Cloud Migration and Maturity: A Framework to Data Freedom

Cloud migration has become a critical component for organizations aiming to achieve operational efficiency, scalability, and competitive advantage. As businesses increasingly adopt cloud solutions, understanding the intricacies of cloud migration and the strategies required to ensure a successful transition is essential. This blog provides a comprehensive framework for cloud migration and maturity, outlining the steps, strategies, and best practices that can help organizations securely migrate their data while ensuring resiliency and compliance.

Cloud migration is not a one-size-fits-all process. It involves careful planning, thorough assessment, and strategic execution to align with an organization’s specific needs and goals. This guide delves into the different aspects of cloud migration, including the evolution of cloud realities, detailed migration paths, shared security responsibilities, and methods to build resiliency in the cloud. By understanding these key elements, businesses can make informed decisions and leverage the full potential of cloud technologies to drive their growth and innovation.

Ready to embark on your cloud migration journey? Let’s dive into the essential components that will guide you towards achieving data freedom in the cloud.

Understanding Cloud Realities (2020-2026)

The IT infrastructure landscape infrastructure has seen a significant shift over the past few years towards cloud adoption. Understanding the evolution of the cloud from 2020 to the anticipated trends in 2026 is important for organizations planning their cloud migration strategy.

Trends in Server Formats

Between 2020 and 2026, businesses have progressively moved away from relying heavily on physical servers within their data centers. Instead, there has been an increasing adoption of virtual machines (VMs) hosted within data centers and by hyperscale service providers. This shift is driven by the need for greater flexibility, scalability, and cost efficiency.

• 2020: A significant percentage of organizations still relied on physical servers. Virtual machines hosted within data centers and by service providers were on the rise.
• 2021-2023: The transition became more pronounced, with many businesses reducing their dependence on physical servers in favor of virtualized environments.
• 2024-2026: The anticipated trends suggest a continued decline in the use of physical servers, with a substantial increase in VMs hosted by hyperscale service providers, highlighting the shift towards a multi-cloud strategy.

Key Statistics:

• In 2020, approximately 47% of servers were physical, 29% were VMs on hosts within data centers, and 24% were hosted VMs.
• By 2023, these numbers had shifted to 32% physical servers, 25% VMs on hosts, and 43% hosted VMs.
• The forecast for 2026 anticipates only 26% physical servers, with 23% VMs on hosts, and a significant 51% hosted VMs.

Implications for Cloud Migration

These trends underscore the growing preference for cloud-based solutions due to their ability to offer scalable, on-demand resources and reduce the overhead associated with maintaining physical infrastructure. As more organizations embrace multi-cloud environments, the need for robust migration strategies becomes even more apparent.

Understanding these trends helps businesses prepare for the future, ensuring that their IT infrastructure is aligned with industry standards and ready to take advantage of the latest technological advancements. By staying ahead of these trends, organizations can enhance their operational efficiency and remain competitive in a rapidly changing market.

Key Takeaways:

• The shift from physical servers to virtual and hosted VMs reflects the need for more flexible and scalable IT solutions.
• Anticipating these trends can help organizations plan their cloud migration strategy effectively.
• Embracing multi-cloud environments offers numerous benefits, including improved resource management and cost efficiency.

Migrate & Modernize Playbook

A successful cloud migration requires a structured approach that encompasses careful planning, assessment, and execution. Following these steps serves as a strategic guide to help organizations navigate the complexities of cloud migration. This playbook outlines a comprehensive process, from initial discovery and assessment to the final validation and transition phases.

Discovery and Assessment

The first step in the cloud migration process is to thoroughly understand the existing IT landscape. This involves identifying all applications, data, and workloads within the organization and assessing their suitability for migration. Key activities in this phase include:

• Inventory assessment: Create a detailed inventory of all applications, servers, and databases. Understand the dependencies and interconnections between different components.
• Prioritization: Determine which applications and workloads are critical to the business and prioritize them for migration. Consider factors such as performance requirements, compliance needs, and potential cost savings.
• Cost analysis: Evaluate the costs associated with migrating each application to the cloud. This includes both one-time migration costs and ongoing operational expenses.

