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.
You're probably having similar thoughts, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this article. Because we know a thing or two about data warehouses in the cloud, we would like to put your concerns to rest and summarize all the important information for a possible cloud migration. Because your questions probably coincide with those of most other companies that are also about to take a big step towards digitization, but don't yet see the path clearly in front of their eyes. Let's go!
Reasons for migrating to a cloud data warehouse
Unlike traditional data warehouses that are hosted on local servers, a cloud data warehouse can be easily adapted to a company's growing needs. This means that companies can increase or decrease their capacity depending on how much data they need to store and analyze. In addition to scalability, a cloud data warehouse offers maximum flexibility. Companies can collect and analyze their data from various sources such as transaction systems, CRM systems and other databases in a central storage location. Data can be integrated and analyzed more quickly and easily here, helping to make important business decisions. Another advantage of migrating to a cloud data warehouse is the cost savings. As the databases are hosted in the cloud, companies do not have to buy expensive licenses for hardware and software or bear maintenance costs for local servers. Instead, they only pay for the resources they actually use. This can lead to a significant reduction in IT costs, meaning that IT budgets are managed much more effectively.
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
Cloud migration is part of everyday life for us at taod. In principle, it always follows a similar pattern, which can be broken down into individual steps. A step-by-step plan for migrating an on-premise database to a cloud database could include the following steps:
1. cloud selection
Determining the cloud provider and the cloud database platform to be used. Common cloud providers are Microsoft Azure, AWS or Google Cloud because they are fully comprehensive. The choice of cloud provider depends on the specific further processing of the data.
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
You now know that switching to a cloud-based solution simplifies your IT infrastructure, reduces costs and increases the flexibility and performance of your data processing. By using a cloud data warehouse, you can also respond more quickly to changing business requirements and improve your company's analytical capabilities. A comprehensive migration strategy also minimizes risks and ensures data security. So if you're currently rethinking your data processing strategy anyway, you should consider migrating to a cloud data warehouse because of the numerous benefits. You have everything to gain.
