Making the move to migrate your data center to Azure is a massive step for any company. There are many advantages to moving to Azure cloud: increase productivity, reduce costs, have a more agile platform, and the ability to scale up. So here we’ll go through what Azure actually is, the top benefits of migrating, and how to migrate to Azure cloud successfully.
Cloud Migration: What Is It?
Cloud migration is the process of moving older systems and applications from traditional data centers into the cloud. This process can yield lots of benefits for companies who take the leap.
What Is Azure Cloud?
Put plainly, Azure is a cloud computing service created by Microsoft. Within Azure, you can build, test, manage and deploy applications and services through Microsoft-managed data centers.
Why Choose Azure For Cloud Migration?
Major benefits of migrating to azure cloud include enhanced security, scalability, innovation, disaster recovery, to name just a few. But what are the specific benefits of choosing Azure cloud for your migration?
- Most organizations use Office 365; Azure enables Office 365 end-users to migrate without adapting to new toolsets.
- Azure gives you access to an impressive list of pre-built apps via the Azure marketplace.
- It has an integrated cloud service that enables you to have multi-deployment options for small and large businesses, so it’s much easier to manage your cloud environment.
- Unparalleled web app services.
How To Migrate To Azure Cloud
Microsoft boasts that the move to Azure cloud couldn’t be easier. The migration journey is broken down into 3 distinct parts; before, during, and after migration.
Before Migration
- Define
First up, you will need to define your migration strategy. Consider your goals, workload priorities, and any time-sensitive triggers. Include any stakeholders and build a multi-faceted team to have a smoother migration. Get a managed service provider on board to reduce risks and get support through the whole migration process.
- Plan
Make an inventory of your complete infrastructure and assess your on-premises environments. Doing this means you’ll get accurate costing and workload estimates along with guidance on performance and sizing. Once you have all the costs in hand, take a look at prices for your current infrastructure and evaluate the savings you’ll make from migrating to Azure. Include set-up costs for a complete picture.
With all this knowledge, you can now make a well-informed migration plan that accounts for priorities and business timelines.
During Migration
- Get Ready
With everything in place and migration in full swing, it’s time to get your teams ready. In particular, get IT and app development teams up to speed on the new cloud tech, tools, and processes. Investing in training reduces issues down the line and helps scale efficiently. Make sure to have landing zones set up for your workloads. Pre-configured landing zones mean you can minimize governance issues post-migration.
- Adopt
It’s time to start adopting your new cloud services. Break workloads into manageable-sized waves for a staggered approach that allows you to assess and reduce issues during adoption.
After Migration
- Secure And Manage
Now that you’re fully migrated, you can get complete control and insight into your security posture. Azure Security Center will allow you to quickly detect and respond to threats. Utilize Azure features to lock down your organization and secure it against common threats. You can now monitor and manage workloads with real-time performance data. Azure cloud allows your company to focus on solid growth and protects with backup and disaster recovery solutions.
- Govern And Optimize Costs
Having information on performance and workloads gives you the ability to continually assess and optimize performance to reduce costs. Not only that, your custom cloud subscription means you can scale without being held back by a traditional data center.
Bottom Line
Migrating to Azure cloud does a lot for your company, no matter what size. Businesses can optimize costs and become more efficient. There’s nothing to dislike with Azure cloud migration.
However, attempting cloud migration on your own can be overwhelming; for a successful and smooth migration, partner with Pointivity for expert managed services.
