Are you taking advantage of cloud computing for your business? You shouldn’t use complicated in-house logistical processes for tasks that could be handled in a much simpler way. Everything from HR to data storage can be migrated to a cost-effective solution in the cloud.
If you’ve been holding onto private servers and other costly in-house infrastructure, it’s time to reconsider. The smart money these days is on keeping your business as simple and robust as possible. You should use cloud service providers for the annoying stuff so your team can focus on the work that truly matters.
One of the biggest hurdles stopping businesses from moving to the cloud that it feels like too much hassle. When you have a complicated business with many moving parts, you may feel that it’s not feasible to port it over to a new cloud system. Does that ring a bell? If you’ve been thinking about cloud computing but are overwhelmed by the idea of cloud migration, this article is for you.
You may be worried about downtime, or simply not know where to start integrating cloud applications into your workflow. Luckily, there are powerful cloud migration tools available. These tools can help you at every step of the cloud migration process, from identifying opportunities to executing the changeover.
Here are five of the best cloud migration tools for your business:
1. AWS Database Migration Service
Amazon has been powering a large portion of the cloud computing world ever since it launched Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2006. When you consider the company’s ruthlessly data-driven approach to business, it’s no surprise that they have a top-notch database migration tool. They know the most common problems businesses face when moving to the cloud and designed this tool to solve them.
For example, a common complaint is that heterogenous migrations from one platform to the next can be very difficult. After all, there are a lot of different IoT cloud platforms to work with. The AWS Database Migration Service makes it easy, enabling you to move between platforms without hassle.
What about downtime? Amazon points out that “The source database remains fully operational during the migration, minimizing downtime to applications that rely on the database.”
With an easy-to-use user interface and a robust back-end that runs on Amazon’s proven cloud computing platform, this is a powerful tool for database migration. It’s hard to imagine a better way to put your in-house data onto the cloud.
2. Cloudscape
What if you believe in the power of cloud computing but have no idea how to integrate it into your business? Cloudscape is a great tool that helps you identify the first steps.
You need to start by developing a better understanding of your business’s data. Cloudscape measures the information floating around your company, looking to see what data goes where and determining the best way to organize it. You’ll see how data that is currently scattered around your organization could be organized into simpler and more effective silos.
After your seven-day analysis, Cloudscape can help you compare prices between different cloud services that will help you improve your business. After implementing new services, you can measure ongoing data trends to see how your cloud computing decisions affect your bottom line.
3. ScienceLogic
You might have a good understanding of the technical aspects of cloud migration, but still need more data to make your final decisions. ScienceLogic is an elegant cloud migration tool that offers in-depth and widely compatible IT data analysis and monitoring.
This service uses a simple interface to help you parse large amounts of information. As the company homepage puts it, they offer “One consistent and intuitive UI, one data store, one operational platform—no agents to deploy, no additional modules to integrate, no version dependencies.” You won’t have to waste time dealing with a convoluted onboarding process. ScienceLogic is quick to deploy and easy to use.
You use ScienceLogic by following a logical progression of analytical activity. First, you’ll get a baseline understanding of the way your business operates and determine how to classify network activity. Then, you’ll monitor this system and develop a visual map of the relationships between various departments. Finally, using this information, you can implement profound cloud-based automation strategies to free up your staff for uniquely human tasks.
4. AppDynamics
Some businesses are obsessed with the customer-facing aspect of their digital operation. They would love to utilize cloud computing services to ease the burden on their workforce, but can’t risk any negative impact to the customer experience. If you fall into this category, AppDynamics could be the perfect cloud migration tool for you.
If you aren’t tracking the user experience, how will you know when something goes wrong? AppDynamic grabs every instance of a crash or page load delay and looks for trends to help you fix issues that could cost your customers. They offer “End User Monitoring” to show you how your third-party apps are affecting performance.
The proprietary “Business IQ” system built into this tool helps you see the exact effect that your front-end system is having on your bottom line. You’ll see how much money you lose as the result of mobile app crashes, desktop browser glitches, and much more. By easily identifying your most costly issues, you can make your customers happier and earn bigger profits in the process.
5. DynaTrace
DynaTrace is an application performance management system with an interesting set of features. As the APM provider with the top market share, it’s easy to see that many companies are getting a lot of value from this service.
The foundation of this service is in its comprehensive data analytics. You can measure the rate that users are picking up on your new features, look for dependencies within your application stack, and identify “root cause” issues well before they result in a problem for a customer. These features are combined with a host of more basic options, such as visualizing your data flow across mobile and desktop devices worldwide.
One of the more interesting features that DynaTrace has to offer is an AI-powered assistant named Davis. Davis is available 24/7 as your front-line of support for questions about the tool. They also offer the “DynaTrace UFO”, designed to help distributed Dev teams keep in sync in real-time. Your business will be more coordinated and quicker to solve problems when it’s got DynaTrace to work with.
Getting comfortable with the cloud is crucial in this day and age. Don’t let the fear of migration hold you back. These five cloud migration tools should be immensely useful to get past the hump and start benefiting from cloud computing.
