How Can You Migrate from On-Premise to the Cloud?

Your organization might rely on on-premise infrastructure housed within physical data centers and require manual maintenance. In contrast, cloud infrastructure is managed by third-party providers and provides scalable solutions over the Internet. It helps you store and process large-scale data with zero database administration.

To stay competitive, 58% of organizations surveyed plan to migrate more workloads to the cloud in 2024, up from 44% in 2023. Considering this trend, migrating from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud can enhance your organization’s operational efficiency. Although the migration can seem challenging, a well-planned strategy can make the process smooth and beneficial.

This article guides you through the strategies, procedures, tools, and best practices for effective data migration from on-premise to the cloud.

Benefits of Migrating from On-premise to Cloud

Migration from on-premise to cloud infrastructure offers various benefits that can significantly improve your organization's performance cost-effectively. Here are some of the key benefits:

Flexibility and Scalability

One of the key benefits of on-premise to cloud migration is its scalability. You can dynamically adjust resources based on real-time demand, avoiding over-provisioning. This ensures flexibility, allowing you to respond quickly to evolving business needs by scaling up during peak times or down during slower periods. 

Cost Savings

Cost savings are another crucial benefit of the migration from on-premise to cloud infrastructure. The pay-as-you-go model eliminates substantial upfront investments in hardware and reduces ongoing maintenance expenses. By only paying for the required resources, you can optimize your organization’s budget and allocate funds more effectively, enhancing overall financial efficiency.

Disaster Recovery

Migrating to cloud infrastructure significantly enhances disaster recovery capabilities. Cloud providers offer robust, automated backup solutions and quick data restoration, ensuring minimal downtime during a system failure. This improves business continuity and safeguards critical data, enabling swift recovery and uninterrupted operations.

Automatic Maintenance

Cloud providers handle updates, security patches, and system optimizations, ensuring your applications and data are always up-to-date and secure. This reduces your IT staff’s workload and minimizes the risk of system vulnerabilities, enhancing overall operational efficiency.

Improved Performance

Migrating to cloud infrastructure enhances your business performance by leveraging high-speed networks and advanced computing resources. Cloud platforms optimize application speed and reliability, providing a seamless user experience. This increases capacity and facilitates more efficient management of high-demand workloads.

Types of Cloud Migration Strategies

On-premise to cloud migration involves selecting the appropriate migration strategy according to your organization’s needs. Here are the primary types of cloud migration strategies:

Rehosting

Rehosting, also known as lift-and-shift or forklift migration, involves migrating applications from on-premises to an Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) cloud. While rehosting is easy to implement, it does not optimize the application’s architecture to fully utilize cloud-native features. It is suitable for low-impact on-premises workloads or as an initial step for migrating new on-premises to the cloud.

Replatforming

Replatforming, also known as lift, tinker, and shift, helps you make certain modifications to the application’s architecture while moving your applications to the cloud. It keeps some core elements intact while adapting to the new cloud infrastructure. Replatforming is appropriate for migrations from on-premises to IaaS and PaaS cloud environments.

Refactoring

Refactoring, also called rip and replace or redesign, involves optimizing the application’s architecture to fully leverage cloud-native features. Although initial cloud migration requires more time and cost, your cloud platform will operate efficiently in the long run. Refactoring would be the best choice if you plan to move many of your applications and workloads to the cloud.

Repurchasing

Repurchasing involves replacing your existing on-premises infrastructure with a new Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that meets your evolving business needs. This ensures improved performance, high scalability, and reduced maintenance overhead. Repurchasing is suitable for compromised applications or outdated legacy tools that are less effective than third-party SaaS alternatives.

Retiring

Retiring involves terminating or downsizing applications that are no longer beneficial in production. Its initial step toward adopting modern cloud deployments is retiring business workloads that operate on ineffective legacy software systems. Through this strategy, you can evaluate your IT infrastructure to identify and eliminate outdated and expensive systems.

How to Migrate from On-premise to the Cloud?

The following section highlights a few general steps you should follow for an on-premise to cloud migration:

Assess Your Current Environment

Conduct a comprehensive assessment of your existing on-premise infrastructure. Identify all applications, workloads, and data currently hosted on-premise and evaluate their performance, dependencies, and compatibility with cloud environments. This step is essential for understanding the migration scope and identifying potential challenges.

Define Your Cloud Migration Strategy

Once you understand your current environment, it's time to define a cloud migration strategy. A well-defined strategy ensures a systematic and efficient transition that aligns with your business goals and technical requirements.

Choose a Cloud Provider

Consider factors such as customer support, security measures, pricing models, and service offerings to choose the cloud provider that best matches your organization's needs.

Major cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), offer advanced cloud features to facilitate smooth migrations. They can also help you ensure data security and integrity throughout the data transfer.

Develop a Detailed Migration Plan

Develop a detailed migration strategy with the procedures, schedule, and resources needed to migrate from on-premise to the cloud. This strategy should highlight critical milestones, risk management methods, and roles and responsibilities. You must verify that the strategy is feasible and contains contingency for unexpected problems.

