The cloud migration approach is becoming really popular at the moment, and there are some reasons why this trend is emerging. The biggest benefit of cloud migration technology is that it makes it easy for businesses to store their data and apps on remote servers that can be accessed from any place worldwide.
This means that businesses don't need to invest in expensive on-premise hardware and software, as they can simply pay a monthly subscription fee to a cloud provider. In addition to cost savings, AWS cloud migration strategy, for example, offers greater flexibility, scalability, and security. In this article we’re discussing 5 basic AWS cloud migration strategies that may come in handy for your type of business.
What is AWS Cloud?
Amazon Web Services is a set of storage tools and services on one platform that offers users a wide and secure variety of modern migration and data-storing approaches. It enables businesses to leverage over 200 services for performing tasks of various purposes.
The platform helps customers to maintain a reliable cloud migration approach, giving tools for launching websites and applications, ready-made solutions for data storage and analytics, and computing tools, as well as access to innovations (AI, ML, etc.). There is also secure email and calendar management available.
AWS was launched in 2002, and in 2006, the first cloud services started. Today, the platform works with companies from 245 countries and regions. In a 2022 report by Gartner, Amazon's cloud platform was named a leader among similar services.
Benefits of Modern AWS Migration Strategies
As AWS has over 10 year-experience in cloud computing, it guarantees many benefits of the platform. Not without reason, a lot of popular companies trust this service with their data, analysis, projects, reports, and infrastructure.
Advantages of AWS migration strategies:
Application License Optimization: Companies can reduce the cost of maintaining critical applications by setting the parameters they need. The cloud will allow them to assign workloads to a specific group of hosts to meet licensing requirements.
Ability to use high-capacity storage: You can set your own needs for computing and data storage, and reduce the cost of maintaining workloads that consume these resources.
Integration with other platforms for simpler, high-performance connections: Faster cloud migration and the ability to use multi-tier hybrid applications will also increase productivity.
Real-time data management tools: Improve security and compliance at no additional cost.
Types of Cloud Migration Strategies
Rehosting
Rehosting simply means moving existing on-premises applications to the cloud without any significant changes. This strategy is ideal for businesses that have little time, and resources to invest in a full-scale migration. It is the fastest and easiest way to move applications to the cloud but often does not offer significant savings in cost or time. In addition, businesses that use this strategy may miss out on the full benefits that come with adopting cloud-native functionality. A company that has reliable and secure cloud solutions in place can make a transition in days. Plus, the cost of re-hosting is relatively low since there are no application changes required.
Refactoring
The second strategy is refactoring, which is similar to re-architecting. This strategy involves reconfiguring the applications to better suit the cloud environment. The goal of refactoring is to optimize the application for the cloud's advantages, such as scalability, elasticity, and redundancy. This strategy is the most efficient and modern way to migrate applications to the cloud. Deploying serverless applications eliminates the need for infrastructure management and reduces operational complexity.
Repurchasing
The next AWS cloud migration strategy is repurchasing. It involves changing the application's underlying infrastructure and moving to a different cloud provider. For example, businesses that used on-premises software applications can choose to repurchase AWS SaaS applications that work better with cloud methodologies. This strategy provides businesses with the opportunity to access new features, enjoy cost-savings, and gain flexibility they didn't have before.
Preservation
This means keeping those applications that are deemed unnecessary or unsuitable for migration to the cloud due to resource costs, their life cycle, or enterprise service policies, on traditional infrastructure. At the same time, it is often necessary to organize the connection and integration of data from these applications with other services located in the cloud.
Retirement
The last strategy is the retirement strategy, which means shutting down or eliminating applications that are too expensive or are no longer useful. By doing so, businesses can focus on critical operations and minimize cloud costs.
AWS Examples
One of the popular and most convenient cloud options on AWS are Elastic Block Store and CloudEndure. They claim to be block-level storage tools that provide long-term storage space for both instances. They also provide low-latency and practical performance, making it suitable for confidential and private data. Working with a variety of volume types, including SSDs and HDDs, they allow users to choose the solution that best fits their needs.
In contrast, one of the least convenient kinds of cloud storage on AWS is Glacier. Even though Glacier is a low-cost AWS storage service designed for data archiving, it is not designed for rapid access to data, with retrieval times ranging from several minutes to hours. This can make it inconvenient for users who require frequent access to their data or prefer to store sensitive data outside the corporate network.
Another example of an inconvenient cloud option on AWS, according to users’ feedback, is Storage Gateway. Gateway is a hybrid cloud solution that allows users to store data on-premises in the cloud. While it offers some advantages, such as local caching and low-latency access to commonly used data, it also requires a significant amount of configuration and management, which can make it less convenient for users. Thus, if utilized for storing corporate data, it may be pretty hard to teach the team to work with the storage quickly and efficiently.
In Conclusion: How to Choose a Cloud Migration Vendor
Experience and Expertise: The first and most important criteria businesses should consider when selecting a cloud migration services company is their experience and expertise. They should opt for a company that has a proven track record of successful cloud migrations. The company should also have experience in the specific cloud technology that the company is planning to use.
Security: Businesses need to ensure that their data is secure during the migration process. They should look for a cloud migration services company that takes security seriously. The company should have measures in place to ensure that confidential data does not fall into the wrong hands during the process.
Flexibility: Businesses come in all shapes and sizes, and their needs for migration may vary. Therefore, a trusted company should be flexible enough to accommodate the unique needs of the business and create a cloud data migration strategy wisely. They should provide customizable services that can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of the business.
Customer support: Cloud migration methodology is a complex process that requires a lot of teamwork. Therefore, the migration services company should have excellent customer support. Furthermore, the customer support team should be proactive in providing updates and communicating with the client regularly.
