Security and cost concerns mean some organisations have yet to get off the starting blocks when it comes to cloud migration. But the right support can help them overcome their fears.
If cloud migration was a race, some organisations would already have crossed the finish line, others would be struggling around the halfway point, and finally, right at the back, would be the non-starters. Instead of trying to keep up with the competition, they’re paralysed by fears of spiralling costs and security breaches. And with every second that passes they’re falling further behind.
This uncomfortable truth is borne out by the latest cloud forecast from Gartner. It predicts that worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services will reach nearly $600 Billion in 2023, up from $491 billion in 2022. What’s more, 75% of organisations will have adopted a digital transformation model with cloud as the underlying platform by 2026. So how can the non-starters overcome their migration fears before it’s too late?
Firstly they need separate fact from fiction – particularly when it comes to the cost of migration and the security of their data. Concerns that workloads will be less secure on the cloud than on-premise are still common but in fact workloads are likely to be just as secure on the cloud, if not more so. Firms that are stuck on the starting blocks also place too much emphasis on the cost of migration rather than the long-term cost savings it can unlock.
Organisations that want to save money by migrating to the cloud therefore need to develop a clear picture of their current workloads. But the daunting nature of this task means migration projects sometimes stall before they’ve really got going.
Organisations often want to do something about cloud migration, but they don’t know what the first step is because they don’t always know what they’ve already got. The sheer scale of even thinking about it can lead to decision paralysis.
A cloud migration partner can help organisations to overcome this paralysis, accurately assess their on-premise resources, and build a detailed cost projection for running workloads in the cloud. A migration readiness assessment, for example, can reveal current cloud-readiness strengths and weaknesses and help to establish a plan for closing any gaps. And typically these services are funded by the cloud vendors at no cost to the customer. Discovery work can also help technical teams to identify how applications might change once they’re migrated to the cloud.
When it comes to actually migrating and modernising workloads, tools like AWS Migration Hub can help organisations to track progress and identify and troubleshoot issues. But also it’s vitally important they have the right partner on board to support their migration – preferably one with specialist knowledge of their needs or sector.
CirrusHQ, for example, has extensive experience in helping education and public sector organisations migrate to AWS. As well as being AWS Education Competency accredited partner, the company also has a Well-Architected Framework certification.
Specialist partners like CirrusHQ can also tap into little known about sources of funding, such as the One Government Value Agreement (OGVA) between AWS and the UK government. This treats participating public sector organisations as a single client, meaning they can access cost savings for cloud deployments similar to those available to large commercial customers.
An accredited partner will also know how to navigate the myriad of cloud pricing options on offer and secure the best discounts.
For more information on how CirrusHQ can help you, wherever you are on your cloud journey, contact us for more information.