Prepare the Target Environment

Set up the target cloud environment according to your migration plan requirements. This involves configuring cloud resources, setting up network connectivity, and implementing necessary security measures. Ensure the destination environment is prepared to receive the transferred data and applications.

Migrate Data

Use data movement platforms like Airbyte to migrate data from on-premise to the cloud. This process may involve transferring large volumes of data, so ensure that data integrity and security are maintained throughout the transfer. Data migration can be done in phases to minimize downtime and disruption.

Conduct Thorough Testing of the Migrated Data

Once the data migration is complete, thorough testing is essential. This includes verifying all data is transferred successfully and accessible in the cloud environment. In addition, you must test the applications and workloads to ensure they function correctly and perform as expected.

Execute the Cutover from On-premise to Cloud

You should plan and execute the cutover, a simple migration type that allows you to move all data from on-premise to the cloud in one go. This can help minimize downtime and prevent operational disruptions.

Continuously Monitor the Performance

After the cutover, continuously monitor the performance of the migrated applications in the cloud infrastructure. Cloud-native monitoring tools like Amazon CloudWatch, Grafana, or AWS Image can be used to track resource usage, performance metrics, and security status. This ongoing monitoring helps ensure that the cloud infrastructure operates efficiently and allows for timely identification and resolution of any issues.

Tools You Can Use for On-premise to Cloud Migration

Here are a few tools that can effectively assist you in the migration process:

Airbyte ETL

Airbyte is a data integration and replication tool that simplifies data migration from on-premise systems to the cloud. It helps you focus on data transfer with zero infrastructure management. The platform offers an extensive library of 350+ pre-built connectors to streamline your cloud data migration process. If you cannot find a connector in the pre-built list, Airbyte offers a Customer Development Kit for creating customized connectors according to your business requirements.

Let’s look at a few other Airbyte Cloud features:

• Solution for Everyone: Airbyte provides a user-friendly interface that enables cross-team development of data pipelines effortlessly. In addition to the UI, it offers PyAirbyte, API, or Terraform Provider to build a custom data pipeline.
• ‍Change Data Capture: Airbyte allows you to capture the changes from the source system and replicate them into the target system. This ensures that your destination always has an updated copy of the source data.
• ‍Robust Transformation: Airbyte allows you to define and apply transformations to the data based on your needs using dbt or SQL scripts. This helps you get the data in a consistent format.
• ‍Automatic Connector Management: Airbyte connectors are designed to automatically manage with rolling upgrades, autoscaling, and automated schema propagation, ensuring seamless data transfer without manual intervention.
• ‍Predictable and Scalable Pricing: The platform offers a usage-based pricing model that differentiates costs based on your sources, allowing you to pay only for what you sync.
• ‍Dedicated Technical Support: Airbyte provides a dedicated technical support team across the US and Europe, ensuring your data pipelines are always running smoothly.

AWS Migration Services

AWS Migration Services provides a comprehensive suite of tools to assist you with migrating applications, databases, and other workloads to Amazon Web Services. These services include AWS Migration Hub, AWS Database Migration Service (DMS), and AWS Server Migration Service (SMS). The AWS migration tools help automate the migration process, reducing the complexity and time required to move to the cloud.

Azure Migrate

Azure Migrate is a centralized hub provided by Microsoft Azure for managing and executing cloud migrations. It offers tools for assessing, migrating, and modernizing on-premise applications, infrastructure, and data. Azure Migrate supports migrations from sources like servers, databases, web applications, and virtual desktops to the Azure cloud.

Google Cloud Migration Tools

Google Cloud offers numerous migration tools to transfer virtual machines, databases, and other workloads from on-premise environments to Google Cloud Platform (GCP). These tools include Google Cloud Migrate for Compute Engine, Google Cloud Database Migration Service, and Velostrata.

On-premise to Cloud Migration Best Practices

Take a look at a few best practices to ensure an efficient data migration from on-premise to cloud infrastructure:

Assess and Plan

Conduct an extensive assessment of your on-premise infrastructure and build a precise migration plan. You must determine which applications and datasets need to be moved, as well as estimate the required time and resources.

Prioritize Security and Compliance

You should maintain data security and regulatory compliance throughout the migration process. This involves implementing encryption for data at rest and in transit, establishing access controls, and choosing a cloud provider that meets your compliance needs.

Choose the Right Provider

Choose a cloud provider that meets your business's needs and budget while providing essential support and services. Consider factors such as service stability, scalability, regulatory compliance, and customer support.

Implement Data Cleansing and Transformation

Performing data cleansing before migration helps reduce redundant or obsolete data, ensuring only high-quality data is moved to the cloud. Data transformation also ensures compatibility with the cloud environment.

Continuously Monitor

During the cloud migration, you must continuously monitor system performance and regularly review your security and compliance standards. It helps you quickly detect and address issues, ensuring a secure transition to the cloud.

