Successfully migrate to the cloud in 9 steps
In Germany 63% of companies believe that services from the cloud make their company more agile. But only 13% use cloud-based services. How does that fit together? Recent crises have shown us that digital transformation is not a hip idea, but a pure necessity if a company is to remain viable. So what is stopping you from migrating to the cloud?
Most managers are plagued by typical concerns or worries that massively delay the move to the cloud. They are understandable, because change not only requires courage, but also resources. No matter how big the dream of digitalization is, many feel trapped in their existing on-premise structures. Yet most of them have probably long since realized that the dormant data potential is slowly but surely falling into a deep slumber due to technological stagnation - and the hedge of thorns is thus growing ever higher.
Vermutlich beschäftigen dich ähnliche Gedanken, sonst würdest du diesen Artikel nicht lesen. Weil wir uns mit <a href="https://www.taod.de/services/data-engineering-consulting“ data-webtrackingID="blog_content_link" > Data Warehouses in der Cloud </a> auskennen, möchten wir deine Bedenken gerne beseitigen und fassen dir deshalb alle wichtigen Informationen für eine mögliche Cloud-Migration zusammen. Denn deine Fragen decken sich wahrscheinlich mit denen der meisten anderen Unternehmen, die ebenso kurz davor sind, einen großen Schritt in Richtung Digitalisierung zu gehen, aber den Weg noch nicht ganz klar vor ihren Augen sehen. Los geht’s!
Reasons for migrating to a cloud data warehouse
Im Gegensatz zu traditionellen Data Warehouses, die auf lokalen Servern gehostet werden, kann ein Cloud Data Warehouse problemlos an die wachsenden Bedürfnisse eines Unternehmens angepasst werden. Dies bedeutet, dass Unternehmen ihre Kapazitäten erhöhen oder reduzieren können, je nachdem, wie viele Daten sie speichern und analysieren müssen. Neben der Skalierbarkeit bietet ein Cloud Data Warehouse maximale Flexibilität. Unternehmen können ihre Daten von verschiedenen Quellen wie Transaktionssystemen, CRM-Systemen und anderen Datenbanken an einem zentralen Speicherort sammeln und analysieren. Daten können hier schneller und einfacher integriert und analysiert werden und helfen, wichtige Geschäftsentscheidungen zu treffen. Ein weiterer Vorteil der <a href="https://www.taod.de/services/data-engineering-consulting“ data-webtrackingID="blog_content_link" > Migration zu einem Cloud Data Warehouse </a> ist die Kostenersparnis. Da die Datenbanken in der Cloud gehostet werden, müssen Unternehmen keine teuren Lizenzen für Hardware und Software kaufen und keine Wartungskosten für lokale Server tragen. Stattdessen zahlen sie nur für die Ressourcen, die sie tatsächlich nutzen. Dies kann zu einer erheblichen Senkung der IT-Kosten führen, sodass IT-Budgets viel effektiver verwaltet werden.
Migration strategy and challenges
Basically, migration to the cloud works quickly and smoothly if certain basic aspects are taken into account. With a migration strategy, the transition from an existing data infrastructure to a cloud-based warehouse works smoothly. A successful migration strategy should be carefully planned and implemented to minimize potential challenges and risks. Typical challenges include
Costs
The costs for a cloud-based data warehouse can vary depending on the provider and the services used. It is important to understand and plan the costs in advance to ensure that the costs of migrating and operating the data warehouse remain within budget.
Security
The security of data in the cloud is naturally of great importance to many companies. All data stored in a cloud-based data warehouse must be secure. Therefore, all relevant security measures must be taken to ensure that the data remains protected.
Integration
A cloud-based data warehouse may need to be integrated into existing systems and processes. This can be a challenge, especially if the systems are complex or if no standardized interfaces are available. This can take time and resources.
Data migration
Migrating data from an on-premises database or a local data warehouse to a cloud-based data warehouse can be a challenge, especially with large volumes of data. A suitable method must be selected to transfer the data securely and reliably. Consideration may need to be given to adapting existing applications and processes that are based on the data.
It is essential to develop a comprehensive migration strategy that takes into account the challenges mentioned above and defines the necessary steps for a successful migration. This may include developing migration plans and testing cloud systems after migration. This includes assessing the existing data landscape and identifying the company's requirements and objectives.
