Knowing the 6 Rs is key to developing your enterprise migration strategy

For years, organizations have been utilizing desktop systems and servers to both streamline processes and achieve higher performance to meet business demands. In the traditional office setting, most software was deployed locally on an employee’s personal computer. However, this traditional model is inherently compromised due to the fact that individual computers have limited system resources, and modern business demands that information be accessible at all times, often from anywhere in the world. As a result of this, many of today’s businesses are migrating to the cloud. In cloud-based models, remote servers provide resources for processing, storage, and applications. Users can then access these resources remotely using their own computers or mobile devices. 

Without question, the benefits of cloud migration will almost always outweigh continuing with legacy infrastructures. The potential of practically unlimited scalability has significant business implications that support unforeseen growth while avoiding downtime at the most crucial points in time. 

Benefits of migrating resources to the public cloud include:

• Less operating costs - cloud providers take over maintenance and upgrades, companies migrating to the cloud can spend significantly less on IT operations and devote more resources to innovation - developing new products or improving existing ones.
• Improved performance – cloud migration can improve performance and end-user experience. Applications and websites hosted in the cloud can easily scale to serve more users or higher throughput and can run in geographical locations near end-users, to reduce network latency.
• Enhanced user experience - employees can access cloud services and data from anywhere. This contributes to digital transformation, enables an improved experience, and provides employees with modern, flexible tools.

As a result of these benefits, cloud-based technologies and applications have become the standard for organizations looking to increase business agility and gain access to information while supporting the needs of distributed offices and employees. Approximately 80% of IT decision-makers report that a cloud strategy is essential to remaining competitive in their industry.¹ So, it stands to reason that the importance of dependable connectivity to a cloud service provider (CSP) cannot be overstated.

Cloud migration strategies

Regarding cloud migration, enterprises looking to migrate to the cloud should consider which strategy best suits their own individual business requirements. There is no one-size-fits-all migration approach—each organization’s journey to the cloud is as unique as its business. The following is a brief description of each, broadly known as the 6 Rs of migration strategy:

• Rehosting involves “lifting” applications and data, as well as physical and virtual servers, from one location, and “shifting” the assets into another location.
• Replatforming involves moving applications to better support the cloud environment.

• Repurchasing is a cloud migration strategy that involves discontinuing existing legacy systems in favor of using a cloud-based service. This process might involve repurposing services on new platforms and ending previous licensing.
• Refactoring is a strategy that involves modifying applications to better support the cloud environment.
• Retaining is a decision centered on keeping digital assets, rather than retiring them. In this case, if the asset is not compatible with the main target cloud environment, the enterprise might decide to implement a hybrid cloud strategy.
• Retiring is a decision to discontinue the use of certain datasets and applications, typically when the assets no longer justify their cost. When enterprises plan a migration implementation, they assess existing assets, as well as the scope of the project. To reduce costs, migration complexity, and security risks, enterprises might decide to retire certain assets.

Common cloud migration challenges

Cloud migration projects do not come without obstacles. But, while this type of initiative brings many unique challenges, they can be overcome with help from the right partner. The key is to recognize the potential risks and obstacles at the outset and put together a plan to manage them. With careful planning and evaluation, you can navigate the complexities of the cloud and reap the benefits of cloud-based IT operations. Here are some of the potential challenges facing many enterprises as they transition resources to the cloud.

• Security – data breaches have become more common and costly than ever before. Therefore, security is of significant concern to many organizations. As applications and workloads of all types move to the cloud, from software to platforms, surveys indicate that most enterprises are concerned about cloud security issues. Approximately 70% of global IT decision-makers claim network unreliability is a top constraint to their cloud strategy.²
• Adoption – employees often pose the biggest challenge to cloud migration success. People tend to resist change. Cloud migration brings a good deal of change and disruption that must be mitigated to ensure a successful outcome.
• Compatibility – an effective cloud migration strategy must take into account compatibility with existing architecture. 

With a full 93 percent of enterprise organizations now employing a multi-cloud strategy — and the majority of those taking a hybrid approach that includes public clouds — chief experience officers are reconsidering their network design. Many are adopting managed, software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN).³ With a secure network solution for SD-WAN, enterprises can integrate both security and SD-WAN with multiple network connections, as well as remote workers. By taking this centralized approach to security and SD-WAN management, companies can manage, administer and track status…all from one portal. This is a particularly valuable solution for companies with multiple branches and locations as it offers visibility into performance, routing, SD-WAN configuration, and other network components within a single view for comprehensive control.

Discover how SD-WAN can enhance application performance for your network. It’s a solution built for your needs, with public cloud integration that quickly and securely leverages key public computing and storage environments. See why Spectrum Enterprise is the right partner for managed IT services to help organizations achieve their cloud migration goals of a High-performance WAN in the Enterprise Digital Transformation Journey.

1. “The Role of a High-performance WAN in the Enterprise Digital Transformation Journey,” Frost & Sullivan, 2020.
2. The Role of a High-performance WAN in the Enterprise Digital Transformation Journey,” Frost & Sullivan, 2020.
3. Tanner Luxner, “Cloud Computing Trends: 2021 State of the Cloud Report,” Flexera, March 15, 2021.