Production and Migration Path Determination

Once the discovery and assessment phase is complete, the next step is to establish a clear migration path for each application or workload. This involves deciding the most appropriate migration strategy based on the specific needs and characteristics of the application. The main migration paths include:

1. Retire: Decommission applications that are no longer needed or have become obsolete.
2. Retain: Keep legacy applications that are still valuable and running efficiently on their current infrastructure.
3. Repurchase: Replace existing applications with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software or SaaS solutions.
4. Rehost: Move applications to cloud infrastructure without significant changes, also known as “lift-and-shift.”
5. Replatform: Modify applications slightly to take advantage of cloud-native features while maintaining core functionality.
6. Refactor: Re-architect applications to fully leverage cloud capabilities, which may involve substantial changes to the codebase and architecture.

Validation and Transition

After determining the migration path, the next phase is to validate and transition the applications to the cloud. This phase ensures that the migrated applications function correctly in the new environment and that all necessary configurations and optimizations are in place. Key activities in this phase include:

• Testing: Conduct thorough testing to verify that applications perform as expected in the cloud environment. This includes functional testing, performance testing, and security testing.
• Optimization: Fine-tune applications to optimize performance and cost-efficiency in the cloud. This may involve adjusting resource allocation, leveraging cloud-native services, and implementing best practices for cloud operations.
• Training and support: Provide training for IT staff and end-users to ensure they are familiar with the new cloud environment and can effectively manage and use the migrated applications.

Strategic Approach

A strategic approach to migration ensures that the process is systematic, minimizes risks, and maximizes the benefits of cloud adoption. Organizations can achieve a smooth transition to the cloud, enhance their IT capabilities, and position themselves for future growth by following this playbook.

Key Takeaways:

• A structured migration process involves thorough discovery, clear path determination, and careful validation.
• Different migration paths should be chosen based on the specific needs and characteristics of each application.
• Successful migration requires thorough testing, optimization, and support to ensure seamless operation in the cloud.

Exploring Migration Paths

Choosing the right migration path is crucial for the success of your cloud migration strategy. Each application or workload within your organization may have different requirements and constraints, necessitating a tailored approach. Here, we explore five primary migration paths: Retire, Retain, Repurchase, Rehost, Replatform, and Refactor.

Path 1: Retire or Retain

Retire:

• When to use: This path is suitable for applications that are outdated, redundant, or no longer provide value to the organization.
• Benefits: Reducing unnecessary complexity and costs associated with maintaining obsolete applications.
• Actions: Conduct a thorough evaluation to identify applications that can be decommissioned. Ensure data is archived or migrated as needed before retiring the application.

Retain:

• When to use: This path is ideal for legacy applications that are still critical to business operations and perform well in their current environment.
• Benefits: Maintaining stability and avoiding the risks and costs associated with migrating complex legacy systems.
• Actions: Continue to monitor and maintain these applications, ensuring they remain secure and compliant.

Path 2: Repurchase

Repurchase:

• When to use: Applicable when it makes more sense to replace existing applications with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software or SaaS solutions.
• Benefits: Reduces the burden of managing and maintaining software, often leading to enhanced functionality and scalability.
• Examples: Migrating from an on-premises CRM system to a cloud-based CRM like Salesforce.
• Actions: Evaluate potential COTS or SaaS solutions, plan the data migration, and train users on the new platform.

Path 3: Rehost

Rehost:

• When to use: Known as “lift-and-shift,” this path is suitable for applications that can be moved to the cloud with minimal changes.
• Benefits: Quick and straightforward migration process, often used as an initial step before further optimization.
• Examples: Moving VMs from on-premises to AWS EC2 or Azure VMs.
• Actions: Use migration tools to automate the transfer of applications to the cloud. Ensure configurations are adjusted for the new environment.

Path 4: Replatform

Replatform:

• When to Use: Appropriate for applications that require some modifications to optimize them for cloud environments without changing the core architecture.
• Benefits: Improved performance and scalability by leveraging cloud-native features while keeping core functionality intact.
• Examples: Moving databases to managed services like Amazon RDS or Azure SQL.
• Actions: Modify the application to utilize cloud-native services, conduct testing, and optimize performance.