Challenges in Migrating from On-premise to Cloud

Here are a few challenges that your organization must address to ensure a smooth on-premises to cloud migration:

Lack of Planning

Lack of cloud migration planning can lead to numerous issues during the migration process. You must abide by your migration plan, assess your existing infrastructure, and clearly define the time and resources needed.

Migrating Complex Infrastructures

Complex infrastructures with various interconnected applications can be difficult to migrate. To avoid disruptions, you must carefully map and manage these applications during data transfer. Through schema management, you can ensure all components function correctly in the new environment.

Ensuring Data Consistency and Synchronization

Maintaining data consistency and synchronization during migration is crucial to avoid data loss or corruption. Implementing robust data migration strategies and tools can help achieve this.

Compatibility Issues

Applications and other software systems may not be fully optimized for the cloud environment. Custom transformations are necessary to ensure compatibility after the migration.

Security and Compliance Issues

Migrating to the cloud involves significant security and compliance challenges. Your organization must ensure that your cloud provider complies with relevant regulations and implements strong security measures, like role-based access controls or SSH tunneling.

Cost Management

Managing costs during and after migration can be challenging. Without careful monitoring and optimization, cloud expenses can quickly escalate, potentially offsetting the benefits of the migration.

A Few of the Best Cloud Storage Solutions You Can Consider

Here are a few of the best cloud storage solutions to consider, each offering unique benefits to meet your business needs:

AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the commonly used cloud computing solution that provides more than 200 fully managed services. AWS also provides various robust, secure cloud storage solutions, including Amazon S3, Amazon EBS, and Amazon EFS. You can utilize these storage services to transform your business, improve scalability and availability, reduce cost, and drive innovation.

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is another cloud solution that offers Azure Blob Storage, a highly scalable and secure storage solution. Blob Storage supports various storage tiers, allowing cost optimization based on access frequency. Azure's strong integration with Microsoft's ecosystem makes it ideal for enterprises using Microsoft products.

Google Cloud Storage

Google Cloud Storage is a scalable, unified object storage solution offered by GCP that has excellent performance and availability. Cloud Storage provides lower-cost storage classes, nearline archive storage options, and highly durable backup storage to meet different business needs. After storing your data in Cloud Storage, you can utilize Google Cloud’s top analytics and ML/AI tools.

When Should You Move from On-premise to Cloud?

Here are key considerations for when you should and should not move to the cloud:

When Should You Migrate?

• Migrate to the cloud when you need increased scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency for your data operations.
• If you prioritize enhancing disaster recovery, improving remote accessibility, or reducing hardware maintenance burdens, you must consider migrating.
• Decide to migrate when you want to accelerate deployment times and leverage advanced cloud services for analytics, AI, and machine learning. 

When Should You Not Migrate?

• Avoid cloud migration if network delays could affect your application’s low-latency, real-time processing needs.
• Staying on-premise might be more beneficial if your organization has strict compliance requirements that cloud providers cannot meet.
• Postpone migration if the costs outweigh the benefits or if your current infrastructure meets your needs. 

Few On-premise to Cloud Migration Case Studies

Take a look at a few case studies of organizations that are successful in on-premises to cloud migration.

1. Capital One

Capital One, the first U.S. bank, migrated its on-premises infrastructure to the AWS cloud. By moving to the cloud, the bank gains access to virtually limitless compute and storage resources on demand and on a pay-per-use model. This migration allowed the bank to manage large-scale data and perform complex data analytics, helping them deliver better customer experiences.

2. GE (General Electric)

GE and Microsoft announced a partnership to bring GE’s Predix platform for the Industrial Internet to the Azure cloud. By integrating Predix with Azure, GE customers could access enhanced capabilities, including natural language technology, AI, IoT, and advanced data visualization. This move reduced IT overhead, provided valuable data insights, and improved operational efficiency.

3. Spotify

Spotify migrated online services, data processing directed acyclic graphs, and daily job executions from its data centers to the Google Cloud. Spotify’s customers listen to billions of music and podcasts daily, utilizing Google Cloud’s global network. This transition ensured uninterrupted service and enhanced the user experience with personalized music recommendations.

Key Takeaways

On-premise to cloud migration offers several benefits, such as enhanced scalability, cost efficiency, improved security, and greater flexibility. For a successful migration, evaluate your current environment, follow the cloud migration strategies, and choose the right cloud provider.

FAQs

How long does it take to migrate from on-premise to cloud?

The time it takes to migrate from on-premise to cloud varies depending on the complexity and size of your IT infrastructure. Thorough planning, resource allocation, and testing are crucial to determining the accurate duration.

How can Airbyte help with cloud migrations?

Airbyte simplifies cloud migrations by offering robust features that ensure efficient and secure data movement. These features include an extensive library of 350 connectors, custom connector development, incremental synchronization, and automated schema propagation. Additionally, it offers comprehensive security features and technical support to maintain data integrity throughout the cloud migration.

Which is best, on-premise vs. cloud?

The best choice between on-premise and cloud computing depends on your business needs. On-premise offers more control and compliance, while the cloud provides scalability and cost efficiency.