Companies use key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge the success of all types of initiatives. Applying this same mentality to a cloud migration strategy can help ensure you've met your goals while protecting your data during the process. Here are seven key metrics to consider when evaluating cloud migration services.
The importance of performance metrics for a cloud migration
Specific metrics allow cloud migration supervisors to determine which aspects of the service are thriving and which are struggling, whether in performance, infrastructure, security or user experience. These metrics help your business to prevent common issues altogether or correct them before they cause extensive damage.
Metrics can also encourage better adoption and engagement towards a transition to the cloud. When businesses notice reluctance or resistance to changes in operations from executives, hard evidence that proves the benefits of cloud technology may be persuading factors. With more support from the entire company, a cloud migration strategy can be easier to test and modify as needed.
Fundamental cloud migration metrics
Given the multi-faceted nature of cloud migration, there are numerous metrics you can use to evaluate success. While developing your strategy, keep in mind which metrics are most appropriate for your company. Here are some of the most common:
1.) Cost
Many businesses are drawn to cloud technology for its convenience and cost. However, there are more expenses to the process than data transfer rates. Before your company begins a migration, project supervisors must consider the costs of application redesign and dependency mapping. Once the migration process commences, monitor expenses related to billing, staffing and any third-party management resources. Keeping track of these expenses allows you to compare them against on-premise infrastructure costs and determine the financial impact of transitioning to the cloud.
2.) Time
Your company must also calculate how much time is necessary to complete your migration project. Before you begin the process, estimate how long activities in each phase will take with inputs, outputs and other operational measurements. These metrics can indicate the crucial techniques and data points needed to help make migration more efficient.
3.) Business interference
Although it might seem like everyone is moving to the cloud, it may not be the right time for every company. In some cases, the process may disrupt critical applications for conducting operations. With the proper metrics, you can decipher how much migration will interfere with routine business practices. Measuring downtime and the availability of vital cloud migration services can help establish an approximate baseline for disruption.
4.) Governance
A proper governance plan is crucial for long-term success and scalability. It's easy for companies to overlook duplicates and the importance of normalizing the data being transferred into the cloud, reducing productivity and increasing the amount of obsolete information.
Once you've assessed the data, develop a governance framework to ensure you preserve the most vital information during cloud migration. Successful governance plans have set rules but are flexible enough that users have a sense of control over the data. Be sure to establish stewardship policies to ensure team members properly maintain data after the migration is complete.
5.) Infrastructure
Applications and systems that originated on-premises may not work as well when transferred to the cloud. That's why you'll need to develop infrastructure measurements to gauge the performance of your hardware and network. For example, metrics for disk performance, memory usage and CPU usage can ensure efficiency across multiple areas.
6.) User experience
User experience metrics provide ample information about applications and often flag problems you might have not noticed before. These metrics expose hidden issues that can hinder performance, including improper cloud setups, hidden dependencies on in-house applications, internet overcrowding and lagging response times.
Several specific user experience metrics provide a clear indication of the project's success, including latency, error rates and customer satisfaction scores (CSAT). Latency gauges the time it takes an application to respond to a request, while the error rate measures how frequently requests fail. CSAT metrics express how migration in cloud computing may affect customer service and relations.
7.) Security
Cyberattacks continue to plague technology departments at many businesses, and cloud-based platforms also experience these issues. However, your company can evaluate the security of your cloud migration strategy through essential metrics. For example, indicators of compromise (IOCs) can help you catch unusual activity on your network, and user audits convey how many people accessed a server and how they engaged with the content during their session. You can also use input and output measurements to supervise the traffic on your network.
Transition to the cloud with confidence with Own
While considering these KPIs for your next migration, it’s important to have a cloud data protection platform in place. During the transition, Own’s backup and recovery services safeguard your mission-critical data, and sandbox seeding helps you easily work within test environments before making changes in production.
With Own, you can also preserve vital information with personalized archiving policies.
Schedule a demo today to learn more about how we can safeguard your data during your transition to the cloud.
