Cloud Migration Best Practices: Mitigating Risks and Optimizing Costs

Today’s cloud era is no longer about being up there; it’s about thriving there. As enterprises navigate their cloud journey, they confront an unexpected truth: the efficiency promised by cloud computing often gets overshadowed by the high costs of security and management. Migrating data to the cloud, once deemed cost-effective, now opens the floodgates to unexpected expenses, especially when nearly half that data is likely digital clutter. It’s a startling reality where 60% of enterprises exceed their cloud budgets, and 40% of cloud spending is swallowed by overprovisioning. Layer on the constant threat of security breaches, and today’s cloud landscape becomes a complex matrix of challenges and risks.

A recent webinar between 1touch.io and Wipro brought together industry experts to dissect these challenges and offer robust strategies for effective cloud migration. Mrinmay Jana, Engagement Partner for Data Security & Protection – Americas at Wipro, and Jesse Sedler, VP of Product at 1touch.io, shared their insights on lessons learned, key challenges and strategies to minimize them, and the importance of having a plan and getting help.

Today’s blog distills the essence of the discussion, focusing on actionable insights and best practices for streamlining costs, boosting efficiency, and tightening security for a smarter way to navigate the cloud.

Advantages of Considering Cloud Architecture from the Start

Mrinmay set the stage by emphasizing the critical importance of a well-architected cloud migration strategy, stating, “Everything starts with architecture. If you don’t do it right, then the problems start.” When considering a move to the cloud, it’s essential to understand the advantages of a well-architected cloud strategy. By carefully considering cloud architecture from the outset, organizations can tap into a host of advantages:

• Cost-Effectiveness: With dynamic provisioning, you can optimize your spending by paying only for the computing resources you actually use. This allows you to align your IT costs with your actual consumption, eliminating waste and maximizing efficiency.
• Scalability: Cloud architecture offers unparalleled scalability, enabling you to adapt to changing business needs with ease. This agility empowers your organization to respond quickly to market demands, seize new opportunities, and maintain a competitive edge.
• Time to Market: By embracing cloud architecture, you can accelerate your time to market. You no longer need to wait to procure, set up, and configure computing infrastructure. Reduced infrastructure overhead allows you to focus on your core business objectives, driving innovation and delivering value to your customers faster.
• Accelerated Transformation: Cloud architecture enables automated environments to speed up modernization and drive digital transformation. By leveraging the cloud’s advanced capabilities, such as automation, machine learning, and analytics, you can streamline your processes, gain valuable insights, and unlock new levels of efficiency and innovation.
• High Availability: Cloud architecture is designed to ensure continuous, high availability and resilience, even under fluctuating loads. With built-in redundancy, geo-distribution, and automatic failover capabilities, the cloud enables your applications and services to remain accessible and performant, even in the face of unexpected disruptions or spikes in demand.
• Enhanced Security: Contrary to common misconceptions, cloud architecture can actually enhance your organization’s security posture. Leading cloud providers continuously invest in upgrading and improving their security mechanisms. By leveraging the expertise and resources of these providers, you can benefit from advanced security measures that may be challenging to implement and maintain on your own.

Taking the time to carefully architect your cloud strategy from the start will pay dividends in terms of cost optimization, agility, innovation, security, and resilience.

Navigating the Pitfalls: Cloud Migration Risks

While cloud migration offers numerous benefits, it also comes with its own set of risks that organizations must navigate carefully:

Data Storage Costs and Over-Provisioning

Many organizations fall into the trap of over-provisioning resources, assuming more is better. As data is migrated to the cloud, it becomes all too easy for duplicate copies and unnecessary data to proliferate, leading to unexpected expenses. Organizations must focus on data minimization, moving only essential data to the cloud and implementing strict governance policies to prevent unnecessary duplication. ROT data (redundant, obsolete, and trivial) not only wastes IT budgets but also poses potential security risks.

Data Loss and Backup Configuration

Improper backup configurations can lead to permanent data loss in the event of system failures or accidental deletions. In the cloud, data is more easily moved or copied, making it harder to enforce governance policies that adhere to regulatory standards and compliance requirements. Organizations must ensure robust backup strategies and maintain accurate data inventories to mitigate these risks.

