Businesses that are searching for ways to support the new normal often need to migrate their data from a server they host to the cloud or vice versa. Despite all the integrations that would seem to make this process simpler, they actually make it more difficult. It can be a very difficult situation for any business and should be completed under the watchful eye of professional technicians. Let’s take a look at some of the problems you may encounter:
Issues with Planning
Since you are looking to move to or from the cloud, you understand how the process works, but you may not completely understand how to get it done. One issue that business owners run into is that they assume that things that really are difficult/impossible are easy/possible. You have to have a definitive plan to move the contents of one server to another, even if it’s from two servers you own. A bad plan will almost assuredly produce bad results, such as widespread data loss.
Protecting Your Data
Speaking of data loss, protecting the data while it's being moved is actually a significant enough problem that it should be at the top of the list of things to avoid when doing a data migration. Data being moved from a physical server to a cloud, or from one cloud to another, is effectively exposed while it’s in transit. This is one main reason why having trained and knowledgeable technicians like the ones at Bardissi Enterprises assist you--or, better yet, perform the migration for you--is a good idea.
Downtime
Another large consideration is downtime. Downtime can get costly if it is measured in seconds. For the business that doesn’t have any regularly-scheduled time available to migrate data, you may be looking at hours or days worth of downtime. Many organizations will choose to set up a backup environment (available at Bardissi Enterprises as BDR) that will allow people to access the data and applications on the server while the changeover is happening, but this comes with many other potential problems. To minimize the operational downtime your organization will experience during a migration, it is a solid practice to let everyone that typically accesses that server know the situation ahead of time. Then attempt to fit the migration into a time period that isn’t going to hurt the pocketbook too much.
Interoperability
Any new server is going to have to work with the rest of your computing infrastructure. Getting this process to work takes time and knowledge. Even the most knowledgeable technicians can struggle with the interoperability of a new server migration. While a lot of these issues are best confronted before picking a server platform, some can’t be and can be a major drawback to moving hardware, applications, and storage over. One thing is for sure, to get the functionality your organization needs out of a new migration, trusting professional IT technicians to perform actions that you can’t is a solid strategy.
Scalability
Cloud platforms, as a rule, are more scalable than any other computing construct. So on that front, there should be very little issue. The problem with that additional ability to scale up and back is the cost of the solution that you need. Some cloud solutions can get very expensive when your demands outweigh your capabilities, so understanding exactly what your needs are, and what you are paying for is important.
Our team of IT experts can not only help you design IT infrastructure to fit your needs, it can ensure that all your data and applications are right for your business. Our support services can proactively maintain all of your computing infrastructure to ensure that it lasts and functions as intended. If you would like to learn more about our migration or support services call us today at (215) 853-2266.
