Cloud
migration should not be thought of as a one-time project but as a
continuous process that requires thoughtful reassessment and
re-alignment to maximize the potential value of cloud, an independent
research firm concluded in a commissioned study conducted by Forrester
Consulting on behalf of CloudHealth Technologies.
The
research from Forrester Consulting, "Due Diligence is the Cornerstone
of Public Cloud Migration Success," is a Technology Adoption Profile
(TAP), a format in which Forrester summarizes market surveys and custom
research questionnaires to show how IT organizations are using and
benefiting from emerging technology and industry trends. The study
polled 108 U.S. decision makers responsible for public cloud (IaaS)
strategy at firms migrating workloads to public cloud.
The study reached the following conclusions:
- Cloud migration is not easy -- less than 40% of firms meet or exceed goals related to both migration and run costs.
- Cost
complexity is the largest source of confusion and misaligned
expectations -- 58% of respondents claim the costs to run their
infrastructure in the cloud were higher than estimated.
- Due
diligence in the discovery and planning phases are critical -- when
asked what they would do differently in their next migration, the most
common responses were to invest in tools, increase performance
visibility, increase education of costs, risks and benefits, and spend
more time on application assessment.
"Not
only will increased visibility help to optimize performance and cost,
but holistic information serves as a collaboration point across
stakeholders," the study states.
While
many firms pursue cloud with the expectation of improved performance
and cost reduction, only 43 percent of those surveyed considered their
most recent migration to public cloud as a success overall, according to
the report. The study found most firms underestimate the costs
associated with cloud usage and migration. While cloud platforms promise
greater agility and flexibility, pay-per-use models often translate to
unpredictable costs.
During
the discovery and planning phase firms should strive to "increase
visibility, education and time spent on application profiling" and
"involve more business stakeholders in order to realign security and
budgeting processes for a cloud first mandate."
"We
believe these conclusions echo what we've been hearing from customers
for years - that cloud migration is a difficult, confusing process that
must be approached in a holistic fashion," said Joe Kinsella, CTO and
Founder of CloudHealth Technologies. "The successful organizations are
the ones that take the time to plan, evaluate their options and adopt
continuous-learning feedback processes."
You can download a full copy of the study here.