Cloud Data Migration Roadmap for Enterprises

1. Introduction

Complexities in user account hierarchy, folder/file structure, and permissions make it challenging for enterprises to have a clear picture of the migration journey. But with a proper roadmap, enterprises can align their objectives, streamline the action plan, and set realistic outcome expectations.

We have put together a roadmap by taking insights from our past enterprise customers, including Discovery, Inc., Michigan State University, Gatwick Airport, and many more.

2. Finalizing the Cloud Combinations

The first step to planning an enterprise cloud data migration journey is to finalize the cloud combinations. For many enterprises, planning the cloud combination may not be as straightforward as moving to another single cloud.

For example, if your company is using multiple clouds/file systems, it’s important to discuss with the management and CTO whether to move multiple clouds’ or file systems’ data to a single or multiple destination cloud.

We have created success stories for enterprise customers with requirements to migrate from multiple clouds and file systems to multiple destination clouds.

3. Planning Migration Paths

Depending on your company’s requirements, you may plan to retain the user account hierarchy and folder/file structure or make modifications to them in the destination cloud.

Or it may be necessary to make some minor changes due to the differences in permission levels between the source and destination cloud.

To streamline the process of planning migration paths, we recommend checking these two boxes:

• Analyzing how data is structured in the source cloud data
• Understanding how permissions work in the destination cloud

Our managed migration team is dedicated to helping enterprises plan which data goes where and streamline overall migration paths. Learn more from them.

4. Finalizing Custom Requirements

Enterprises have intricate migrations requirements due to complex user hierarchies and data structures. And in many cases, having a custom feature built by the migration partner to meet specific requirements may be the only way forward.

It is crucial to plan and finalize custom requirements before starting the migration process.

Communicate clearly about the specifics of the custom requirements to ensure error-free deployment.

5. Planning Data Reconciliation Processes

When migrating complex folder structures and permissions, some files may go into conflict. Or there may be unforeseen roadblocks that may raise the risk of some data going into conflict. And the best way enterprises can be prepared is to have data reconciliation plans.

Schedule meetings with the migration manager to ensure proper data reconciliation processes. The quicker the data conflict resolution, the lower the downtime.

CloudFuze is a market leader in data reconciliation. We have helped many enterprises recover from migration conflicts they faced with their previous migration partners.

6. Choosing the Migration Environment

Choosing the right migration environment is one of the most critical decisions in enterprise cloud data migration projects. Although performing the migration in a cloud-based environment is hassle-free, enterprises should rely on a secure on-prem environment to ensure optimum information security.

We offer enterprises the option to deploy our scalable migration platform in their private data center and perform the entire migration locally.

7. Finalizing the Migration Timeline

Unlike SMB cloud data migration, enterprise cloud data migration projects require a longer time due to higher data size and user account numbers. And the longer the migration time frame, the more challenging it becomes to measure how efficiently the project moves forward.

Therefore, it is a must to plan a proper timeline that provides your IT team with a clear picture of the entire migration journey.

Factor in all the important stages such as pre-migration analysis, batch-wise migration, validating one-time migration completion, delta migration, and validating delta migration completion when planning the migration timeline.

8. Planning the Scope of Post-Migration Support

Well-structured post-migration support plays a crucial role in ensuring complete enterprise cloud data migration success. Here are some of the post-migration support areas that resonate with enterprises:

• One-time migration validation
• Delta migration execution
• Delta migration validation
• Decommissioning the source cloud
• Extending the license if required