Lack of planning early on can lead to numerous problems when migrating workloads to the cloud, such as…

• Improper network capabilities for workload migrations and long-term cloud operation
• Lack of proper migration planning
• Moving the wrong workloads, improper identification
• Improper scoping of application dependencies
• Higher than expected migration costs
• Over payment for Cloud IaaS based on inaccurate scoping up front 

While higher bandwidth is a key consideration in a cloud migration strategy, it’s only one piece of the strategy. At OneNeck, we know that building a network for cloud readiness is not a one-size-fits-all approach either. Depending on the type of cloud solution, one must consider how cloud-hosted applications and workloads will be accessed, as well as the anticipated traffic between on-premises systems and the cloud.

As the popularity of hybrid cloud continues to grow, the complexity it brings to networks grows too. 
As data lives both in the public cloud and in a private cloud in a hybrid solution, new requirements for specific networking features come to light. 

So, what should you consider before migration to the cloud?

• Bandwidth: Bandwidth can make or break a cloud migration and must be considered up front. An in-depth analysis of bandwidth, WAN, and Internet performance needs to be performed. 
• Workloads: A workload analysis is key in successfully migrating to the cloud by assessing how your current infrastructure and business applications will best fit into a cloud environment. 
• Your IT Team: A successful cloud migration strategy must consider the people that need to be part of the process. This requires a networking team that knows the ins and outs of cloud computing and virtualization, and that can effectively work with other groups within IT to coordinate a broader strategy.
• End Users: End user analysis takes into consideration the user experience, including interviewing personnel at all levels of the organization. This key step ensures that the users will have the required access to the applications they need to be productive.

Many migrations fail because of lack of proper planning for the appropriate network capacity for the move or even not knowing where to start when planning a cloud migration strategy. This is where we can help…

OneNeck’s Hybrid Cloud Assessment  delivers a thorough network impact analysis that allows IT teams to understand the individual and collective needs of workloads when doing cloud and data center migrations. Through a proven process of discovery, reporting and analysis, the assessment will provide you with the following actionable data: 

• Hybrid cloud strategy
• Data center platform selection
• Purchase sizing and optimization
• Data center health
• Lifecycle planning
• Data center and cloud budgeting
• Migration strategy

So if you are looking to migrate any of your workloads to the cloud, start with a hybrid cloud migration assessment from OneNeck to guide you during the migration that will save you time, money and prevent possible migration failures.