Migrating Your Databases to the Cloud: Steps and Benefits

According to a series of studies conducted by Gartner, 75% of the databases will migrate to the cloud by 2022. Moving databases to the cloud enhance the flexibility and scalability of organizations, improved configuration of infrastructure and easy access to different varieties of database management systems.

Moving databases to the cloud is not as easy as it sounds. Most of the time, it requires downtime, reworking or adjusting the data schemas and refactoring applications. Before the database can be moved, all the data contained in it must be moved. Data migration is very risky. As Gartner reports, data migrations can exceed timelines and budgets or fail to work. But as the saying goes, with great risk comes great rewards.

Most organizations migrate their databases in an organized way. Well-Orchestrated data migration will minimize the risks associated with moving databases and applications. And this will greatly increase application performance, improve efficiency, response time, enhance security, streamline deployment processes, enhance data governance and allow enterprises to better comply with legislation acts.

Today we are going to discuss the steps involved in migrating your databases to the cloud so that you can minimize risks and the benefits of engaging in this process. Let’s start!

Requirements for Cloud Migration

Before migrating your databases or applications to the cloud, you should consider the following critical points:

Prepare your application to enhance the smooth migration of data to the cloud. People who don’t prepare their applications tend to have lots of issues while migrating.
Consider the cost of migration. If you don’t take your time to make proper plans, the process might lead to unnecessary wastages.
Know your preferences. You should ensure that the cloud will meet your business needs.
You’ll need skilled personnel to facilitate the migration of databases to the cloud. They’ll also be responsible for enhancing data security in the cloud.
Have a clear migration strategy in place. Developing a clear strategy will enhance the flexibility of the migration and help you meet your business requirements easily.

Steps for migrating to the cloud

Analyze your current data environment

Before initiating the process, you need to know what you are working with. This also includes the risks or challenges involved. According to custom essay writing, understanding the risks involved will help you come up with effective solutions in case they come up. Know the size of your databases so that you know how much storage you need after the migration process.

Also, analyze your applications to ensure that they are compatible with the cloud. Prioritize critical apps and databases. Figure out those that need to be left out for compliance reasons or because it will be expensive to move them.

Assess the skills of your team

Determine the areas where your team needs to develop and improve their skills and allocate time for this in your migration schedule. Ensure that your team can use the new cloud platform after the migration process. If you’ll be using a different type of database in the cloud, your team will most likely need to improve their skills in that area.

You need to assess your team’s current workload to ensure that they do not get overworked during the migration process because this can result in delays, low quality work and a lack of focus.

Use the right migration tools

According to essay writer, several effective tools will help you with the database migration. For instance, Alooma is an ETL tool that simplifies database migration processes by automating the most tedious task in the process. And that is transforming and normalizing data.

Alooma eliminates Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and detects errors quickly while moving databases to the cloud. When analyzing and testing migration tools, choose the ones that best fit the needs and skills of your team as well as your current conditions.

Deploy a proof of concept

By deploying a proof of concept, you’ll work through the risks and challenges that you identified before initiating the process. This enables you to know and eliminate underlying issues which greatly improves the chances of your success.

To get the best results, avoid using test apps. Instead, use a real application that fits with your organization so that you can easily analyze the flexibility and scalability of the cloud. Avoid using a very complex case or one with security or compliance issues.

Review and reclassify your data

Your organization needs to perform a review of all accumulated data and reclassify it before initiating the migration process. This ensures that the integrity of compliance controls and security is maintained.

Also, legal requirements can be held, retained and preserved safely. Review and reclassification processes will involve several business units comprised of both the legal and compliance teams. After the process is complete, you’ll update your IT policies to reflect the changes.

Rebuild the database schema

Before the migration process commences, your team requires to convert the current data schema to one that fits with your new database. This will involve writing scripts and creating tables for various functions such as database triggers and stored procedures.

Migrate and repair your data

The initial load could take a couple of days depending on your database’s size. During this process, the data will be transformed and repaired in case any errors affected. Once you load the data entirely, it will be assessed for completeness and accuracy. All issues should be addressed before data is moved to the cloud.

Migrate security settings and privileges

As witnessed by the epidemic of security breaches, cybersecurity is in most cases, an afterthought during database migration. It’s important to keep in mind that your cloud provider is responsible for the security of its cloud and your organization is responsible for the information it puts in it. Therefore, it’s important to duplicate all security settings and privileges in your new cloud immediately.

Benefits of migrating your databases to the cloud

Saves costs – since the cloud is more cost-effective, it means it will greatly reduce your overheads related to maintenance and software optimization. Your provider will pick up Most of the costs and this will ensure that your data is stored safely at reduced prices.
Scalability – For businesses that have data that is accessed regularly, the cloud will enable you to scale the database either up or down depending on its usage and demand.
Easy marketing time – Thanks to the cloud, you’ll have the ability to move new or existing applications directly to the market. When done offline, this process could take days or even weeks.
Reliability – The majority of cloud providers today offer 99.9% of reliability and consistency when it comes to storing data in the cloud. This means that customers can access their data easily and quickly with confidence.
Better work-life balance – It has given workers a better work-life balance because they can choose between going to the office and working from home. They can use their mobile phones, tablets or computers to access data in seconds.
Disaster recovery – With cloud-based backup and recovery options, it easy to recover data. This saves time, energy and money in the long run. The smaller the company, the more real and ideal these solutions are.
Environment-friendly – Cloud solutions have a low impact on the environment because it reduces the cost of services provided to customers. And this is important for small businesses that want to grow and expand.

Conclusion

Cloud migration is a process. Depending on the size of the organization, this process can take months to a year. The most important thing is to move your databases securely, accurately and efficiently to minimize disruptions and enjoy its benefits.