It’s all down to speed in placing innovative ideas for new products, services, or strategies on the market ahead of the competition. The foundation for this way of working is a secure, reliable, and scalable digital infrastructure. Migrating to the cloud is therefore an important step for many companies equipping themselves for the future.
When migrating to the cloud, most companies opt for a major player such as Microsoft (Azure), Google (GCP) or Amazon (AWS). These hyperscalers offer a wide range of services that are flexible, secure, and affordable.
Does this mean that you can just book the hyperscaler services you need and your company will suddenly have a future-proof infrastructure? Not quite. There are some traps to watch out for. We’ve put together the most important points to make your cloud project a success:
1. Don’t migrate your infrastructure to the cloud 1:1.
Migrating existing on-premise applications to the cloud with no changes is popular with many companies. A “lift and shift” approach lets companies use the cloud quickly and gather their first impressions, but there are drawbacks. Dependency on the cloud increases and this method allows only a limited amount of internal expertise to be gained. And there’s also the fact that the infrastructure has not been optimised for the cloud and can therefore entail high costs. In short, this approach only allows limited benefits of the cloud to be enjoyed.
Develop a strategic concept and rethink your structures and workloads for the cloud before moving to the cloud.
2. Avoid high costs and vendor lock-ins.
Hyperscalers such as Microsoft (Azure), Google (GCP) and Amazon (AWS) do indeed offer many services and benefits, but a quick and badly thought out migration to the cloud can quickly lead to you being locked in to one vendor.
A multi-cloud strategy is the only way to achieve vendor independence. These architectures are complex—you need a high-level of cloud expertise to implement a multi cloud. External experts can support you in creating an environment that’s easy to manage and secure to run.
3. Approach the cloud strategically.
Many heads of IT have already had their first experiences with the cloud, be that in depth or not. It’s often just a question of transforming these insights into a strategy for the company as a whole. But even if you’ve not yet used any cloud applications, “just getting on with it” is rarely a solution that results in profit for your organisation.
Constructing a secure, easily managed and compliant infrastructure requires wide-ranging knowledge. A dedicated cloud strategy is therefore the foundation for your future-proof infrastructure. And the next point is perhaps the most important.
4. Only rely on neutral experts.
It’s difficult to get a handle on the complex landscape of clouds. And most IT heads have a favourite cloud vendor, such as Microsoft, Google, or Amazon that they use—but for many it’s impossible to properly judge what would be the best solution for their own infrastructure. What do you really need? Are you using the right services? And how can you keep up with the growing needs of your departments with their multiple SaaS solutions?
To avoid bad investments, you should turn to cloud experts who deal with cloud solutions every day.
5. Act now.
The cloud is here to stay. Departments are requesting cloud applications, but new business models, types of work, and customer requirements are also also driving the need for this solution. What’s important is to act proactively now and use the opportunity to modernise your IT infrastructure in a targeted and strategic way. And even if you’ve already (partially) migrated to the cloud, it’s often worth taking a detailed look at your infrastructure. In many cases it can be optimised to save money, simplify management, and boost flexibility.
This is where large hyperscalers’ solutions can be helpful. But—as we’ve already covered—you shouldn’t enter into a cloud project alone, but with an experienced partner to build an infrastructure that can really make your company go further.
Knowledge as a Service by Bechtle.
The Bechtle cloud experts are professionals in everything cloud computing. We develop an optimum cloud strategy and solution for every company. Our expertise also extends to business-critical processes and applications like Business Continuity, SAP, VMware and IoT. With our own special method, we’ll connect your strategic business vision with a detailed plan, so you can benefit from a proven approach and get the best for your company with a combination of your knowledge and our expertise.
