Common Mistakes Made During Cloud Hosting Migration

• Cheaper Rather than Better
• Throwing Out Traditional Equipment
• Failing to Make Applications Cloud-Ready
• Not Taking Big Data Into Account
• Assuming All Clouds Are the Same

Cheaper Rather than Better

In the above video, Atlantic.Net CEO Marty Puranik notes that companies have been more focused on cheaper solutions in recent years, especially given the Great Recession’s impact. Still, excessive focus on price is a mistake. All of the great advancement that humanity has achieved arose from a focus on better rather than cheaper, he stresses.

Having tunnel vision for anything but the price is just one of the mistakes made by organizations when they migrate to the cloud. Tech reporter Jeff Bertolucci talked about typical problems that arise in his InformationWeek article “10 Cloud Migration Mistakes to Avoid.”

Four of the errors he highlights are throwing out traditional equipment, failing to make applications cloud-ready, not taking big data into account, and assuming all clouds are the same.

Throwing Out Traditional Equipment

Many organizations don’t know exactly what to do with their hardware once they switch systems over to the cloud.

“A common mistake that enterprises make is either to throw out their old hardware or pay someone to remove it,” said Bertolucci. “[Since] the market for used IT computers and gear is north of $300 billion, … enterprises should try a hardware exchange to recoup some IT budget cash.”

Failing to Make Applications Cloud-Ready

Often companies don’t perform the testing to see how they might need to adjust applications for optimal cloud server hosting performance. Recognize that you may need to make some tweaks to get the most out of your new environment.

Not Taking Big Data into Account

We are constantly reminded in the technology press that big data is extraordinarily valuable. However, transferring cumbersome apps and huge amounts of data can be tricky. Some firms even mail their disks to the hosting provider, says Bertolucci.

“Another thorny issue is finding the most affordable way to sync on-premises and cloud environments,” he adds. “The bottom line: Pre-move preparation is the best way to achieve smooth cloud migration.”

Assuming All Clouds Are the Same

Finally, you want to be aware that there really is no “the cloud.” Cloud computing is an infrastructural approach that is implemented in different ways by different providers.

For example, Puranik explains how Mellanox technology helps us keep prices 30-40% lower than the competition while delivering about twice the performance.

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