For organizations aiming to achieve fast-paced digital transformation, cloud migration can be a strategic move. Businesses across the world are moving their legacy AS400 workloads to the cloud to leverage the advantages of cloud computing and enable high agility, scalability, and security. No wonder, cloud adoption is booming-the global cloud computing market is estimated to reach nearly $1614 billion by 2030!
That said, AS400 cloud migration involves a lot of moving parts and, therefore, demands careful planning and analysis along with impeccable execution. You need to consider everything from hardware, application portfolio, and network architecture to data security and much more. In addition, you need to choose a reliable service provider that can meet your specific requirements, and then decide on a suitable type of cloud and hosting strategy. In this blog, we’ll explore 6 key factors every organization should consider before migrating their legacy AS400 systems to the cloud. Let’s dive right in.
- Define Your Cloud Migration Objectives
- Decide on the Type of Cloud
- Select the Right Cloud Service Provider
- Emphasize Data Security
- Estimate Migration Timeline and Cost
- Determine How Migration Will Impact Organizational Culture
- Define Your Cloud Migration Objectives: Before you embark on your cloud migration journey, determine why you are moving your AS400 systems and applications to the cloud. Cloud migration involves a lot of time, effort, and resources, and needs to be planned with clear business objectives in mind. Could your AS400 applications benefit from improved scalability and interoperability with other systems? Will seamless information sharing boost cross-departmental collaboration? Asking such questions can simplify the migration process and help you get the most out of your cloud investments.
2. Decide on the Type of Cloud: Another crucial aspect of your migration planning is choosing the type of cloud you want to host your AS400 workloads on: public, private, or hybrid.
On a public cloud, the computing resources are delivered over the internet and shared with other users and organizations. As most public clouds operate on a pay-per-use pricing model, they can be a great fit for small-and-medium-sized organizations that seek on-demand scalability without having to invest in installing and maintaining physical hardware.
A private cloud, on the other hand, offers dedicated infrastructure over a private network managed by your in-house team or a third-party service provider. Private clouds are suitable for organizations operating in highly regulated industries such as law, financial services, and healthcare.
Hybrid cloud combines the agility of the public cloud with the privacy and security of the private cloud. So, you can store critical data on a private cloud while running the application layer on the public cloud.
3. Select the Right Cloud Service Provider: Choosing the right service provider is critical to the success of your AS400 cloud migration journey. Every legacy application has its unique needs, so conducting due diligence is essential. When looking for a service provider, seek references from their past clients to assess their technical capabilities, security strategy, qualification and experience of the engineering team, customer service, and reputation in the marketplace. With a thorough evaluation process, you can avoid costly mistakes down the line and seamlessly meet your business goals.
4. Prioritize Data Security: Data is one of the most valuable assets your organization can own. In fact, in industry verticals such as healthcare or finance, data security can make or break a business.
To ensure your data migration is hassle-free, make sure your potential cloud service provider’s security provisions align with your organization’s security and governance requirements. Do they have adequate measures in place to encrypt, access, and secure your data? Also, inquire if they have a robust backup and data recovery strategy that can store multiple copies of your server instance and instantly recover data in the event of an outage.
5. Estimate Migration Timeline and Cost: After you have chosen an appropriate cloud service provider, making a realistic estimate of the costs and timeline involved in the AS400 migration process is vital. With a complex endeavor such as cloud migration, the actual costs and timeline may differ from what you decided at the outset, so brace yourself for unexpected challenges.
In addition, try to establish a framework to effectively monitor your migration timeline, and make changes if the need arises.
6. Determine How Migration Will Impact Organizational Culture: Shifting to the cloud represents a significant organizational change, that necessitates a shift in perspective, the adoption of new working habits, and the phasing out of outdated ones. It is, therefore, imperative that you train the stakeholders beforehand on how their roles are going to change because of this transition. Conduct seminars and training sessions regularly to familiarize them with the new organizational culture and guide them on how they can handle novel methods of storing and sharing data. A successful migration is one that brings everyone together, not just your systems and data.
Kickstart Your Cloud Migration Journey with Damco
Migrating your AS400 systems and applications to the cloud can be a groundbreaking step toward achieving large-scale transformation. The process, however, demands a well-thought-out strategy to ensure a smooth transition. By collaborating with a trusted AS400 migration services provider like Damco, you can harness the full potential of the cloud while mitigating risks and complexities. From helping you select the appropriate cloud service to estimating costs and timelines and managing cultural shifts, our cloud experts support you at every stage of your cloud journey. Let’s unlock the future together!