Streamlining Cloud Migration with AWS's 3-Phase Approach and GTS's Expertise

Businesses are motivated to migrate to the cloud for various reasons, including reducing time to market, optimizing costs, modernizing technology, facilitating access to international markets, securing IT, attracting new talent, and controlling the migration schedule. With AWS as a partner and GTS as an implementation expert, these migrations bring even more gains like reviewing application portfolios, infrastructures, skills, and industrializing deployments, ensuring a seamless and successful cloud migration.

Preparing for a Successful Cloud Migration: Key Steps to Take

Migrating to the cloud is a big step for any organization and requires careful planning and preparation to ensure a smooth transition. GTS's implementation process provides a structured approach to cloud migration, ensuring that all necessary steps are taken before migration.

Here are some key steps to take before migrating to the cloud:

• Assess your current infrastructure: Before you move to the cloud, it's important to understand your current infrastructure and how it will impact the migration process. This includes evaluating your hardware, software, and data storage requirements.
  

• Define your goals and requirements: Clearly defining your goals and requirements will help you make informed decisions about which services to use. This may include considerations such as security, scalability, and cost.
  

• Plan for security and compliance: Security and compliance are critical concerns when moving to the cloud. Make sure you understand the security and compliance requirements for your industry and plan for these in advance. This may include implementing encryption, using secure access methods, and adhering to regulations such as GDPR.

• Prepare for data migration: Migrating data to the cloud can be complex and time-consuming. Start planning for data migration as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition. This may include cleaning up old or unnecessary data, testing migration tools, and developing a rollback plan in case of problems.

By taking these steps before migrating to the cloud, you can ensure that the process is smooth, secure, and successful. The benefits of moving to the cloud, including increased scalability, improved efficiency, and reduced costs, are well worth the effort.

Essential Components for a Successful Cloud Migration

• Treating the migration project as a strategic business project with high-level sponsorship and aligned objectives with the company’s overall strategy, is crucial for success. GTS recommends involving stakeholders and decision-makers from the beginning to ensure clear objectives and goals.
  

• Focusing on the human factor, including engagement, training, and retention of key personnel, and implementing effective communication and collaboration mechanisms, is vital to ensure a successful migration. GTS suggests a comprehensive training program to build in-house cloud expertise and a clear communication plan to keep all stakeholders informed.
  

• Ensuring that the foundational components, such as the landing zone, security services, and shared infrastructure, are ready before the migration begins is critical to a successful migration. GTS recommends performing a thorough security assessment and implementing best practices for secure cloud infrastructure.

• Automating as many tasks as possible, from analyzing the application portfolio to the deployment of applications and data transfer, can significantly reduce migration time and increase efficiency. GTS suggests leveraging automation tools and scripting to streamline the migration process.

• Implementing effective program/project management, including the aggregation of migration schedules, KPIs for risk identification, and project control panels for decision-making, is key to ensuring a successful migration. GTS recommends using a project management framework, such as Agile or Waterfall, to streamline the migration process and ensure timely delivery.

A 3-Phase Approach to Successful Cloud Migration

The process of migrating to the cloud involves three main phases: Assessment, Mobilization, and Migration & Modernization. The steps in each phase are designed to help organizations smoothly transition their infrastructure and operations to the cloud.

During the Assessment phase, the current situation is evaluated to understand the infrastructure and determine the steps required to move to the cloud. This phase includes identifying the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), budget, and human resources required for migration.

In the Mobilization phase, the gaps identified in the assessment phase are addressed, pilot applications are tested, and teams are assembled. This phase lays the foundation for a successful migration by making sure all necessary preparations have been made.

The Migration and Modernization phase is the final phase, where the planning is executed through the application of methodology and governance. The actual migration takes place on a large scale over a period of 1-3 years, allowing for a phased and controlled transition to the cloud.

Let’s delve into the detailed process:

Phase 1: Assessment

The first phase of the migration process is the assessment phase. It is an inventory and analysis of the current situation, typically lasting 1 to 3 months. The goal of this phase is to determine the organization's ability to perform a migration to the cloud and address the following key areas:

• Identifying the total cost of ownership on the cloud and ensuring that it meets the migration requirements.
• Confirming the budget and human resources needed for migration.
• Identifying the migration readiness by assessing the cloud platform's ability to host applications, security solutions and processes, cloud financial management, the skills of the teams, and the organization's governance.
• Confirming the sponsorship of the company's management.

Phase 2: Mobilization

The second phase, mobilization, typically lasts between 3 to 9 months. During this phase, the team bridges any gaps identified during the assessment phase and practices with a few pilot applications. This phase involves several projects such as:

• Detailed analysis of the application portfolio to identify the scope and schedule of migration.
• Implementation of the methodology, tools, KPIs, and governance required for migration.
• Designing the target operational model.
• Skills progression, community building, and communication plan.
• Managing all the projects and dependencies between them.

Phase 3: Migration and Modernization

The final phase of the migration process is the migration and modernization phase, which takes place over a period of 1 to 3 years. This phase involves the implementation of the methodology and governance, the migration of the applications, and the modernizing of the infrastructure.

This phase requires a solid plan and the resources necessary to ensure a smooth and successful migration. Key activities during this phase include:

• Implementation of the methodology and governance developed in the mobilization phase.
• Execution of the migration plan, including the transfer of data and applications to the cloud platform.
• Automation of migration tasks, such as the deployment of applications, to improve efficiency and reduce manual errors.
• Monitoring and management of migration progress, including risk identification and resolution.
• Regular review and adjustment of the migration plan based on progress, results, and feedback.
• Modernization of the infrastructure, including the upgrade of technology and systems.
• Integration of new technologies and solutions to enhance the performance and capabilities of the cloud platform.
• Continuously refining the operational model and governance to meet the changing needs of the organization.

Conclusion:

Migrating to the cloud is a complex process that requires careful planning and preparation. The 3-phase approach, consisting of Assessment, Mobilization, and Migration and Modernization, helps organizations to successfully move to the cloud and reap its many benefits, such as increased scalability, improved efficiency, and reduced costs.

GTS, as your implementation partner, brings its expertise and successful track record in cloud migrations to the table. By working with us to assess your current infrastructure, define your goals and requirements, and prepare for data migration, you can ensure a smooth and successful cloud migration.

Don't hesitate to reach out to us today to learn more about our cloud migration services and how we can help you make a seamless transition to the cloud. Let's partner together to fully unlock the potential of the cloud for your organization.