A transition to the cloud can offer a wide range of benefits to most businesses. But, as with the adoption of any new system, there are challenges you’ll need to be aware of to ensure your move is a success. Once you understand the root of the most common cloud migration pitfalls, you can take steps to avoid them.
In this post, we’ll examine a few cloud migration pitfalls, what causes them, and how to mitigate the threat they pose to your transition.
4 Common Cloud Migration Pitfalls
1. Lack of Preparation
There’s a reason why the Boy Scouts’ motto is, “Be prepared.” A little bit of planning and forethought at the start of your migration can prevent a whole lot of hassle down the line. Happily, you can avoid this cloud migration pitfall with a simple cloud readiness assessment.
Take the time to understand how your teams use critical apps. Examine workloads to find good candidates for migration. Determine the reasons you want to move to the cloud and what your goals are for cloud migration. This will help you identify where to start your cloud migration and which operations might need a little additional preparation before you get started. A cloud readiness assessment can also help you make a business case for cloud migration — if that’s a consideration for you.
2. Underestimating Costs
Migration projects require adequate time, budget and resources to succeed. Cost-cutting is a common benefit of cloud migration, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be upfront costs you’ll have to deal with. Underestimating those costs can be a serious cloud migration pitfall.
And the costs of migration aren’t just financial. Moving data, applications and systems to an entirely new environment will take time and inevitably come with a bit of a learning curve. Ensure your migration plan includes budgeting adequate time for the move itself and letting your staff adapt to the new system. If internal teams are involved in the architecture or migration plans, remember this work will take them away from other projects.
3. Inadequate Training
Cloud migration pitfalls can sometimes occur after the migration has actually taken place. Your cloud environment may require adaptation of some processes. If your staff are not adequately trained in new workflows, you may find they improvise solutions that ultimately decrease efficiency instead of increasing it.
At the very least, all your IT staff should be trained to ensure you maximize the benefits of your investment in the cloud once the migration is complete. Ideally, all staff will receive at least some training to understand the goals of your cloud migration and how it will affect their workflows or responsibilities. Inadequate training can seriously derail the progress you’ve made with your cloud transition.
4. Securing Buy-In
A move to the cloud is not a simple “lift and shift” process. If members of your team — at any level — aren’t committed to embracing the new system, your cloud migration can be dragged down by the mentality of legacy-minded workers (whether they are administrative, IT or executive team members).
Consult with all the relevant stakeholders at various stages of your transition to ensure requirements and concerns from all departments and levels are considered. This will give you a more complete picture of your transition to understand how processes and governances might change as well as ensuring your entire team is on board.
Need Help Avoiding Cloud Migration Pitfalls?
Cloud migration can offer a wide range of benefits to organizations of all shapes and sizes — if it’s undertaken carefully and thoughtfully. When you understand potential cloud migration pitfalls and how to circumvent them, you can ensure your cloud transition is a smooth one. A cloud enablement services partner can help you navigate through common pitfalls to achieve a successful transition. If you have questions about cloud migration, contact one of our experts today.