The global trend in a post-pandemic world shows that businesses are moving towards to digital environment. The increased availability of options to digitalize business management is a healthy sign for any business.

Introduction#

The invention of cloud computing techniques has already impacted the pace of transformation and transition. The benefit of having a cloud-based business certainly boosts risk-free business growth. Thus, according to new trends, business migration to cloud computing has created new demand and insights about handling business on the cloud. Among the cloud computing techniques, migration to multi-cloud is getting highly popular. Based on the success case of migration, other businesses are likely to follow migrating to cloud infrastructure.

But the migration to a multi-cloud system or for that matter any cloud computing system requires thorough background research. Migration to cloud infrastructure needs keen introspection from the business future perspective that must involve a roll-back strategy if the migration fails. Successful migration to cloud infrastructure also deals with the continuous challenges of complex computing systems. Therefore, it is desirable that businesses must gain cloud visibility before migrating to the cloud system. Every business is required to follow certain strategies before migrating to cloud infrastructure. The benefit of looking at certain key strategies is to make a risk-free transition of business on the cloud.

Cloud Migration Strategies#

The importance of setting the key strategies before migration to multi-cloud infrastructure is to mitigate the risk post-migration. It is obvious that every business will prioritize the strategies based on the business area and service delivery. The basic charting of key strategies to look at before migration helps businesses in a swift and hassle-free transfer. It also enables the optimization of resources required in the migration. A look at the five best strategic actions that every business must work on before migrating to cloud infrastructure is elaborated.

1. Pre and Post-Planning for the cloud migration#

Planning is an essential part of any business activity. Migration to cloud infrastructure requires pre-planning that starts right from the moment the idea to migrate comes to light. Planning before and after the migration is so important more than 60% of migration fails only because of a lack of planning.

• The business organizations while planning must consider the residual data and machine workload along with main operations.
• A simple and meaningful illustration of the business conditions must be completed "before" migration.
• This will help to compare to "after" migration business flow and will highlight the success or failure.
• An inventory of applications, servers, and support systems must be documented based on the machine data.
• The visualization of key performance metrics is also essential to take the business growth in a pre and post-migration assessment.

2. Monitoring Application Performance#

The monitoring of applications when shifted to multi-cloud infrastructure empowers the working efficiency of resources. This monitoring is vital to the transition-related economy. When a business decides to migrate to multi-cloud, the economic cost of migration is one of the criteria that facilitates or hinders the change-over. Hence, putting in place an effective and working customized system of monitoring the application performance will impact the outcome of the migration. NIFE as a key service provider helps monitor businesses when working on multi-cloud architecture. It shares the monthly reports of assessment with the businesses and also helps in analyzing the performance to improve productivity.

3. Establish key KPIs#

The key performance indicator (KPIs) are used to track the effectiveness of the transition to multi-cloud. The setting up of KPIs for migration to multi-cloud infrastructure will enable to replacement of larger non-functioning assets with more predictable operational activities. Businesses need to pay attention to prioritizing the scalable model with the flexibility to use cloud capabilities. The customization of KPIs as per the business requirement and assessment will generate key strategic decisions. The KPIs will be a guiding factor to ensure the cost-effectiveness of business using cloud computing strengths.

4. Codify workflows#

The business operates on a cloud system that generates and streams data signals. Such data signals carry vital customer and business information. The cloud infrastructure enables one to put an observation to flowing data and be able to collate for business insights. NIFE can collect the observed data for businesses, interpolate the data, and can provide a holistic vision for future business actions. The use of codification to monitor the workflows also enables the protection of residual data. Simultaneously also allows the technicians to code, edit, review, and revise the data flow.

5. In-place data portability and interoperability#

The changeover from one cloud to multi-cloud has changed the way data is being observed and analyzed. The business functions that are operated on multi-cloud require to be shared between various service providers. Thus, the effectiveness of data portability without compromising the authenticity of the data and the information generated. With the increasing trend to shift business to multi-cloud infrastructure, the issue of interoperability has become evident. Businesses on multi-cloud use vendors from multiple cloud systems. Hence it is important to place an organizational policy of data portability and interoperability. The effectiveness of working on multi-cloud will only be possible when data interchange is swift and secure. It is mandatory to capture the data in a seamless manner. This will be helpful during the analysis process that will help in making useful business decisions.

Summary#

The migration to multi-cloud infrastructure is an ongoing process. Businesses want to migrate to multi-cloud to reap the benefits of cloud computing. Cost-effectiveness and scalability are key attractions for businesses migrating to the cloud. But certain key strategies require adherence before moving to multi-cloud. The importance of such strategies is it offers risk-free transition of business on multi-cloud and ensures productivity.

