10 Signs It’s Right Time To Migrate To The Cloud

The pace at which companies are migrating to the cloud has picked up, especially in the past 2 years. Research by Gartner forecasts a 20.4% growth in spending on public cloud services to $494.7 billion in 2022, compared to $410.9 billion in 2021 and it is expected to reach nearly $600 billion in 2023. Businesses realize that migrating to the cloud is beneficial and has the power to change the future of their business. It may help them achieve growth and economies of scale if they plan and execute cloud migration well.

They also understand that the right time to migrate to the cloud was yesterday and that they are already behind if they are still considering the move. However, it is still not too late to make the switch, and as a business, you haven’t missed the bus completely. It is a big decision having a business-wide impact, and you should migrate not because others are doing so but only if you feel the time is right and it is advantageous for your business.

10 Signs It’s a right time to migrate to the Cloud

In this blog, we share scenarios indicating the right time to decide to migrate your business to the cloud.

1. When you want to leverage data

In this digital age, businesses have a lot of data about their customers, industry, systems and processes, operations, etc. Many companies use legacy systems to store data. Also, it maybe possible that each department uses a separate system to manage the data, resulting in data silos. Data is spread across multiple locations and in different formats. A team would be required to achieve data consistency, manage data redundancy, and ensure error-free data. It can be time-consuming, resulting in stakeholders getting outdated data.

If businesses migrate to the cloud, a single cloud-based service like Microsoft Azure can be used to generate, store, and share data across different departments. All this data can be made available to the decision-makers in real time, and they can access it 24*7 through any internet-enabled device from anywhere in the world. It can help them identify emerging market trends and make data-driven decisions to overcome obstacles or seize market opportunities by leveraging real-time data.

Read More – How to manage and maintain data on the go

2. When you want to work with new-age solutions having advanced capabilities

The new-age solutions enable companies to use artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, etc., and improve their offerings. It can also help them predict trends and forecast better.

These new-age solutions can provide them with advanced capabilities, giving them a competitive edge. It can also help companies provide a great customer experience and increase brand loyalty.

Marketing teams can create customer segments based on multiple parameters and run personalized campaigns. It will help them achieve better RoI from these campaigns, and also help customers find the right solution.

3.When you have global expansion plans

A business with global expansion plans should consider migrating to the cloud. It will reduce their investment in IT infrastructure at the new location. They can also manage their IT requirements with a small team. They will also be able to access and leverage data in real time for all geographies, as mentioned above.

Also, new-age solutions like Microsoft Azure cloud services adhere to compliances and regulations across different geographies. Hence, as a company, you will save a lot of time by not worrying about the variances in rules, regulations, and guidelines laid down by local authorities.

4. When you want to scale your business

If your business is in the growth phase, using cloud-based services can be fruitful to scale rapidly. Many cloud-based service providers charge a subscription fee. If you want to ramp up the usage, you can do so almost instantly by paying for those additional services.

Also, if acquiring businesses is a part of your growth strategy, cloud-based solutions can help you integrate with the newly acquired company quickly. If they have their hardware and systems, system integration can be challenging. It may require a significant allocation of time and resources. In this scenario, the cloud-based service model can be quick to implement, easily scalable, and less time-consuming.

5. When you face frequent outages during busy-times

A business may experience sudden spikes in demand. It maybe on some special occasion or different phases of a sales cycle or triggered due to increased demand during a specific time of the year. Regular disruption of services can result in loss of business, as well as loss of reputation. You will have to invest in upgrading your systems to manage these sudden spikes.

If you have deployed an on-premise solution, you will have to add to your existing IT infrastructure. It can be an expensive option. If you have limited budgets for upgrading your current infrastructure as it is unable to manage these demand peaks, you should migrate to the cloud.

6. When you don’t want to completely migrate on-cloud

Many businesses operate in a regulated industry. They have specific rules and regulations prohibiting them from moving all their systems and data onto a public cloud. However, they would like to achieve economic efficiency. It may also be the case wherein some companies prefer to keep certain critical data on-premise.

In such cases, they deploy their systems and processes using a hybrid environment, a set-up that is a mix of public and private cloud.

Read our blog on Cloud Computing to know more about cloud and its importance.

In brief, a hybrid environment helps them get the best of both worlds. It provides them control over their data, allows them to adhere to the guidelines and compliances, and keeps their IT costs relatively manageable.

7. When you want to utilize your IT resources efficiently

The IT team of a company having an on-premise legacy system will spend most of its time managing and ensuring that the systems are up and running. They get limited time to spend on business-critical issues.

When a company opts for cloud migration, it can free up the IT team’s time. IT personnel can utilize this additional time to work on and develop innovative solutions that fuel up and drive the company’s growth.

8. When you want better security and reliability

A company has to ensure that its system and data are secure and there are no vulnerabilities. If a company is using on-premise systems, they have to manage its security, back-ups, maintenance and support; and constantly work towards mitigating risks.

On the flip side, if they use a cloud solution provider like Microsoft Azure, they have a dedicated team of experts that work 24*7 to provide businesses with a secure environment. They are constantly investing time and money to improve their security and reliability. The cloud service provider handles the maintenance, support, and updates to the cloud.

They regularly update the software and follow the best-in-class industry practices to safeguard your data against external attacks and vulnerabilities. These measures also ensure high reliability. Cloud service providers define their SLAs and guarantee uptime for their services. For e.g., Microsoft Azure guarantees an uptime of 99.9% + for its services.

9. When you have limited budgets

We all know that on-premise systems can be expensive to set up and maintain. It involves heavy expenditure in terms of time, money, and resources. If you have a limited budget and want an environment that is secure, reliable, and easy to maintain, migrating to cloud-based solutions is best for you. You will save money on infrastructure, salaries, buying different software licenses, software upgrades, building additional capabilities, and more.

10. End of Support It may so happen that your current solution provider may no longer support the solution. It is a common practice in the IT industry to introduce newer systems and phase out outdated ones. If the vendor is switching to the cloud, you can migrate. However, if that’s not possible, you may opt for other cloud

migration service providers. Another advantage is that the cloud service providers update their systems automatically. It means you will always work with an updated system having the latest features and functionalities.If a company has an old and outdated system, it is hard to find IT personnel having the desired expertise to manage them. In such cases, a company can evaluate migrating phase-wise to the cloud. The following list represents products retiring or reaching the end of support Upon retirement or end of support, there will be no new security updates, non-security updates, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates.

• 1. Extended Support for SQL Server 2012/2012 R2 ends July 12, 2022
• 2. Extended Support for Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 ends October 10, 2023
• 3. Migrate to Azure with free security updates
• 4. Rehost SQL Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 workloads on Microsoft Azure
• 5. Get three years of FREE extended security updates in Azure
• 6 Extended Security Updates, Only on Azure

SQL Server and Windows Server 2008/ 2008 R2 Extended Security Updates (ESUs) are coming to an end on July 12, 2022, and January 10, 2023, respectively. Many customers are taking advantage of Azure’s commitment to security and compliance and have moved to Azure to protect their 2008/2008 R2 workloads with free Extended Security Updates.

Entrepreneur, Business Owner of Ccit Services with more than 15+ years of corporate work experience, and blend of roles in IT Consulting, Sales, Ites Services.