According to Gartner, IT spending on public cloud services is estimated to exceed USD one trillion in 2027. This is not surprising as cloud modernization has today become a foundational must for enterprises in their digital transformation efforts — that is how they can be agile, scalable and competitive.
The first step to cloud modernization is the migration of data and workloads to the cloud, which builds the foundation for organizations to create a modern IT environment. However, many organizations’ efforts in modernization stall at this stage — only because they fail to make the right decision on whether to migrate to the cloud or modernize their assets for the cloud. A well-deliberated decision can take them on a seamless journey to achieve the true value of cloud adoption.
The vital question is this — what should enterprises do to avoid the common pitfalls in their cloud modernization vs migration efforts?
Understanding Cloud Modernization vs Migration
Cloud migration and cloud modernization are two distinct strategies in cloud adoption.
With cloud migration, data, applications and other digital assets are transferred to a cloud environment with minimal changes to the underlying architecture. This brings a host of benefits - such as freedom from the limitations of on-premises legacy architectures, and enhanced scale, flexibility, security, and cost-efficiency of operations. Migration approaches can range from a simple ‘lift-and-shift’ rehosting of workloads from on-premises legacy systems to a cloud environment (private, public or hybrid), to re-platforming of assets with specific adjustments to optimize them for the cloud environment. And then, of course, we have hybrid migration that leverage both on-premise infrastructure and cloud services.
Cloud modernization goes beyond mere migration of data, applications, and IT resources to the cloud. It actually re-designs and transforms them for the cloud, so that they are optimized for maximum performance in the cloud environment.
Both approaches have different objectives, strategies, complexities and outcomes. Understanding them with purpose and clarity will ensure that organizations get the most out of their decision to migrate to the cloud or modernize for the cloud.
Common Mistakes in Cloud Modernization vs Migration Strategy
Like any major change, the cloud migration vs. modernization decision has to be made with a clear understanding of the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’.
Lack of clarity in business objectives is a primary area where organizations go wrong.
If the aim is to achieve immediate benefits in improved cost-efficiency, disaster recovery, and resilience, cloud migration could be the best option for achieving them with minimal complexities and disruption. On the other hand, if the aim is to future-proof the organization’s architecture to improve agility, innovation, application performance and scalability for long-term benefits, cloud modernization would be the apt choice.
Organizations will do well to forge collaborative engagement between business leaders, IT teams and other relevant stakeholders to work towards clear outcomes that align to the organization’s objectives. Otherwise, the purpose will be opaque, and will lead to adverse outcomes such as scope creep, inefficiencies, poor outcomes, and internal conflicts. More importantly, neither the success nor the ROI of cloud investments can be effectively measured.
Poor assessment of the current infrastructure is another major reason why the right decision cannot be made.
Whether to migrate or modernize is strongly dependent on the condition of the existing IT infrastructure. If they are inflexible with monolithic systems and applications, they will be highly resistant to change. Migration may prove to be complex and can lead to failed outcomes.
It is imperative for enterprises to make a comprehensive assessment of the compatibility of existing systems with various cloud platforms. What are the dependencies? Are there complexities and challenges that are not immediately evident? Answers to the questions will be pivotal to whether organizations need to rehost, re-platform, refactor, re-build or replace.
Inaccurate computation of budget and resource availability is a sure path to poor decision-making.
The fact is, cloud modernization calls for considerable and upfront investment of funds, resources, and niche expertise. If not done efficiently and with meticulous rigor, the costs of both cloud migration and modernization can spiral out of control.
An accurate evaluation of the available budget and resources will be the critical factor in determining whether to opt for cloud migration or modernization — as well as the scale to adopt.
Failure to make the organization culturally ready for cloud readiness can be a showstopper.
As abstract as it may sound, the company culture plays a critical role in making the decision between cloud migration and modernization. Cloud modernization involves significant transformation of processes, workflows and technologies to be used. Diving into the deep end without knowing how the workforce feels about it would be suicidal for the enterprise. Do they have apprehensions about the change? What are the points of resistance in adopting new processes and systems? Are they well-trained and skilled for the transformation? Without the right answers to these questions, organizations may be setting themselves for failure in their cloud modernization ambitions.
Organizations must make a thorough assessment of their cultural and skill readiness and adaptability. This will help in moving right into the thick of cloud modernization or gradually building on an initial foundation of migrating assets, while simultaneously rising to the right level of readiness for future modernization.
Lack of adequate oversight on security and governance can be an expensive mistake.
Whether organizations opt for cloud migration or modernization, relegating security and compliance to the sidelines can have disastrous consequences for an organization’s reputation and financial health. If the aspects of multi-tenancy, shared resources, and dynamic provisioning are not meticulously addressed, they can result in serious vulnerabilities — especially in a landscape of rapidly evolving regulations and mandates.
A robust governance and security framework must be introduced right from the beginning of the exercise. This will eliminate the risks of shadow IT, security breaches, and cost overruns.
Cloud Modernization vs Migration: A Strategic Decision
The distinction between cloud migration and cloud modernization an extremely strategic one. The former makes the cloud an efficient cost center, while the latter is an effective enabler of innovation. While the decision has to be based on the considerations elaborated above, organizations will do well to take a deliberate direction towards modernization. Keeping cloud migration as the tactical landmarks to reach the strategic destination of cloud modernization could unlock tremendous value for organizations who cannot go ‘all-in’ in one go.