Path 5: Refactor

Refactor:

• When to Use: Best for applications that need to be re-architected to fully leverage cloud capabilities. This often involves significant changes to the codebase.
• Benefits: Maximum optimization for the cloud, leading to enhanced performance, scalability, and cost-efficiency.
• Examples: Rewriting an application to use microservices architecture with Kubernetes (EKS, AKS) or serverless functions.
• Actions: Redesign the application architecture, rewrite code as necessary, perform extensive testing, and implement CI/CD pipelines for continuous improvement.

Key Takeaways:

• Selecting the right migration path is crucial for aligning your cloud strategy with your business goals and application requirements.
• Each path offers unique benefits and requires specific actions to ensure a smooth and effective migration.
• Thorough assessment and strategic planning are essential to determine the most appropriate path for each application or workload.

Security Responsibilities in the Cloud

When migrating to the cloud, understanding and managing security responsibilities is critical to protecting your data and applications. Cloud security is a shared responsibility between the cloud provider and the customer, and recognizing the distinct roles each party plays is essential for maintaining a secure cloud environment.

Shared Responsibility Model

The shared responsibility model delineates the division of security tasks between the cloud provider and the customer. This model ensures that all aspects of cloud security are covered without overlap or gaps.

Cloud Provider Responsibilities:

• Infrastructure security: The cloud provider is responsible for securing the physical infrastructure, including hardware, software, networking, and facilities. This includes managing the security of data centers and ensuring that the global infrastructure is resilient against physical and cyber threats.
• Service availability: Providers ensure that their services are available and resilient, including managing server uptime, redundancy, and disaster recovery capabilities.
• Compliance: Cloud providers must comply with various industry standards and regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO certifications, ensuring that their infrastructure meets rigorous security and privacy requirements.

Customer Responsibilities:

• Data security: Customers are responsible for securing their data within the cloud. This includes encryption, access controls, and ensuring data integrity and confidentiality.
• Application security: Protecting applications hosted in the cloud involves implementing security measures such as regular updates, patch management, and secure coding practices.
• Identity and Access Management (IAM): Managing user access and permissions is critical. Customers must implement robust IAM policies, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), role-based access control (RBAC), and regular auditing of access logs.
• Network security: Customers must configure their cloud network settings to protect against unauthorized access and attacks. This includes setting up firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and secure VPN connections.

Key Security Practices

1. Encryption:

• Data at rest: Encrypting stored data ensures that it remains secure even if accessed by unauthorized users. Utilize encryption services provided by the cloud provider, such as AWS Key Management Service (KMS) or Azure Key Vault.
• Data in transit: Secure data transmitted between cloud services and users using SSL/TLS protocols to protect against eavesdropping and interception.

2. Regular Audits and Monitoring:

• Continuous monitoring: Implement continuous monitoring tools to track activities and detect anomalies in real-time. Use services like AWS CloudTrail or Azure Monitor for comprehensive oversight.
• Regular audits: Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and mitigate potential risks.

3. Incident Response Planning:

• Prepare for incidents: Develop and maintain an incident response plan to address potential security breaches or disruptions. This plan should include procedures for detection, containment, eradication, and recovery.
• Simulate scenarios: Regularly test the incident response plan with simulated scenarios to ensure readiness and identify areas for improvement.

4. Compliance Management:

• Adhere to standards: Ensure that your cloud environment complies with relevant industry standards and regulations. Utilize compliance management tools provided by your cloud provider to streamline this process.
• Documentation: Maintain thorough documentation of your security policies, procedures, and compliance efforts to demonstrate adherence and facilitate audits.

Key Takeaways:

• Security in the cloud is a shared responsibility, with distinct roles for the cloud provider and the customer.
• Customers must implement robust security measures for data, applications, identity and access management, and network configurations.
• Regular audits, continuous monitoring, and a well-prepared incident response plan are essential for maintaining a secure cloud environment.