• Planning becomes one of the key aspects of migration to multi-cloud.
• A pre and post-planning simulation is required to think accordingly about the plans are made to migrate.
• A pre and post-planning simulation shall be made available to help manage the business in pre and post-migration.
• Monitoring the application performance is a key aspect that highlights the success or failure of the decision.
• The NIFE-based monitoring application is an example of monitoring the workflow on the cloud.
• The codification of workflow will generate cost-effective business decisions using residual information.

A technology-first mindset change is happening. Digital leaders want to grow worldwide with flexibility, surge forward, and provide new world-class user experiences while doubling digital output. Making the transfer to the cloud is not only a technological or operational problem but also a huge culture shift that begins at the top, with the computers and systems accountable for assuring the success of the transformation.

Digital-First Culture#

Developing a digital-first culture entails more than just using cutting-edge technologies. Create an agile company where technologies and business culture collaborate to optimize processes, maximize efficiency, and provide an outstanding customer experience (Merkt, Lang, and Schmidt, 2021). To do this, corporate leaders must first work on instilling a digital-first attitude in their employees, ensuring that they are digitally literate and comfortable adjusting to new technology.

Need to Adopt a Digital-First Culture#

Business leaders cannot afford to overlook the importance of culture. It is critical to comprehend the magnitude of the digital transformation's core strategic paradigm change. Culture is the collection of attitudes and behaviors that define how things are done in a company (Tuukkanen, Wolgsjö, and Rusu, 2022).

A digitalization-friendly culture possesses the following characteristics:

1. Encourages an external rather than an internal orientation.
2. Delegation takes precedence over control.
3. Emphasizes daring rather than prudence.
4. Focuses on action rather than preparation.
5. Prefers teamwork over solo effort.

Benefits of a Digital-First Culture#

A digital-first culture can assist the leader in future-proofing the organization and emerging as a leader who establishes new industry norms and standards. At the very least, it will assist the company in being fluid and responsive to market and socioeconomic conditions (Ghosh et al., 2021). Among the more precise benefits of engaging in a digital-first workplace are:

• Reducing team silos and increasing openness.
• Increasing overall agility and adaptability.
• Enhancing data collection.

Strategies for Creating a Digital-First Culture#

1. Concentrate on the People: Since people are typically resistant to change, introducing new technology without adequate support will not produce the expected outcomes. Furthermore, some people are concerned that automation and technology will eliminate their jobs. To effectively develop a digital-first culture, address these concerns as soon as feasible.

2. Begin at the Top: Senior management has the key to developing a business culture. Leaders must advocate the strategy in everything they do while attempting to develop a digital-first culture. Set a good example.

3. Embrace Technology: Digitization reduces the possibility of data loss or missing crucial information. That is why it is critical to integrate your various technologies as much as possible so that diverse company operations can run smoothly.

4. Share a Common Vision: Managers, executives, and employees all need to push for the same goal: the success of the company. When writing job descriptions, be sure to include the technological tools, talents, and working style that the company anticipates (Kontić and Vidicki, 2018).

Developing a Cloud Mindset#

Hybrid cloud migration is about more than just technology; it is also a huge culture shift that necessitates careful consideration of the systems and technology involved in the journey. A transition to the cloud necessitates a much broader change in management style than other innovation initiatives due to the impact on skills and money, as well as on both commercial and technology goals (Marty, 2014).

Bringing the "cloud mindset" to use!

A transition to the cloud necessitates a much deeper change in management style than many other technology-driven initiatives due to the influence on skills and money, as well as on both business and technical goals. Rather than lifting VM instances and throwing them over the wall into somebody else's data center, organizations should shift to a "move and improve" mindset that allows them to accept the cloud's native functionality to deliver various business benefits (Solberg, Traavik, and Wong, 2020).

Thinking “Cloud-First” vs “Lift and Shift”#

The capacity to benefit from the cloud's flexibility, scalability, and safety does not come by just transferring VM instances to a cloud computing platform; leaders must think very differently regarding existing software and services and think cloud-first.

Leaders should look for a cloud partner that not only knows how to construct and maintain world-class data centers but will also work with them to establish the culture and processes required for the business to be successful in the cloud (Baumgartner, Hartl, and Hess, 2021).

Conclusion#

Certainly, digital transformation is all about a new attitude as much as it is about technology. As part of the overall organizational change plan, organizations should be able to create a cultural roadmap and a cultural change strategy, which will then be a component of the entire transformation program (Ghosh et al., 2021).

Following a meaningful digital transformation, a plan is more than just checking boxes. Cloud - Check. Mobile app - Check. A brand-new website - Check. If it were that simple, everyone would have done it by now.