On this basis, the technological infrastructure within which the cloud data warehouse will ultimately be set up and a migration plan can be created. Data integration is an important part of the migration strategy. This involves transferring the existing data from various sources to the cloud data warehouse and making it available in a standardized format. Successful data integration enables the company to exploit the full potential of the cloud data warehouse.
ELT processes increase flexibility and scalability
Cloud data warehouses are particularly well suited to ELT processes, as they enable large volumes of data to be processed and analyzed quickly and efficiently. The advantage of ELT is that it is a more flexible and scalable alternative to ETL. As the data is processed in the target warehouse, ELT can be easily adapted to the requirements of the analysis without the need for separate hardware or software. ELT is also easier to maintain and scale, as no separate infrastructure is required to process the data in addition to the existing systems needed for ELT. Overall, cloud data warehouses in conjunction with ELT are a good choice for companies that want to organize rapidly growing data volumes in a flexible and scalable way.
Step-by-step plan for cloud migration
Die <a href="https://www.taod.de/services/data-engineering-consulting“ data-webtrackingID="blog_content_link" > Cloud-Migration </a> ist für uns bei taod Alltag. Prinzipiell verläuft sie immer nach einem ähnlichen Schema, das sich in einzelne Arbeitsschritte aufteilen lässt. Ein Stufenplan für die Migration einer On-Premise-Datenbank zu einer Cloud-Datenbank könnte folgende Schritte beinhalten:
1. cloud selection
Bestimmung des Cloud-Anbieters und der zu verwendenden Cloud-Datenbank-Plattform. Gängige, weil vollumfängliche, Cloud-Anbieter sind <a href="https://www.taod.de/tech-beratung/microsoft-azure“ data-webtrackingID="blog_content_link" > Microsoft Azure </a>, AWS oder Google Cloud. Die Wahl des Cloud-Anbieters ist abhängig von der spezifischen Weiterverarbeitung der Daten.
2. on-premise check-up
Check the current on-premise database for completeness and data integrity. In this step, you should think about which data should be migrated. It also makes sense to check whether the data is suitable for migration or whether adjustments and further preparations may be necessary. This includes removing duplicates, filling in missing values or normalizing data.
3. data migration planning
Creation of a data migration plan that specifies the schedule, the resources required and the methods for data migration and defines exactly what the target data warehouse should look like.
4. network check-up
Checking the network connections and network settings to ensure that the on-premise database can communicate with the cloud database.
5. migration testing
Carrying out a test migration to check the functionality and performance of the cloud database and to identify and resolve any problems.
6. data migration
Carrying out the final data migration. In this step, the data is actually migrated from the current data warehouse to the target data warehouse. This can be done either manually or with the help of tools such as AWS Database Migration Service or Azure Database Migration Service.
7. migration check-up
Checking the cloud database for completeness and integrity of the data once the migration is complete. After the migration, it must be ensured that the target data warehouse is properly integrated into the existing IT infrastructure and that all applications that access the data warehouse function properly.
8. security setup
Set up monitoring and security measures for the cloud database. Beyond the one-off migration check-up, the data warehouse should be permanently monitored to ensure that it continues to function properly.
9. enablement
Hand over responsibility for the administration and maintenance of the cloud database to the relevant team.
Make your cloud data warehouse dreams come true
Du weißt jetzt, dass der Wechsel zu einer cloudbasierten Lösung deine IT-Infrastruktur vereinfacht, Kosten reduziert und die Flexibilität und Leistung deiner Datenverarbeitung erhöht. Mit der Nutzung eines Cloud Data Warehouse kannst du außerdem schneller auf sich ändernde Geschäftsanforderungen reagieren und die Analysefähigkeiten in deinem Unternehmen verbessern. Eine umfassende Migrationsstrategie minimiert zudem Risiken und gewährleistet Datensicherheit. Wenn du also ohnehin derzeit deine Strategie zur Datenverarbeitung überdenkst, solltest du die <a href="https://www.taod.de/services/data-engineering-consulting“ data-webtrackingID="blog_content_link" > Migration zu einem Cloud Data Warehouse </a> aufgrund der zahlreichen Vorteile in Betracht ziehen. Du kannst dabei nur gewinnen.
