Cloud Migration Challenges Businesses Face Today

The cloud has the potential to provide a more flexible business with lower costs and improved performance. This journey, however, is not without its difficulties; as many enterprises are discovering, there are several hurdles along the way when planning for a move to the cloud, as well as when operating within the new cloud environment. At V Group, we work with businesses daily who are trying to realize all of the benefits of the cloud while also needing guidance through the cloud migration process so that it can be completed seamlessly, securely, and with maximum predictability.

This blog will cover the major challenges that need to be addressed before entering into a cloud migration project and outline why they are important, and provide practical tips for how you can overcome those challenges before beginning a migration. 

1. Lack of a Clear Cloud Strategy

One of the biggest cloud migration challenges is starting without a defined plan. Many organizations begin the move but realize midway that their goals, timelines, or workloads are unclear. Without a strategy, teams face delays, unexpected costs, and confused priorities.

A strong roadmap helps your business decide what to migrate first, how to handle dependencies, and what success should look like. This is one of the most overlooked challenges in cloud migration and one that proper planning can fix early.

2. Complex Cloud Data Migration Challenges

Data is the backbone of your organisation, The challenges around Cloud Data Migration include:

• Transferring large volumes of data that take significant time to transfer
• Legacy systems using outdated formats to store data
• Risk of downtime or data loss during data migration
• Performance degradation occurs while the applications have to sync up or reconfigure

Any small issue with a cloud data migration can have negative ramifications for your operations, which is why a detailed Cloud Migration Plan, accompanied by appropriate backups and thorough testing, is critical. By addressing these Cloud Data Migration Challenges in advance, you’re minimizing risks and increasing the confidence level of your employees to make the transition successfully.

3. Security and Compliance Risks

Of all the challenges associated with Cloud Migrations, security is one of the most challenging and sensitive issues. Common issues with security during a Cloud Migration include:

• Incorrectly configured settings
• Limited visibility during the migration
• Compliance requirements that must remain intact
• Concerns related to shared responsibilities in the cloud

Every layer of your environment must be protected during a cloud migration, which includes after the migration. Security issues rank high when discussing challenges to cloud migration. However, governance, encryption, and access controls are very effective at maintaining compliance and reducing risk.

4. Managing Costs During Migration

Organizations typically experience unexpected costs because they:

• Underestimate how much it costs to transfer data
• Run both cloud and on-premise resources concurrently
• Select cloud services that do not fit the workload they intend to run on the cloud

Cost management is one of the biggest challenges when embarking on cloud migration. Fortunately, organizations can align their cloud migration costs with their goals and avoid overspending if they have proper guidance and visibility.

5. Application Compatibility Issues

Not all applications are compatible with the cloud. Many applications may require updates, refactoring, or a complete redesign before they can be moved to a cloud environment because they will have compatibility issues. This can delay the project timeline and create some of the most difficult challenges in cloud migration – without testing early enough, organizations could hit these issues late in the project lifecycle, requiring additional time and resources to overcome them.

6. Skill Gaps Within IT Teams

The cloud can be an incredible opportunity for companies to innovate and be more productive; however, for most companies, moving to the cloud will require new processes, methods, and/or tools. 

There may be some skill gaps with your team, which will slow down your ability to manage your cloud environment efficiently. This is a significant challenge of cloud migration, and the solutions to address this can include:

• Partnering with Cloud Experts
• Training Internal Teams
• Using Managed Services

With the right support, any organization can increase its level of confidence as it expands its capabilities.

7. Downtime and Business Disruption

Downtime may have a greater impact on a business than other forms of disruption; however, even a couple of minutes of downtime can erode customer relationships and reduce internal productivity. Many of the top cloud data migration challenges are associated with interruptions during database synchronizations or during data transfers.

To reduce the risk of interruptions during cutover, develop a backup plan and test your cutover environment so you are able to minimize unexpected disruptions.

8. Post-Migration Optimization

After you migrate your workloads to the cloud, that is not the end of the migration process. Your organization must ensure all workloads run optimally in the new environment.

• Post-migration optimization includes:
• Monitoring
• Cost Optimization
• Security Patch Updates
• Performance Enhancements

The post-migration optimization phase is one of the least recognized challenges of cloud migration and is also one of the most important. Without proper optimization, your organization will not receive the true value of using the cloud in the long term.

At V Group, we help businesses move, manage, and scale their cloud infrastructure with minimal disruption.

Final Thoughts

Using the power of a cloud computing solution can be of immense benefit to a business, but there are many challenges associated with cloud migration. By identifying these challenges before migrating to the cloud, businesses will be able to plan thoroughly to minimize risks, which will enable them to create a positive user experience and a seamless implementation of the solution. 
Contact V Group today; we have guided organizations from strategy development to finding ways of addressing the challenges of migrating to the cloud, including how to optimize the cloud once migration is complete.

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