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How to realize maximum benefits from migrating to the cloud

September 23, 2020

There is little doubt that the cloud has become critical to success in business these days. As the need for data resources grows in order to meet surging demand for new services with greater reliability and security, many organizations have found that the only way forward is through the cloud.

But while harnessing cloud resources is easier than ever, doing so without disrupting existing processes or letting costs spiral out of control is another matter. Even organizations that have harnessed their cloud environments to a great extent understand that every migration is different and that the need to continuously evolve toward new architectures in support of 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) is a never-ending challenge.

Laying the groundwork

Since migrating to—and then operating—a cloud environment is an intricate process, the key to a successful outcome lies in establishing a firm foundation. Once an enterprise knows what it is after, it can take all the necessary steps to complete each step in the process quickly, efficiently, and with minimal risk.

To help guide organizations through all of this, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has developed the AWS Well-Architected Framework, which lays out what it calls the five pillars of a successful cloud:

  • Operational Excellence – Maintaining high value through effective operations and monitoring, as well as continual improvements to processes and procedures.
  • Security – Full protection of information, systems, and assets, accompanied by leading risk assessments and mitigation strategies.
  • Reliability – Prompt recovery from infrastructure or service disruptions, along with on-demand provisioning of resources with minimal occurrence of misconfigurations, network issues, and other errors.
  • Performance Efficiency – Proper allocation of resources to meet operational requirements even in the face of changing demands and technology.
  • Cost Optimization – Full functionality within the lowest cost envelope.

Using this approach, organizations and third-party consultants gain a thorough understanding of what it takes to implement a successful cloud, which can then drive the entire migration process as well as the ongoing operational period. OnX Canada prides itself on being a certified partner in the Well-Architected Framework program, meaning we have mastered each of the five pillars to the point where our clients receive best-in-class cloud ecosystems.

For example, our cloud deployments implement operational excellence through rigorous completion of the key principles established in the framework. All of our compliant architectures feature operations as code, allowing operators to make small, reversible changes in both systems and procedures as needed. We also incorporate the ability to anticipate failures in order to quickly correct them and learn from them. In today’s digital environment, this is proving to be a crucial asset in the ongoing challenge to quickly adapt to users’ changing requirements.

Safe and secure

In the all-important area of security, we implement all of the framework’s key requirements, including identity monitoring and traceability. We also provide multi-layer protection and the latest in automated monitoring and response technology. AWS also incorporates a Shared Responsibility Model, in which they provide physical layer security while clients are free to implement their own protection of upper-layer architectures based on their unique workload requirements and compliance needs.

With the cloud architecture mapped out, the next crucial step is the migration. Even organizations that have successfully executed cloud migrations in the past invariably run into new challenges with each subsequent project, which is why an experienced consultant is an invaluable asset. OnX provides full support for the entire cloud migration and beyond, having assembled and trained some of the world’s leading IT technicians and engineers. Not only are we experts in all the nuances of migration, but our architectures excel at matching workloads with appropriate resources. Our goal is to provide a seamless transition that is fully secure and maintains high availability throughout the transition. And once the migration is complete, we provide a wide range of service management options to offload routine operations from enterprise staff, allowing them to focus on core business processes.

Most organizations today are familiar with the cloud’s ability to support infrastructure at scale and deliver a wide range of cutting-edge tools and capabilities. But a disorganized cloud is just as bad, if not worse, than a disorganized data center—full of idle resources and isolated work environments. The only way to avoid this is to establish a plan before the actual deployment, and then leverage the kind of expertise that can guarantee the fulfillment of all operational goals.

With OnX as a partner, the client enterprise can rest easy with the knowledge that its migration will be done right the first time and that the resulting cloud will hit the highest possible levels of optimization, flexibility, and adaptability.

Contact us for more information on how OnX can manage your next cloud migration.

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