Cloud

Cloud Migration: A Complete Guide for Businesses

How to safely move IT infrastructure to AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.


"Our server is 8 years old, the last admin left, and backup... is probably somewhere on a disk" - we hear this more often than we'd like. Cloud migration solves these problems, but done poorly can multiply them.

94% of companies use cloud in some form (Flexera 2024)

6 Migration Strategies (6 Rs)

Not every application needs to be rewritten from scratch. Choose a strategy that fits your situation:

Rehost
"Lift and shift" - 1:1 transfer

Fastest option. Take VM from on-premise and run it in the cloud. Minimal changes, minimal risk, but also minimal cost optimization.

Replatform
"Lift and optimize"

Transfer with minor changes: e.g., MySQL database to RDS instead of self-managing. A bit more work, significant maintenance savings.

Refactor
Rewrite to cloud-native

Architecture from scratch: containers, serverless, microservices. Most work, but maximum benefits from cloud scalability and flexibility.

AWS vs Azure vs GCP - which to choose?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Largest selection of services (200+)
  • Most mature ecosystem
  • Best documentation and community
  • Choose when: you need edge case services
Microsoft Azure
  • Native integration with Microsoft 365
  • Hybrid cloud (Azure Arc) best in class
  • Better Windows licensing
  • Choose when: you're in MS ecosystem

Security in cloud - checklist

1

Identity & Access Management (IAM)

Principle of least privilege - every user and service has only the permissions they need. Zero trust.

2

Encryption everywhere

Data at rest (disks) + data in transit (TLS) + data in use (for sensitive data). Keys in Key Management Service.

How much does it cost?

30-40% savings with optimization
70% companies exceed cloud budget
Reserved instances = -60% vs on-demand
Planning a cloud migration?

Free consultation: we'll assess your current state and propose an optimal migration path.

Category: Cloud
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Krzysztof Nowicki

Halo Soft Expert

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