ArticlesWith the rising market demands, data is growing exponentially. Gradually, businesses are experiencing challenges that make them realize the present infrastructure is not enough to compete with the current marketing requirements. To excel, they must migrate their aging legacy systems to a modern infrastructure like cloud platforms. Migrating to cloud platforms like Aure has several benefits, like scalability, enhanced flexibility, data security, streamlined process automation, and more.
According to the latest survey report, by 2026, 75% of businesses will embrace digital transformation, focusing on cloud platforms. Azure data migration is also challenging; it has many challenges and complexities that drive businesses to make more strategic decisions regarding the right Azure services, along with architecture and optimal designs for new environments, site deployment, and migration processes. In this blog, you will explore what are the best practices and strategies to migrate either specific databases or an entire on-premises workload, which is crucial for a seamless Azure cloud migration journey.
Data migration involves several processes, including data selection, preparation, extraction, and a set of instructions before uploading to the desired location. Here are two significant ways of migrating databases to the cloud:
A wide range of tools are used for Azure data migration. Here are some Azure tools used for seamless data migration:
Azure Migrate is an innovative solution for businesses that helps monitor and execute the initial steps of the data migration procedure.
The Azure Data Box is a specialized technology that manages secure data transfer. It is used mainly by businesses with frequent network limitations or tight timelines.
Azure offers a wide range of database hosting options through PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) and IaaS (Information-as-a-Service) solutions. Azure DMS streamlines migration processes by performing comprehensive evaluations of the existing databases to provide necessary adjustments to initiate the final migration process.
The Azure Data Migration Assistant (DMA) assists the data migration procedure by analyzing on-premises SQL instances to ensure its compatibility with the latest version of SQL Server in Azure, Azure SQL Database service, and Azure SQL Managed Instances. It helps businesses identify and address any potential migration challenges that may arise.
Migrating the database from on-premises to the cloud has many benefits, such as enhanced scalability, flexibility, smooth infrastructure deployment, availability of pay-as-you-go pricing models, and access to a huge database management system. However, data transfer can be the most challenging part of the cloud migration process, as it can result in system downtime, modifications in schema codes, and application refactoring.
Before initiating the data migration to the cloud, businesses must secure their data and ensure all workloads and applications are completely operational. Azure Site Recovery is considered a valuable tool to ensure business continuity by replicating workloads from one site to another. This way, in case of any service disruptions, the workloads and applications can still be accessed and continue to operate seamlessly.
After the cloud migration is completed, the next step is decommissioning the resources like the legacy systems. However, it is recommended that the physical servers not be shut down immediately. Running both servers allows the business to verify that systems running on the cloud are functional. After validation, businesses can permanently disconnect the on-premises server from the cloud.
It is inevitable for businesses to experience downtime during the migration process. While system downtime is an unavoidable aspect of migration, its impact can be minimized through strategic planning. Although Azure provides best practices to reduce disruption, organizations should carefully analyze and schedule downtime for each migration phase to minimize operational impact.
One of the most significant reasons businesses want to migrate their databases to cloud infrastructure is data limitations with the existing infrastructure and data centers, along with the need for improving stability, speed, and more. These concerns also make the Azure cloud migration process challenging. To tackle these limitations, businesses need to manage these constraints while planning both the evaluation and migration processes.
Governance is one of the most important factors to be considered for the Azure cloud migration process. Establishing compliance and governance is necessary, especially for businesses with standard regulatory requirements. It ensures close collaboration between different stakeholders, including cloud migration teams and the IT governance experts who will develop and execute the migration strategy that aligns with industry standards.
Modernize your IT infrastructure by migrating legacy applications to cloud with Stromasys Charon Solutions.
Download Whitepaper
Azure data migration has several advantages and is a strategic move that can elevate a business’s technological environment.
For an efficient Azure data migration strategy, businesses must have a clear understanding of their digital landscape, which includes all digital assets and resources. Based on this information, a data migration plan is to be created.
The first step is to create an inventory of applications, data, and infrastructure. This inventory will contain details about the names of the applications, their intent purposes, the tech stack employed for each of these applications, data dependencies, user counts, patterns of the users involved, and computational requisites. The next step is to have the blueprint for the migration plan, which should include the specific needs of each application, like any account dependencies or challenges that require special focus.
Here are tips to keep in mind for the success of this Azure data migration approach:
By following these steps, businesses can ensure smooth Azure data migration. This approach will minimize any disruptions and maximize the benefits of cloud migration.
It is essential to have an accurate estimate of the cost of developing an effective Azure data migration strategy for managing cloud expenses. Microsoft Azure offers many robust tools for estimating cloud spending. The Azure pricing calculator offers a detailed monthly expenditure for different services, including storage, VMs (virtual machines), and networking, based on specific workload needs. Another tool, the Azure TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) calculator, offers a detailed report on cost analysis, factoring in data transfer management and other expenses.
The key factors to be considered are:
Here are tips to keep in mind to get accurate cost estimations for the Azure data migration procedure:
These steps will give the business’s cost insights, which will ensure that both the technical requirements align with the business objectives.
One of the most significant steps in creating an effective Azure data migration strategy is to streamline the migration and optimize workloads for the cloud. Once the inventory for digital assets is created and the business has a clear idea of workload expenses on Azure, the data migration process can start.
There are various options for migration available, and businesses can choose from their specific requirement. Some of the most common migration methods are:
In this migration strategy, workloads are directly moved to Azure without making any changes. It is suitable for businesses with less complex infrastructure.
In this migration strategy, the workload is modified using Azure’s specialized features and capabilities. Tools like Azure SQL Database or Azure Storage are used to align the application changes with the services.
Workloads are adapted to optimize for the cloud ecosystem, which may involve applications that use cloud-native patterns like containerization or microservices.
As for the post-migration optimization, as the initial migration process is complete, the businesses can again optimize their Azure workloads:
It helps ensure that the workloads align with Azure’s capabilities and deliver enhanced performance, security, and cost-effectiveness.
Monitoring the workload post-migration is essential for an effective Azure data migration strategy. It helps ensure optimal workload performance in the cloud. Azure offers a wide range of tools for monitoring workloads, such as Azure Monitor, Azure Application Insights, Azure Security Center, and Azure Log Analytics.
These tools help in monitoring the Azure workloads for:
As businesses want to migrate to a cloud infrastructure like Azure, having a legacy infrastructure poses a significant challenge. Stromasys offers Charon in the Cloud emulation solutions that bridge the gap between legacy systems and modern technologies. With its lift and shift migration strategy, it migrates legacy applications to Azure without extensive rewrites. Stromasys’s emulation technology enables legacy applications to run on the emulated hardware within the Azure cloud, which ensures business continuity.
To know more about Charon in the Cloud solution and how your business can migrate its legacy infrastructure to Azure cloud, get in touch with Stromasys legacy expert.
Azure data migration can be tedious, but it has many great benefits, such as scalability, enhanced performance, cost optimization, and security. For a seamless Azure data migration, businesses must understand workload cost estimation for a proper migration strategy. With a well-planned Azure migration approach, businesses can reduce risks and maximize their cloud investment.
The Challenge: Aging Hardware Limits M&A Activities Businesses are managing more data and IT systems...
Read More
Many businesses still rely on legacy systems. This may be due to an investment in...
Read More
Despite their age and obsolescence, many organizations still cling to SPARC systems for their operations....
Read More