PBT Group, points out: there are some valid reasons why some organisations may resist migrating their data to the cloud. Making the shift can be daunting, as it is complex, time consuming and can be expensive. However, it is well worth the investment. Businesses that successfully migrate their data to the cloud enjoy greater scalability, agility and security for the long run, thus futureproofing the business.

There are two preparations that organisations can make to smoothen the process. Firstly, depending on where it is on its digital transformation and data-driven journey, the business may need to adopt a cultural shift. Organisations may need to come to terms with the fact that their data is as secure on the cloud as it is on-premise, if not more so.

Secondly, the operations team will have to do precise planning and then choose the right cloud environment for their needs. Following that, they will then need to migrate their data and applications, and finally perform testing and validation.

In previous blogs I have discussed the first two steps already, stressing the need for clean data and the steps to take to prepare data for analysis in the cloud. As to the third piece of the puzzle, migrating data and applications, MJ highlighted several proven approaches for migrating data to the cloud that organisations can employ. 

The first of these is re-hosting – also called ‘lifting and shifting’ - which involves replicating one's existing infrastructure onto the cloud. MJ advises that this method should be considered by small/medium enterprises that do not yet have any long-term scaling strategies in place. On the upside, this is the quickest method of migration, but its disadvantage is that it can become quite expensive.

Another method is re-platforming - or the ‘move and improve’ method - which entails making small improvements during the cloud migration process. While scalability is an important factor in this process, the basic architecture of the applications remains the same. This method is ideal for enterprises looking to scale up their services and performance through cloud-based technologies, even though re-platforming does not make full use of cloud capabilities. 

A third methodology is re-factoring, which takes a more extreme, ‘start from scratch’ approach. Here, the entire data platform is redesigned from the ground up. On the downside it can be both time-consuming and expensive. On the upside though, for businesses that want to go all-in on their cloud migration, re-factoring allows the business to take complete advantage of all the benefits of cloud computing such as auto-scaling and serverless computing.

The one caveat MJ notes is that it is crucial to ensure that proper research is done beforehand to make sure that the solution is selected with the business requirements in mind. It is also strongly recommended that any business doing re-factoring avail themselves of a trusted partner to help them through the process. MJ adds that if this implementation is done optimally and efficiently, it can return vast dividends in the long run.

The fourth and final one worth highlighting here is re-purchasing, which is particularly relevant for organisations sitting with legacy software and architecture that has become redundant, too expensive to maintain or no longer secure, that need to move to a modernised cloud solution. MJ stresses though that it is essential that end-users are properly informed and trained, preferably prior to implementation.

Whichever method organisations use, migrating one’s data to the cloud is a necessary step to ensure better data management. Often the sooner a company ‘bites the bullet’ the better.