There are many different types of companies, and different IT infrastructures and setups to support their operations and activities. That’s why, when it comes time to migrate to the cloud, every organization will need to take a different path to AWS that meets their unique needs, expectations and timetable.
We’ve mentioned before that migration is not just a technical matter – it is deeply entwined in the mindset and culture of the company. Depending on an organization’s size, staff setup, work processes, flexibility and budget, the migration journey can be done more slowly, in stages, starting with a simple Lift and Shift. Or some companies opt to dive right into a complex migration and modernization process to become fully cloud-native from the get go.
Let’s take a look at some data migration cases and how the unique character and culture of your company can affect your choice of migration path.
Step by Step Migration
Large enterprise companies are beginning to understand the importance of migration, however, their size and organizational complexity often precludes the possibility of a full-scale migration and modernization process. Starting with a simple Lift and Shift, moving databases to the cloud quickly, painlessly and with minimal disruption, is often the best choice. This is followed later by the steps to modernization, at a time that is convenient and realistic.
Case in point: The AllCloud team recently assisted a government ministry in migrating part of their on-premise MSSQL workload to EC2 instances on the AWS cloud. This enabled the department to keep their systems running smoothly, with no disruption to a critical civil services, while at the same time, gaining the many benefits of AWS.
This is a perfect example of an organization that used Lift and Shift to get up and running, with a view to modernize later. By migrating to the cloud in incremental stages, larger enterprises can minimize obstacles often caused by internal bureaucracies and approvals processes, and make the AWS migration as smooth and advantageous as possible.
Step Up to Managed Services
Some companies are already operating in the AWS cloud, but they are ready to step up from self-managed workloads to AWS Managed Services. When the time comes to get more sophisticated and start benefiting from a more secure and optimized AWS environment, then it is clearly the moment to modernize.
Case in point: AllCloud worked with a startup company specializing in data mining and auditing tools, migrating their databases running on EC2 Instances to RDS Aurora managed database. In this way, the company was able to significantly increase their throughput efficiency without needing to change their existing applications.
As AWS becomes more sophisticated, many companies opt to engage a professional AWS Partner, such as AllCloud, to help operate their cloud environment, continually optimize for cost and efficiency, or even train their internal teams to become AWS masters who can effectively take on the daily workload and responsibility.
Step Straight Into Modernization
For companies with operational agility – particularly startups – the big step from on-premise to AWS modernization is possible and even desirable. This requires a transformation in the way the company operates, so it is best suited for organizations already accustomed to a dynamic approach and not afraid to take the direct leap to the innovative mindset of an agile Managed Services framework.
Case in point: AllCloud assisted an online greeting card company to migrate directly from on-premise SQL server to an AWS Aurora managed database. The company, which instantly serves thousands of online greeting cards to customers all over the world, was willing to undergo the complex and relatively rapid shift required of a direct modernization process, thanks to a flexible and innovative character already built into the organizational culture.
After modernization, the company gained substantial benefits: a fully managed, secure and highly accessible auto-scaled system, with simple setup, operations and scaling, and a database that is 3x to 5x faster than popular alternatives.
Learn more about modernizing to a managed database with the AWS Database Freedom program.
Different Paths, Same Benefits
At AllCloud, companies of all sizes and types reach out to us requesting to move their workload to managed services, whether directly from on-prem, in stages starting with Lift and Shift, or from partial cloud to full modernization. Whichever path they choose, all organizations who migrate and modernize with AllCloud benefit from the same AWS advantages, including cost optimization and operational efficiency, enabling them to innovate faster and scale their business forward.
Ready to start your unique database migration? Contact us.