Data Exposure and Access Control

The ease of granting access permissions in cloud environments can inadvertently lead to data exposure. The cloud makes it easy for access permissions to be granted to a lot of users, introducing a greater risk for data to be exposed to those who shouldn’t have access to it in the first place. To mitigate this risk, organizations must implement strict access controls and continuous monitoring, following the principle of least privilege.

Compliance and Data Sovereignty

Migrating data without full knowledge of its characteristics can lead to compliance breaches, particularly with regulations concerning data residency. Some data may need to be retained on-premises due to data localization laws or compliance requirements. Organizations must carefully assess their data landscape and maintain a clear understanding of regulatory obligations.

Security Gaps and Data Breaches

The use of weak or outdated encryption algorithms and poor key management practices can leave sensitive data vulnerable to breaches in the cloud, exposing sensitive information to unauthorized third parties. Robust encryption, access controls, and regular security audits are essential to mitigate these risks.

Strategic Planning for Successful Cloud Migration

To navigate the complexities of cloud migration successfully, organizations should follow a structured approach that encompasses assessment, data discovery, planning, migration, and security.

Assessing Current Infrastructure

A thorough assessment of the existing IT landscape is essential to identify which assets are suitable for cloud migration. This evaluation should consider factors such as application dependencies, performance requirements, data sensitivity, and compliance obligations. By understanding the current state, organizations can make informed decisions about which workloads to migrate, and in what order.

Data Discovery and Classification

Comprehensive data discovery and classification lay the foundation for a successful cloud migration strategy. Mrinmay emphasized, “Discovering your data, understanding your data is the first step. Think about your data as when data comes to your organization and then it leaves the organization. There’s a data lifecycle.” By identifying and categorizing data based on its sensitivity, criticality, and compliance requirements, organizations can ensure that the right data is migrated to the right environment with appropriate security controls.

Developing a Migration Roadmap

A well-defined migration plan is crucial for success. This roadmap should encompass the migration method, target architecture, risk mitigation measures, and a phased timeline for execution. Engaging stakeholders from across the organization, including application owners, data owners, and the privacy office, ensures alignment and buy-in. A comprehensive plan helps organizations navigate the complexity of migration while minimizing disruption to business operations.

Implementing Security Measures

Robust security strategies must be implemented to protect data during and after migration. This includes encrypting data in transit and at rest, implementing strong access controls, and employing correct cryptographic techniques. Organizations should also establish clear security policies, conduct regular audits, and provide ongoing training to ensure that cloud security best practices are followed consistently.

Cloud Migration Cost Optimization Strategies

The key to cloud migration cost optimization is knowing exactly what data should be migrated and retaining only necessary data. Effective resource management and continuous monitoring are instrumental in optimizing costs and maintaining security in cloud migration.

Dynamic Resource Allocation

By leveraging the cloud’s dynamic provisioning capabilities, organizations can allocate resources based on actual demand, avoiding over-provisioning and wasteful spending. Continuous monitoring and adjustment of resource allocation ensure optimal utilization and cloud migration cost optimization.

Data Minimization

Identifying and removing redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) data before migration significantly reduces storage costs and minimizes the risk of data proliferation. As Jesse noted, “Focusing on data minimization and only retaining necessary data is a great way to reduce resource consumption, and in turn, cloud storage costs.” By retaining only essential data, organizations can streamline their cloud footprint and reduce complexity.

Continuous Monitoring and Adaptation

Cloud environments require ongoing monitoring and optimization to ensure cost-effectiveness. Organizations should establish processes to regularly review resource utilization, identify opportunities for consolidation, and adapt their strategies based on evolving business needs and usage patterns. Continuous improvement and iteration are key to maximizing the benefits of the cloud.

Enhanced Security Measures

As enterprises migrate to the cloud, enhancing security measures is non-negotiable. This includes ensuring proper configuration of cloud backups to prevent data loss, securing data with appropriate access controls, and utilizing robust encryption methods. These measures help mitigate the risks associated with cloud storage costs, data exposure, and compliance requirements.

