Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 45 | Page 55

FEATURE : SECURING MULTI-CLOUD

Cloud migration –

Best practices and practical guide for CIOs

CIOs are under significant pressure . Against the backdrop of increased customer expectations for self-service tools , IT leaders are managing increased complexity , with their organisations adopting more devices and more automation . In this article , Robert Fleming , Sales Director , UK & Ireland , Matrix42 , talks us through these challenges and offers advice on how CIOs can embrace the latest technology to realise the best business outcomes .

The IT – and business – landscape has altered . As enterprises adopt more tools to keep up with innovation demands and provide exceptional customer experiences , they ’ re dealing with increased complexity . This is particularly true when it comes to multi-cloud and hybrid environments , with many organisations leveraging different clouds for different use cases . Though challenging , this new landscape also offers opportunities for businesses to devise and implement cloud migration strategies that will keep them ahead .

Building your cloud migration strategy
Migration strategies typically cover risk assessments , budgeting and security , as well as the type of cloud – public or private – that will host each of the workloads being relocated . Migration strategies should address the management of the environment in a consistent and simplified manner .
Security is also a top concern for CIOs during this migration and a robust security plan should be produced . Elements of the security plan should include whether to encrypt all or certain types of data , compliance with regulations pertaining to data in motion and at rest , and replication requirements .
A successful cloud migration requires the planning and execution of a comprehensive strategy that sets migration goals , creates a timeline , anticipates challenges and defines the project ’ s success .
Migration strategies consider which workloads and business services to move to the cloud , which to keep on-premises and which new capabilities and applications to add once in the cloud . Your migration strategy should cover specific use cases for the workloads to be migrated . Defining use cases upfront enables you to create a solid strategy and sets the foundation for a properly executed migration process .
Make sure your migration strategy also includes a communication component to not only keep all stakeholders abreast of the progress of the migration but also define their specific roles and responsibilities in the project .
What is needed for your cloud migration approach ?
Move your servers , apps , databases and other workloads to the cloud using the migration approach that is right for your business . There is no single cloud migration process that works for every organisation ,
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