Building Resiliency in the Cloud

Resiliency is a fundamental aspect of cloud architecture, ensuring that your applications and data can withstand and quickly recover from disruptions. Building resiliency involves implementing strategies and best practices that prepare your cloud environment to handle failures, cyberthreats, and high-demand scenarios effectively. Here are key strategies to enhance resiliency in your cloud infrastructure.

Importance of the 3-2-1 Rule

The 3-2-1 rule is a timeless strategy for ensuring data resiliency. It dictates that you should have three copies of your data, stored on two different media types, with one copy off-site. This rule applies equally to cloud environments and is crucial for protecting your data against loss or corruption.

Implementation in the Cloud:

• Three Copies of Data: Maintain the primary data and two backups. For example, store one copy in the primary cloud region, another in a different region, and a third in an entirely separate backup service.
• Two Different Media Types: Utilize different storage solutions such as object storage (e.g., Amazon S3) and block storage (e.g., AWS EBS).
• One Off-site Copy: Ensure one copy is stored offsite, which in the cloud context means using a different geographical region or a separate cloud provider.

Logical Air Gap

In a cyberthreat-rich world, you must have a logical air gap between your production and backup environments. Unlike physical air gaps, a logical air gap leverages separate accounts or subscriptions to isolate backups from production environments.

Best Practices:

• Dedicated backup accounts: Use dedicated cloud accounts or subscriptions exclusively for backups. This separation minimizes the risk of a compromised production account affecting backups.
• Automated backup solutions: Implement automated backup solutions that regularly replicate data to the isolated backup environment.
• Access control: Strictly control and monitor access to the backup accounts, ensuring only authorized personnel have access.

Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP)

The Principle of Least Privilege is a core tenet of zero-trust security strategies. It involves granting users, applications, and services the minimum permissions necessary to perform their roles, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and potential damage from compromised accounts.

Best Practices:

• Granular IAM permissions: Define and apply granular Identity and Access Management (IAM) permissions to limit access based on specific roles and responsibilities.
• Routine auditing: Regularly audit permissions and roles to ensure compliance with the PoLP. Remove unnecessary permissions promptly.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enable MFA to add an extra layer of security for accessing critical systems and data.

Immutability

As cyberthreats evolve, you should ensure that backups are immutable — that is, they cannot be altered or deleted — in order to recover them. Placing backups in a Write Once, Read Many (WORM) state protects them from ransomware and other malicious activities.

Best Practices:

• Retention policies: Define and enforce retention policies that specify how long backups should be kept and protected.
• Object Lock: Use object lock features provided by cloud storage services, such as Amazon S3 Object Lock, to make backups immutable for a specified period.
• Regular testing: Regularly test your backups to ensure they are immutable and can be restored successfully.

Encryption

Data encryption is vital for protecting sensitive information both in transit and at rest. Using encryption effectively mitigates the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.

Best Practices:

• Data at rest: Encrypt all data stored in the cloud using strong encryption algorithms and managed encryption keys.
• Data in transit: Ensure that data being transferred between systems and users is encrypted using secure protocols like SSL/TLS.
• Key management: Utilize key management services, such as AWS KMS or Azure Key Vault, to manage encryption keys securely. Enable key rotation and scheduled deletion to maintain security hygiene.

Key Takeaways:

• Implement the 3-2-1 rule, logical air gaps, and PoLP are to build resiliency.
• Ensure data immutability and robust encryption to protect against evolving cyberthreats.
• Regularly test and audit to maintain a resilient and secure cloud environment.

Case Studies and Real-World Applications

To truly understand the impact and benefits of a structured cloud migration strategy, it’s helpful to look at real-world examples of businesses that have successfully navigated this journey. Below are case studies highlighting how organizations have leveraged cloud migration and modernization frameworks to enhance their operations.

Case Study 1: Financial Services Company

Overview: A leading financial services company faced challenges with its on-premises infrastructure, which was becoming increasingly costly and difficult to manage. The company needed to enhance its scalability and reduce operational costs while ensuring high levels of data security and compliance.