Automated Contextual AI for Improved Data Handling

Using automated, contextual AI tools can greatly enhance the accuracy and efficiency of data discovery and classification. This technology supports better data governance and security by providing a more accurate data inventory, which is crucial for effectively managing data in the cloud. The Inventa platform from 1touch.io uses AI to provide contextual sensitive data intelligence that is significantly more accurate and scalable than traditional methods.

Technologies such as AI and machine learning are transforming cloud security by enabling proactive security measures like predictive threat analysis and automated incident response, significantly enhancing an organization’s security posture.

1touch.io for Streamlined Cloud Migration

1touch.io Inventa offers a powerful solution for organizations embarking on their cloud migration journey. The platform focuses on three key steps to ensure a secure and efficient transition to the cloud:

1. Discovery of all sensitive data
2. Classification of sensitive data
3. Identifying data to be removed or kept on-premises

The 1touch.io platform provides automated scanning capabilities, leveraging a network-based, passive approach for seamless operations across any environment. It employs advanced contextual AI and ML techniques, including neural networks, supervised AI, NLP, and semantic analysis, to deliver unparalleled scale, performance, and accuracy. With a proven 98.6% accurate data inventory at the data element and repository level, 1touch.io enables organizations to gain a complete and reliable understanding of their sensitive data landscape.

Once the sensitive data is discovered and classified, 1touch.io helps organizations identify data that should be removed or kept on-premises prior to cloud migration. This strategic approach allows organizations to control costs and reduce risk by eliminating unnecessary data from the migration process.

The 1touch.io platform offers several advanced capabilities that set it apart in the market:

• Proven data accuracy of 98.6% for both structured and unstructured data
• Unmatched enterprise scalability, successfully handling over 100,000 data sources
• Single pane of glass view, offering full visibility into data across on-premises, cloud, and mainframe systems
• AI-driven speed to discover, classify, and resolve incidents rapidly

By leveraging 1touch.io for cloud migration, organizations can adeptly navigate the complexities of sensitive data management. The platform’s advanced capabilities, coupled with its focus on data minimization and targeted migration, enable organizations to unlock the benefits of the cloud while maintaining a strong security and compliance posture.

Real-World Results: Lessons from the Trenches

The webinar featured real-world examples that demonstrate the successful application of these strategies.

In one case study, a global investor and diversified business engaged Wipro to optimize their cloud migration. By deploying discovery tools, conducting detailed assessments, and generating affinity reports, Wipro provided practical recommendations to resolve compatibility challenges and streamline the migration process. This collaborative approach ensured a smooth transition to the cloud while mitigating risks and optimizing costs.

Another case study showcased a global IT services organization that leveraged 1touch.io’s platform to discover and inventory data across the enterprise. By gaining visibility into sensitive data categorized by business owner and age, the organization was able to remove obsolete data, reducing their attack surface and achieving a 50% reduction in sensitive data. This translated to an annual storage cost savings of approximately $200,000, demonstrating the tangible benefits of data minimization and intelligent migration strategies.

Partnering for Success

Cloud migration offers significant benefits for organizations seeking to enhance agility, scalability, and cost efficiency. Realizing these advantages requires careful planning and strategic execution. The insights shared by experts from 1touch.io and Wipro during the webinar provide a valuable roadmap for businesses embarking on their cloud migration initiatives.

The collaboration between 1touch.io and Wipro exemplifies the power of combining deep domain expertise with best-in-class technology to drive successful outcomes. By leveraging 1touch.io’s contextual AI and analytics platform and Wipro’s extensive experience in guiding complex migration initiatives, organizations can chart a clear course through the complexities of the cloud.

Next Steps

To dive deeper into the topics covered in this blog post, we invite you to watch the webinar recording on-demand here.

For personalized guidance and expert consultations tailored to your organization’s specific cloud migration needs, reach out to the teams at 1touch.io and Wipro who stand ready to assist you in navigating the complexities of cloud migration and achieving your business objectives.