Cloud Migration And App Modernization

Enterprises that are migrating key applications to the cloud want to move quickly. One method is to migrate existing virtual machine-based workloads to the cloud. Migration lays the groundwork for your cloud modernization plan, but it is just the beginning. To get the full advantages of public clouds, teams must update their apps and containerize applications that have already been transferred.

IBM commissioned Forrester Consulting to research cloud migration and modernization activities – where firms are now, what obstacles they face, and what they need to do to thrive in the future.

Cloud migration is quickly becoming a need.

Businesses are rushing to the cloud. According to our respondents, the proportion of their businesses' essential apps in the cloud has more than doubled in the previous two years and is expected to almost double again in the next two years.

While some businesses struggle to stay up, others whose businesses have already migrated have realized significant advantages. Improvements in scale, application functionality, operations, and security, among other things, have been mentioned by respondents.

The issue is no longer "whether" firms will move to the cloud but rather "when" and "how."

Cloud migration may be necessary and urgent, but it is just the beginning. Most decision makers (44%) want completely updated cloud-native programs distributed on the public cloud employing containers and microservices. Only one in every twelve people (8%) envisions a future in which their journey stops at migration (lift and shift).

Other replies fell somewhere in the middle: not everything will be cloud-native. Companies in transition must determine which mission-critical software or services should be prioritized for modernization as their migration strategy develop. Companies must select where they should begin or continue their modernization initiatives.

It Is Difficult To Transition From Cloud Migration To App Modernization

While many companies want to modernize, putting it into action is difficult. Application modernization is a comprehensive and demanding process. Companies often use numerous strategies of modernization to address this complexity. Almost two-thirds of respondents said their companies utilize various methods to update their applications, ranging from containers to virtual machines (VMs) to public cloud services. Furthermore, the majority expects migrated and modernized workloads to coexist for an extended time and will need their ability to function together.

Modernization presents significant issues, particularly in terms of ensuring security while modernizing. Almost half of the cloud teams (48%) lack a comprehensive strategy for modernization, compounding these issues.

A Checklist to Help You Make the Most of Your Cloud Journey

Fast is fine unless you're speeding toward a precipice. Rapid cloud adoption is desirable as long as migration and modernization activities provide business and operational advantages. However, four out of every ten cloud decision-makers now wish they had chosen a different vendor, and more than half wish they had spent more time picking their provider (58%).

Taking the following actions will help you mitigate the risks associated with cloud migration and modernization:

1. From the outset, prioritize security. Security was cited as the most difficult aspect of both cloud migration (57%) and app modernization (47%). Before spending substantial effort in app modernization, ensure that your chosen platform can match your goals. A good security procedure during relocation is critical to 90% of decision-makers.
2. Invest in long-term flexibility. Most organizations (65%) will utilize various modernization options, and these efforts will involve integration with VM images for the foreseeable future, so having a cloud environment that can handle both VMs and containers residing alongside public cloud-native applications is critical.
3. Adopt open technology. With so much uncertainty surrounding cloud provider selection, businesses should choose technologies that may lessen reliance on a single provider. Invest in container and container orchestration solutions that can operate wherever needed.
4. Create a comprehensive modernization strategy. Because of the complexity of application migration and modernization, it is even more critical to develop consistent standards that guide when to migrate from VMs to containers and when to relaunch refactored apps.

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