How To Plan a Successful & Smooth Azure Cloud Migration in 7 Steps

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Migrating to the cloud delivers major benefits to businesses—reducing costs and boosting performance. But how can your organization make cloud migration a success? Find here 7 Azure migration steps.

Planning Your Migration To Azure Cloud in 7 Steps:

Step #1 Azure Cloud Migration: Identify Goals

Well before you begin any cloud migration, you and your team need to know what you want to achieve.

The reasons for cloud adoption include:

• Increased efficiency and agility
• Improved competitiveness in the industry
• Better security and compliance
• Bigger data storage
• Enhanced performance for business growth
• Greater cost efficiencies
• Effective cross-team collaboration and communication

Consider how this goal ties into the wider business objectives.

Internal resistance is a major challenge to businesses undertaking cloud migration or any technology implementation, for that matter. The C-suite executives dismiss an innovation because they ‘can’t see the point’ or ‘it costs too much.

The team is so used to doing things the hard way, they refuse to hear about the benefits of a new system, let alone try it. “We’ve always done it this way,” they proclaim. And while they may have a point, that doesn’t put them in the right.

Getting people on board—and gaining internal buy-in from key stakeholders—at an early stage is critical to your success.

This includes senior management and anyone who would be using the new system. Present your ideas, with cost and performance data to back it up. Facilitate a dialogue. Listen to each other and gather feedback to refine your project goals. The importance of communication at this and every step cannot be understated.

This stage also helps prevent feature creep (sometimes known as mission or scope creep). This happens when a project adds more and more features, exhausting resources and missing deadlines. It’s better to start small and expand.

At the end of this stage, everyone involved should understand the goal and what they need to do to meet it.

Step #2 Azure Cloud Migration: Explore Your Options

Now you know what you want to achieve, you need to determine which cloud options are right for you. The three most popular cloud computing platforms are Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud.

Explore the benefits of each—you’ll find plenty of resources online to help you build a picture of cost and capabilities. If in doubt, talk through your current thinking with one of our teams to see if Azure cloud migration is right for you.

Consider software and hardware needs. For instance, if you’re running Google Docs and Google Drive, then Google Cloud might be right for you. If Office 365 is embedded in your business or you plan to build automated Logic Apps workflows, then the case for Microsoft Azure is clear.

Again, hold conversations about each cloud platform with stakeholders. Users, in particular, can offer insights those unfamiliar with the intricate everyday processes might miss. It’s about introducing the ‘perfect’ cloud solution; ‘that’ll do’ is an option no business can afford.

Step #3 Azure Cloud Migration: Develop a Strategy

You know the what and the why. Now you need to decide how. How will you successfully migrate to the cloud with minimal disruption?

You need to develop a clear implementation strategy. As part of this, identify:

• Timeline: When do you want to ‘go live’?
• Available resources: Will you be integrating existing servers or removing on-prem tech?
• Required resources: What do you need that you don’t currently have to bring the cloud online?
• Team: Who has the skills to deliver this project—internal staff or external support?
• Training: What training is needed to get all staff up-to-speed and ready to go post-migration?

Successful migration depends on communication, oversight, and ownership. Does everyone understand their role? Is someone monitoring ‘the bigger picture’? If something goes wrong, who can take control to fix it?

If you don’t already have proper delivery processes in place, now is the time to introduce them. It’ll lead to a smoother migration. Identify ‘quick wins’ that’ll help your long-term move, as well as big milestone moments. This helps you track the migration-objective alignment.

However, don’t be afraid to build flexibility into your strategy.

Cloud migration won’t disrupt business in the same way upgrading all your on-prem hardware will. But you should expect the best and prepare for the worst. As anyone who’s experienced the blue screen of death or a sudden freezing of an app knows, technology issues can appear at any time.

A strategy that locks you into immoveable deadlines will lead to rushed or poor-quality implementation. Many organizations find it easier to work alongside Microsoft partners like Logic V, developing a strategy tailored to their business needs.

Step #4 Azure Cloud Migration: Build the Right Team

They say teamwork makes the dream work. Without the right people, the right skills, in the right roles, your cloud migration can easily descend into a nightmare. You’ll naturally bring the brightest and the best of your tech team to the table. They’ll be fizzing with ideas, while keeping the project grounded and realistic and on-track.

But for many companies, Azure cloud migration is a new and fertile ground. The opportunities are matched by the risk of getting it wrong. For that reason, many seek the support of Microsoft-certified partners like Logic V. Equipped with years of experience and nuanced skills, these partners act more like an extra team within your organization, guiding your migration process to completion.

Training, included in your strategy, is also critical to success. Ideally, you want teams ready to use the cloud when it’s launched. They should feel confident and comfortable with the system well before then. Familiarize users early on with visual presentations and practical training.

While business efficiency drives this concern to some extent, more important is the impact of training on the team’s performance and morale. Take time to build your team’s skills.

Step #5 Azure Cloud Migration: Prepare for Migration

If this moment were a movie, it’s those quiet few seconds before Bill Pullman delivers his Presidential address in the movie Independence Day. You’ve identified your objectives and how it fits into the overall business goals.

You’ve determined the right cloud option, implemented a transparent roadmap. You’ve trained your team and are sure you’ve left nothing to chance. Your ducks are in a row.

Before finalizing your Azure cloud migration, ask: are my goals, needs, and solution still aligned?

Once you’re satisfied, you can start.

But start small.

Pilot with smaller workloads.

Make gradual increases.

This gives you the ability to test the operation and resilience, adapting where necessary. That way, if the worst happens, your company won’t experience a total outage.

Step #6 Azure Cloud Migration: Test and Optimize

At this stage, you should be more or less up and running. But successful migration doesn’t end there. You and your team should continue monitoring the cloud. Sure, you need to make sure everything’s working properly—but you may also want to track if everything could work better.

Cloud platforms are highly adaptable. If you’ve located a business need or a process that can be streamlined, the cloud gives you the flexibility to deliver. Test your existing processes. Investigate potential areas of optimization. Gathering feedback from users is invaluable if you’re serious about continually improving operations.

During this time, begin switching on-prem data to the cloud, phasing out any older technology as you go. This way, you can avoid, wherever possible, the clunky management of running disparate software and hardware that don’t ‘talk’ to each other.

Step #7 Azure Cloud Migration: Focus on the Future

You’ve successfully migrated to the cloud. You’ve taken a big step on the journey of digital transformation.

But now what?

Now is the ideal time to begin preparing for the future. Especially, as you continue to refine your cloud experience and gain greater understanding of what you can achieve.

Develop an ongoing roadmap, beginning with potential objectives and opportunities. Platforms like Azure offer scalability that allow organizations to grow in a way that makes sense for them, operationally and financially.

If you’d like to discuss how Azure cloud migration will benefit your business, we’d love to talk. We have years of experience helping forward-thinking firms who need our specialist skills and support to deliver their vision.

Contact us today.