Data is an integral part of any business as the business is majorly dependant on the data that they have collected. The amount of data differs from organisation to organisation, as it depends on the size and strength of the organisation. As the business gets bigger, the amount of data increases significantly.
When an organisation has hundreds of users, SAP modifications, different kind of applications, several forms of integration & a system which, still has the ability to work in its basic form, moving data to the cloud can be a really difficult task. There will be a lot of data, a lot of information which needs to be moved to the cloud in a limited time period so as to complete the transfer process. This is the reason because of which, about two-thirds of businesses, according to sources, do not have a cloud migration strategy in place. However, there can be many reasons for a business to not have a cloud migration strategy, but the company should consider thinking about creating a good strategy when the time arises.
Predictions have been made that, “By 2019, more than 30 per cent of the 100 largest vendors’ new software investments will have shifted from cloud-first to cloud-only.” There are changes which have been taking place in the hardware and data centre world too. A study by Cisco stated that “By 2018, more than four-fifths of all data centre traffic, i.e about 83%, will be based in the cloud.” But, knowing when to shift to cloud storage is equally important, as it determines whether the shift will bring about a positive or a negative change. So, how to determine if it’s the right time to shift?
The first thing which needs to be taken into consideration is the reason behind the need for change. Is it because of the Hardware Cost or Business Benefit?
Moving because of Current Hardware Lifecycle Policy:
When a company moves its capabilities from their own service to the cloud, they will have to abandon some hardware investments, unless their premises server(s) possess the ability to be repurposed. However, abandoning hardware might still be a good option, taking into consideration the actual business case. But, if it is concluded that it is not beneficial, an alternative route would be required, i.e a plan for cloud migration, before the servers reach the end of their life.
Almost all businesses have a hardware lifecycle policy. Just to give you an example, IT hardware is effectively retired post 5 years. In this case, an organisation might have to plan to move to the cloud before the time ends. As it is not necessary that all the servers should be purchased at the same time, the retirement of the oldest critical server can be considered as the trigger point.
Moving based on Business Needs
Usually, the secondary or the alternative driver is based on the needs of the business itself. Other than that, the cloud adoption priorities should be based on the areas which provide them with the biggest benefits.
For example, priority should be given to areas where the users are able to show a business case for moving to cloud-based applications that require integration today. Also, priority should be given to the Merger and Acquisition activity which results in the need to consolidate different ERP systems. Rather than shifting a newly acquired business into SAP on-premise, the business case may be favoured by a straight-to-cloud approach.
Cloud migration is a very important function which every business has to do. Therefore, one needs to make sure that the process is done properly and good quality is maintained. With a lot of experience in the industry, we understand the needs of the businesses and know how you can deal with these problems.
If you wish to move your business from SAP into the cloud or have any queries about the same, get in touch with our experts to get a solution perfectly tailored for your business. Our world-class data migration system will help you migrate to the cloud easily. Take benefit of our DataKeeper software to protect and recover data in case of any unpleasant disaster. Shift your business to a High Availability environment with us and improve your business productivity substantially.