Why testing is essential to a successful cloud migration

Too often, cloud migrations don't deliver because they haven't been properly tested. Find out more about how a cloud consultant can help you thrive.



Chance, they say, favours the well-prepared. Or in the possibly apocryphal words of a big league baseball player, "The more I practise, the luckier I get".

The same is true when you come to migrate your workloads from an on-prem data centre to the cloud – or from one cloud provider to another.

It doesn't matter how finely tuned your plan is or how much background research you've done. If you don't test as you migrate, you can come a cropper in no time.

Here at Ascend Cloud Solutions, we believe that cloud migration is good for business. That's why we've managed so many successful migrations over the years.

But sadly, a successful migration doesn't always have an impressive half-life.

Let's suppose you've moved your data and apps to the cloud – your day-to-day business is now accessible in any town or city and on any permitted device.

You're looking forward to a golden summer of accessibility, reduced costs, flexibility, scalability, Olympian uptime and cutting-edge security.

But don't get out the champagne and balloons just yet. It will only reap rewards if you tested and tested again.

Why is it important to test before you migrate?

Migrating without testing is like climbing Everest without a map. A fellow hiker at base camp can point in the direction of the peak – but the higher you get, the more likely you are to get lost.

In the aftermath of cloud migration, "getting lost" could mean crashing servers, scrambled databases, lost data or glitchy apps.

This is annoying, yes – but it's also costly as you scrabble for assistance. In the meantime, you're watching productivity take a belly-flop and even seeing your customers and partners look elsewhere.

The best way to avoid this is through methodical testing.

You need to know that you're not trying to stuff a square peg into a round hole. Legacy apps can be migrated successfully – but it's not a given. And the more rushed the process, the more likely you are to be stuffing a holiday's worth of clothes into a handbag.

So before the process begins in earnest, test and test again.

What needs to be tested?

There are two main things you need to know before the big day. The first relates to performance. The second is about compatibility.

Essentially, you're trying to avoid any nasty surprises down the line. That's why you need to find out how your workloads will perform on a range of platforms and devices.

If you have a hybrid architecture, you need to be sure that your legacy and cloud-based apps can be integrated. Any chink in your armour can seriously slow down your performance.

Everybody knows that security is paramount – but it's surprising how often people charge into cloud migration without carrying out serious security tests.

To avoid ransomware, malware and other nasty cyber bugs, you need to be as certain as you can be that your sensitive data will be safe.

Finally, there's the question of scalability.

The cloud is like a pair of stretchy elastic trousers. If you put on a little weight, you don't need to replace them. In the business world, this is invaluable. It means that your cloud storage can change as your business grows – you don't need to tear out servers and install new ones.

But like performance and security, smooth scalability isn't inevitable. You need to carry out stress and load tests to check that your new cloud environment is truly scalable.

What are the barriers to testing?

One of the biggest barriers to testing is that it sounds a bit too much like hard work. We're not judging – most people in business already feel like they're juggling knives in a blizzard. If you see a shortcut, it's only human to take it.

Besides, isn't the cloud meant to be easy ? How easy can it be if you have to put in so much work to get it off the ground?

We get it. But cutting corners costs cash. You don't want to end up with an expensive albatross around your neck.

The other major barrier to testing is a lack of in-house expertise.

Again, we're not being critical. Cloud computing is to traditional IT what the Starship Enterprise is to a Ford Fiesta.  It's one of the paradoxes of modern tech – the more widespread it becomes, the more specialised the science behind it becomes.

Let's take one example – scalability testing. This is a relatively new art form. You might have a brilliant, talented team of IT technicians, but they won't necessarily be able to get this job done for you.

As so often with the world of cloud computing, you're faced with a choice.

You can pour money into retraining and upskilling your team. Over time, you can have a crack team of cloud specialists on-site.

The problem here is twofold. First, it takes a long time. The metamorphosis from cloud chrysalis to butterfly takes years of training – but the benefits of cloud migration can't wait that long.

Secondly, it's going to cost you. If you're going to do it properly, you'll need to invest a lot of money into a successful training programme.

The alternative is to partner with a cloud consultant.

How can a cloud consultant help?

Most of us rely on experts on a daily basis. There's a reason we check the weather app rather than building a meteorological lab in the garden.

A cloud consultant can help you to plan and implement a cloud migration – but they can also help you to test and test again to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.

Partnering with a cloud consultant means you have ready access to niche expertise. It means you can focus on your business goals while they focus on the tech.

It means that you're more likely to save money in the long run. And it means that, at the end of the process, you'll be looking at a company built for the cloud and not just resting in it.

At Ascend Cloud Solutions we've completed more than 400 cloud migrations and counting. Get in touch today if you're interested in our managed cloud migration services .