Migration to the Cloud - Part 2

 

In Part One of Migrating to the Cloud was about Migration Planning where I discussed some various aspects regard: Cloud Migration Phases, Transition Assessment, Migration Plan, Migration Strategies, and Timing. There are a variety of activities (Migration Planning, Migration Execution, Deployment Testing and Validation, Cloud Agility, Planning for Program, etc.) that are involved with cloud migration, and it is imperative that most, if not all these activities must be carefully considered to successfully migrate to the cloud. That said, this Part Two blog is about Cloud Agility, where I am going to focus my attentions on the three following aspects: Development and Testing, and Cloud Agility.

Deployment Testing and Validation:

1.      Testing Types – executing a test before the launch of any project is a must. Many of us have carry-out some forms of testing in our lifetime whether it be before during the planning stage to assist with any applications (database, server, or application) being moved to the cloud, subnetting a network IP address, or segmenting a network into more than one network, to ensure that it will perform accordingly as expected. In a cloud computing environment, testing is usually carried out “by cloning the resource or environment into the cloud and then running tests on this temporary copy.” On the other hand, such an approach will permit (allowed) you to experiment with the transformation to resources that are being tested and try out various CSPs (Cloud Service Providers) to figure out the one that is committed to working best for you. However, “on the downside, the cloned resource is not synced with its source data and might not have live data streams to work with.” With that said, there are many different testing methods that can be utilized to explore a new deployment which include the following:

a.      Functional Testing – according to West, “Functional testing ensures that predefined system requirements are met.” What this means basically is that the process verifies that everything will perform accordingly as it is expected to. Both module and component testing are two important approaches for functional testing of a single component. Furthermore, other functional testing that’s associated with initial “checks during development, called smoke testing – that’s based on the saying “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire”, (“implies a small problem early on cloud cause a serious issue later”).

b.      Performance Testing – migrating to the cloud is not as easy as many may think. Compatibility is the answer to a successful cloud migration or failure. Not all applications are cloud compatible, therefore checking for “compatibility issues, especially for any programs that rely heavily on each other to perform complex tasks.”   

Cloud Agility:

1.      Project Management - Project management is the implementation of understanding, skills, tools, and methods to project activities and to meet the requirements of the project. Project management can be achieved or accomplish through the appropriate implementation and “integration of the 42 logically grouped project management process comprising the 5 Process Groups” which are: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. There are various project management certifications available and one or more can be an assistance in feathering a career in the IT industry. An example could be a well skillful project management and cloud computing. Let’s turn our attention now to some critical project management key skills:

a.      Communication – to be successful in today digital world, you must have an excellent communication technical skill, and this especially “for an industry built upon the need for communication technology, IT professionals sometime lack in this so-called soft skill.” Communication is often seen as the top skill that most if not all employers seek as a potential skill that they require from their employees, especially for new hire. Proper communication is imperative. For example, when it comes managing a project that involved many different people, many different levels of activities, proper communication become even more critical to achieve the goal. Regular and idea communication is a must because it helps with good decision making “in specific scenarios” where “communication channels” are utilized like through social media, emails, online conferencing, and face-to-face meetings (conversation).

b.      Negotiation – proper negotiation will lead to success more often than none, especially when dealing with vendors. Negotiation with vendors is important because it helps in various of ways to establish opportunities for expending and feathering the limited to a budget.” Knowing how to write good RFPs (requests for proposal) and negotiate favorable contractual terms will help protect your organization not if, but when, something goes wrong during a project (West. 2023, p. 101).

Do not assume that everything is sound and well after a successful migration to the cloud because development, testing, and troubleshooting the deployment process never end. There are always going to be development, testing, and troubleshooting procedures involved throughout the existence of your cloud operation.

Reference:

West, Jill. (2023). CompTIA Cloud+ Guide to Cloud Computing (p. 96 & 101). Kindle Edition. Retrieved: September 28, 2023.