VM Modernization: How to Transition from On-Premises to the Cloud

VM Modernization: Your Path to Cloud Success in 2024

Is your virtual machine (VM) strategy stuck in the on-premises era? It’s time to modernize and reap the benefits of the cloud.

Why Modernize Your VM Strategy?

• Enhanced Scalability and Elasticity: Cloud environments readily scale up or down to match your workload demands, optimizing resource usage and costs.
• Improved Agility and Innovation: The cloud fosters faster development and deployment cycles, allowing your teams to innovate and respond to market shifts more quickly.
• Cost Optimization: Pay-as-you-go cloud models can reduce capital expenditures on hardware and ongoing maintenance.
• Resilience and Disaster Recovery: Cloud providers offer robust disaster recovery solutions and high availability options to minimize downtime in case of failures.
• Access to Advanced Services: Tap into cloud-native services for machine learning, analytics, and other cutting-edge technologies.

Strategies for Modernizing Your Approach

The following strategies are often used, sometimes in combination, depending on your applications and needs:

• Rehosting (“Lift and Shift”): The quickest path. It involves moving your existing VMs to a cloud infrastructure as-is, with minimal changes. A good fit for legacy applications that require little modification.
• Replatforming: This strategy involves some adjustments to your VMs to optimize them for the cloud environment. This might include updating the operating system or making minor configuration changes. A useful middle-ground between speed and better cloud integration.
• Refactoring/Rearchitecting: Rebuilding parts or all of your applications to take full advantage of cloud services, such as microservices and serverless architectures. This is more investment-heavy, but offers the greatest long-term benefits in terms of performance and scalability.
• Replacing (SaaS): For some less customized applications, it might be beneficial to retire your on-premises software and replace it with a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution.

Key Steps in Your Modernization Journey

1. Assessment and Planning:
   • Thoroughly inventory your current VM infrastructure, dependencies, and applications.
   • Define your modernization goals (cost savings, agility, etc.).
   • Choose the suitable cloud provider (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, etc.) based on your requirements.
   • Decide on the best migration strategies for each application.
2. Migration Execution
   • Use cloud-native or third-party migration tools to automate the process.
   • Conduct rigorous testing to ensure functionality post-migration.
3. Optimization
   • Right-size your cloud instances for optimal cost and performance.
   • Take advantage of cloud-native services where applicable.
   • Implement monitoring and performance analysis tools to ensure continued success.
4. Governance and Security
   • Establish clear cloud governance policies
   • Implement robust security measures with cloud-focused threat protection and identity management.

Additional Considerations

• Hybrid Cloud: A hybrid approach, where some workloads remain on-premises and others are hosted in the cloud, can offer a balanced path.
• DevOps Integration: Modernizing your VM strategies can benefit significantly by incorporating DevOps principles, promoting smoother deployment and management.