Migration Path:

• Rehost and replatform: The company opted for a combination of rehosting and replatforming. Critical financial applications were moved to AWS EC2 instances (rehosting), while databases were migrated to Amazon RDS (replatforming) to leverage managed database services.

Outcomes:

• Scalability: The move to AWS enabled the company to scale its infrastructure on-demand, accommodating peak loads without over-provisioning resources.
• Cost savings: By eliminating the need for physical hardware and leveraging AWS’s pay-as-you-go model, the company reduced its IT operational costs by 30%.
• Enhanced security: Utilizing AWS’s advanced security features, including IAM, encryption, and compliance tools, the company ensured robust data protection and regulatory compliance.

Case Study 2: E-Commerce Retailer

Overview: An e-commerce retailer experiencing rapid growth needed to ensure that its IT infrastructure could handle increased traffic and transactions, particularly during peak shopping seasons. The existing on-premises setup was not flexible enough to scale quickly, leading to performance issues.

Migration Path:

• Refactor: The retailer chose to refactor its core e-commerce platform, transitioning to a microservices architecture using Kubernetes (EKS) and serverless functions (AWS Lambda).

Outcomes:

• Improved performance: The refactored architecture provided better resource management and reduced latency, enhancing the customer shopping experience.
• Flexibility: The microservices approach allowed the retailer to develop, deploy, and scale individual components independently, improving agility and response times to market changes.
• Cost efficiency: The serverless model reduced the need for constant server management, leading to significant cost savings, particularly during off-peak times.

Case Study 3: Healthcare Provider

Overview: A healthcare provider needed to modernize its IT infrastructure to support electronic health records (EHR) and ensure data security and compliance with health regulations like HIPAA.

Migration Path:

• Replatform and repurchase: The provider migrated its EHR system to a cloud-based solution using Azure SQL for database management (replatforming) and adopted SaaS applications for patient management (repurchase).

Outcomes:

• Compliance: Azure’s compliance certifications and tools helped the provider meet stringent health data regulations effortlessly.
• Data security: Advanced encryption and IAM features ensured that patient data remained secure and accessible only to authorized personnel.
• Operational efficiency: The cloud-based EHR system improved data access and sharing across different departments, enhancing patient care and operational workflows.

Case Study 4: Manufacturing Firm

Overview: A manufacturing firm needed to modernize its legacy applications to improve operational efficiency and integrate with modern IoT devices for real-time monitoring and analytics.

Migration Path:

• Rehost and refactor: The firm rehosted its legacy applications on Google Cloud VMs and refactored some parts to integrate with Google Cloud’s IoT services and data analytics tools.

Outcomes:

• Real-time analytics: Integration with IoT devices allowed real-time data collection and analysis, leading to proactive maintenance and reduced downtime.
• Operational improvements: The modernization efforts streamlined production processes, improving efficiency and reducing costs.
• Scalability: The firm could now scale its IT resources based on production needs, avoiding the limitations of the previous on-premises setup.

Key Takeaways:

• Real-world examples highlight the diverse strategies and benefits of cloud migration, including cost savings, scalability, enhanced security, and improved performance.
• Each organization’s unique needs dictate the specific migration path and approach, demonstrating the importance of a tailored migration strategy.
• Successful cloud migration and modernization can significantly transform business operations, leading to greater efficiency and competitive advantage.

Conclusion

Cloud migration is a transformative journey that requires careful planning, strategic execution, and ongoing management. By understanding the key components of cloud migration and maturity, organizations can effectively transition to the cloud while ensuring their data remains secure, resilient, and compliant.

Strategic planning is essential for a successful cloud migration. Organizations must assess their current IT landscape, prioritize applications for migration, and choose the appropriate migration paths. A well-thought-out strategy helps mitigate risks, manage costs, and ensure a seamless transition to the cloud.

Are you ready to take your organization’s IT infrastructure to the next level? Explore our comprehensive cloud migration solutions, including Veeam Backup for AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Watch a hybrid cloud demo today to see how Veeam can help you achieve data freedom in the cloud with robust data protection and seamless migration strategies.

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