July 08, 2022

Migrating to the cloud? Here's what you need to know

The most important aspect of migrating to the cloud is to complete it with minimal disruption to the daily operations of the company. This will also result in lower costs for the business and quick completion of the job. The cloud has become a vital tool for enterprises across the globe and East African businesses are no exception.

SEACOM Business offers various cloud solutions to large companies in Kenya and Uganda. Our team of experts can help you to migrate to the cloud with minimal impact on your business. The cloud will enable better performance, efficiency and growth for companies that use it successfully.

Migrating to the cloud does not have to be complicated, either. With the right partner, a company can start using cloud-based applications within no time. However, before taking the leap, there are a number of things to consider when shifting to the cloud.

1) Define your business goals before migrating

Enterprises need to have a clearly defined and measurable set of goals in place before undertaking the cloud migration journey. Firstly, there must be a clear business need for migrating. Once this is defined, then the other objectives, such as business agility, staff training and cost savings, can be strategised. As any successful business leader will know, having defined goals will enable better outcomes.

2) Finalise a cloud migration strategy

Once your goals and objectives are set out, the next step is to create a solid strategy for the migration. Be sure to devote sufficient time and resources to the process. A rigorous strategy needs to include end-to-end processes that outline the steps to be taken at each stage of the migration. Add in some extra time to allow for reassessments of which processes or workloads can be included or left out of the migration.

3) Outsource the process to experts

Many enterprises already outsource core components of their IT to third-party experts. These include IT infrastructure, server hosting and cyber security. Cloud migration should be no different. Find a reputable company, such as SEACOM Business, that can help you with this journey and ensure that it is completed on time and with minimal disruptions.

The cloud still requires a unique set of skills to manage and run, so outsourcing to an expert in the field will prevent costly mistakes and ensure that the process is done properly. Your chosen cloud migration partner should have a proven track record of successful cloud implementations.

Methods for migrating to the cloud

There are three basic methods for cloud migration. These depend on your company’s needs and goals.

  1. Rehosting - Commonly known as ‘lift and shift’, rehosting uses an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) model. All of the company’s data and applications are moved onto the cloud as-is.
  2. Refactoring - Also called ‘lift, tinker and shift’, refactoring requires slight changes to some of the software so that it can be repurposed for the cloud environment. This method uses a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) model.
  3. Rearchitect - This is the most complex method that requires significant changes to the architecture and coding of the systems being migrated to the cloud. This allows all of the applications and programmes to work properly on the cloud.

Process for migrating to the cloud

Once the best method has been established, there are a few processes that need to be considered. Firstly, you need to define the use case for migrating to the cloud. How will this process benefit your business? Will the cloud be used for the storage and recovery of information? Will all work processes be migrated or just a few? Will a hybrid architecture work better?

There are also security considerations that must be built into this use case. These include steps for encrypting data (if necessary), scrubbing the data before migration and the overall sizes of information packets that will be migrated. Once these are set out, you can then move on to the second step.

Your company now needs to build a business case and assess the services offered by cloud service providers and migration partners. Look at their offerings, costs, reviews and security principles. This will allow you to choose the right partner and platform for your specific needs. The business case will also outline the expected total cost of the process.

The final process for migrating to the cloud is to execute it. The objective is to complete the process with minimal disruptions to the business, at the lowest possible cost and in the shortest period of time. Once your business apps and data have been transferred to the cloud, it is important to ensure that it is secure and retrievable in the future.

SEACOM Business can assist with cloud migration, as well as provide access to cloud services, such as Microsoft 365. These offerings will streamline your business processes and allow your company to gain a competitive edge. For more information or to get a quote for our various cloud services, email us at marketing@seacom.com or leave us a message.

SEACOM owns Africa’s largest network of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, including fibre optic networks and subsea cables. We offer a wide range of industry-leading scalable ICT solutions for large companies that operate throughout the region.

SEACOM is privately owned - making it adaptable to the needs of the client. We are the preferred ICT and internet connectivity supplier for African enterprises. We can guarantee fast, reliable and secure internet and networking services at affordable prices.

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