Blog The Cloud Migration Factory: ensuring the best solutions for customers with a centralized knowledge library
By Insight Editor / 29 Oct 2020 / Topics: Cloud
Author: Teddy Dubois
Cloud & Datacenter Transformation Consultant at Insight
Organisations are rapidly adopting cloud technology, a trend that has accelerated due to the current crisis. However, a lot of companies eventually decide to return loads to an on prem environment. There are many reasons for this, but quite often the initial decision to migrate is based on a misconception of the cloud. To find the best solutions for customers along their cloud migration path, Insight introduces the Cloud Migration Factory, a centralized library with knowledge and experience gathered from our consultants.
Most businesses were at least considering a cloud strategy when the global pandemic broke out. The crisis has prompted them to accelerate their transition. The business advantages of a cloud environment are clear: it allows fast adoption of new technologies, it is a flexible and secure solution that increases scalability, and it is the most cost-efficient choice for companies to keep up with a changing world. Whereas organisations in the past had to invest money upfront and then tried to get as much return as possible, they can now pay for what they consume when a service actually starts to support customers.
The benefits of the cloud are essential for companies that want to build resilience. The cloud enables them to quickly onboard new technology to ensure business continuity and to improve collaboration among a distributed workforce. However, deciding to adopt a cloud strategy is no guaranteed success. According to research by IDC in 2018, about 80% of respondents repatriated public cloud workloads to a private cloud or on-prem environment.
Misconception of cloud
There are several explanations for this reverse trend in cloud adoption. First, companies often have a misconception of the cloud and approach it as a mere extension of their existing datacentre. But in doing so they think of the cloud in the same way as when they would choose a hosting service or a new datacentre. Instead, they should focus on the multiple unique benefits that cloud environments offer. Otherwise they will not be able to optimise costs or use the proper services for their specific needs.
Second, many companies base their decision to adopt cloud technology on what they have read and heard. They want to move too fast without taking the time to learn how they can transform their business correctly. A simple cloud migration of everything they have, does not work in the long term. It should really change the way they operate. Some organisations may even conclude that they do not need the cloud for their current activities.
Cloud Migration Factory
To ensure the best cloud adoption, companies should always consider to seek assistance of an experienced partner. Insight offers customers guidance along their full migration path – from assessment and planning up to migration and support. To improve these services, we have launched the ‘Cloud Migration Factory’ – a centralized library that contains knowledge and information based on years of experience from hundreds of Insight consultants across EMEA who work on a daily basis with Azure, Amazon and datacentre cloud projects.
The purpose of the Cloud Migration Factory is to ensure that customers always get the best service for their needs. When a product or solution is proposed, this advice is not based on the reflection of just one individual consultant but on the knowledge and skills of all people involved in delivering the service. Insight relies on experienced teams of cloud architects and product managers who work with specific technologies. Together they create best practices for different projects and areas requested by clients. They also share new knowledge of incoming technologies.
This information is then used to create a model of deployment and architecture that serves as a unique shared resource for all consultants of Insight. It gives them access to a deep pool of knowledge when they help a customer with the integration of new cloud technology or the migration of existing tools and applications. Best practices are also specified for different vendors of cloud technology – think about Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services. It enables consultants to carefully consider all scenarios before choosing the most valuable project for a customer.
From assessment to support
Migrations are often long processes that quickly overwhelm IT teams. The Cloud Migration Factory supports Insight’s services for all customers, wherever they are on their digital transformation journey. From assessing the environment and estimating which technology would work best, to planification and developing the architecture and model. Clients can choose for guidance in the process or give Insight complete responsibility for the migration.
Finally, customers can rely on dedicated support based on this pool of knowledge. OneCall is a service that offers partner-specific support options. Customers can choose the kind of support they need and the product they need help with, so the support team can work with the customer to find the best answer for their request or problem. Insight can also offer proactive support by monitoring to discover and solve issues before they become a problem for the customer.
The Cloud Migration Factory enables Insight consultants to increase the value of their support and service. Depending on the customer needs, the data in this library can be leveraged to find the most valuable solution in the long term. By making sure that companies perform a correct migration to the cloud, they can immediately experience the real benefits of cloud technology.
More information can be found here. Interested?
