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AWS for beginners

Everything you need to know when moving from On-premise to the Cloud

【Table of contents】

  1. 1. From on-premise to the cloud: Differences between the two
  2. 2. From on-premise to the cloud: Which should you choose?
  3. 3. From on-premise to the cloud: Thinking about the migration method
  4. 4. From on-premise to the cloud: Thinking about the right organization for the migration
  5. 5. From on-premise to the cloud - Try it out first
  6. 6. Conclusion
  • 1. From on-premise to the cloud: Differences between the two

    First, let's see the difference between on-premise and the cloud.

    • a) What is on-premise?

      On-premise refers to a configuration in which servers and other equipment are operated in a facility (such as a data center) that is managed or contracted by the own company itself. It is sometimes referred to as a hosted environment or a private cloud environment.

    • b) What is Cloud?

      It refers to an environment in which servers and services can be used freely via the Internet. Also known as the public cloud.

    • c) On-premise vs Cloud

      Let’s compare on-premise and cloud.

      On-premise Cloud
      Cost When it comes to initial costs, they are often significant. You will need to contract for a data center, purchase equipment, bring in, and set it up.
      Maintenance costs are also high, as you need to consider equipment and service monitoring, security measures, and disaster preparedness.
      As for the initial cost, there is basically no cost in many cases.
      Maintenance costs can also be kept low with proper management, as you will often be charged only for what you use.
      Speed Speed is slow, with contracts, equipment setup and system release often taking six months to several years to complete. It's possible to build an environment with just a few clicks, and it's possible to get service at a very fast rate.
      Quality In the event of a failure, detailed investigation is possible, making it easier to identify the cause and formulate a permanent response. The combination of various services contributes to the improvement of quality. However, since it is not possible to investigate the cause of the failure in detail, it is difficult to take a permanent action.
      Customization Compared to the cloud, it's much more customizable, and anything is possible if you can afford it. It can be customized with a combination of services, but it is less flexible than on-premise.

       
      As you can see, there is a big difference between on-premise and cloud, and you need to make a decision on which is best for you.

  • 2. From on-premise to the cloud: Which should you choose?

    There are various cloud providers nowadays, and each one has its own characteristics. When moving from on-premise to the cloud, know the features of each so you can choose the best cloud service for you. Typical services are listed below.

    • a) AWS (Amazon Web Services)

      It's provided by Amazon Web Services, a subsidiary of Amazon. It is a cloud service with the world's No.1 market share. Continuous and frequent updates ensure the highest quality of service.

    • b) Microsoft Azure

      It is provided by Microsoft and has a high affinity with on-premise such as Office products and Active Directory and has an overwhelming advantage in hybrid cloud methods that work with on-premise.

    • c) GCP (Google Cloud Platform)

      It's provided by Google, which is very strong in large-scale data analysis and machine learning with services like TensorFlow and BigQuery. In addition, integration with Gmail and Google Calendar is also possible.

    • d) Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

      It is provided by Oracle. It is characterized by overwhelmingly low prices. Also, components such as OracleDataGuard can only be used with OracleCloud, so if you are using OracleDataGuard on-premise, you may want to consider it.

    • e) Multi-Cloud

      This is a method of building a system using multiple clouds mentioned above. Although advanced knowledge is required, multi-clouding is accelerating, with Azure and OracleCloud announcing collaboration.

  • 3. From on-premise to the cloud: Thinking about the migration method

    There are many ways to migrate from on-premise to the cloud. When migrating from on-premise to the cloud, it is necessary to know the characteristics of each migration method and consider the cost and feasibility. Here are four ways to migrate from on-premise to the cloud.

    • a) Lift and Re-host

      It's about moving to the cloud while keeping the system configuration and applications intact. It is the easiest way to migrate, and is ideal for organizations that need to migrate, such as those that have run out of OS support, or that have little cloud know-how. On the other hand, they often don't take full advantage of the cloud.

    • b) Re-platform

      It is a migration method that brings the architecture more or less in line with the cloud as compared to lift and re-host. For example, this is a method to reduce operational costs by migrating the database to PaaS (such as AWS RDS). You'll also get the benefits of the cloud while keeping the risk of migration low.

    • c) Repurchase

      It is a migration method that replaces on-premise products with SaaS or other products in the cloud. For example, if a product specializes in a specific function, such as changing the anti-virus infrastructure that has been operating on-premise to SaaS, the speed and cost of migration can be dramatically reduced.

    • d) Refactoring

      This migration method takes full advantage of the functions and services of the cloud and rebuilds the application. It is the most challenging, but with continuous operation, you can maximize the unique benefits of the cloud, such as fault tolerance, fast deployment, and low cost.

  • 4. From on-premise to the cloud: Thinking about the right organization for the migration

    When moving from on-premise to the cloud, it is essential to back up your organization. For example, when moving from on-premise to the cloud, the on-premise technicians and people in the organization who feel risked by the cloud will oppose to moving to the cloud.

    • a) Develop people

      The first thing that matters when moving to the cloud is getting people who are well versed to and have a good knowledge about the cloud. In this day and age, cloud service providers offer various types of training and video sharing sites full of hands-on videos that can help you learn about the cloud at no cost. It is important to create a system for evaluating and backing up such people, and to develop the talent who will be responsible for the migration from on-premise to the cloud throughout the organization.

    • b) Involve your partner

      There is a plethora of partners out there to help you migrate from on-premise to the cloud, including cloud business providers like AWS and Google, as well as consultants who specialize in the cloud. By working with such partners, you can not only reduce the risk of migration to the cloud, but also gain a variety of know-how.

    • c) Grow the organization

      As you increase your workloads migrating from on-premise to the cloud, you should create a specialized unit of cloud experts. By focusing on security and compliance measures related to the cloud, you can efficiently move from on-premise to the cloud. Also, by consolidating know-how, we can maximize the benefits we can get from the cloud. In addition, it has the effect of increasing interest in the cloud within the organization and accelerating talent development.

  • 5. From on-premise to the cloud - Try it out first

    When considering a migration from on-premise to the cloud, it's common to spend a lot of time planning and not have the knowledge and know-how to go through the migration phase. If you are considering migrating to the cloud, it is most important that you first try out the cloud services and experience the advantages, disadvantages, and features of each service to get an image of the migration.

  • 6. Conclusion

    ・You should know that on-premise and cloud are different in terms of speed, cheapness, and customizability.
    ・There are various providers of cloud services, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
    ・It is necessary to know about the migration method and select the most appropriate method.
    ・It is important that the entire organization is involved in the migration from on-premise to the cloud.
    ・First and foremost, it is important to experience the service.