Cloud Migration Services may be better explained with a bit of context of where the industry has been the last 15 years and how the introduction of new cloud-based technologies is attracting more users. Many businesses that have been in the game for many years may have started out hosting their own file server. That file server may be a Microsoft Small Business Server or something similar performing a wide assortment of functions. The server may be authenticating a bunch of users from their computers into the Microsoft Business Server that also acts as a Domain Controller. A server acting as a Domain Controller will be broken out in its own server(s) in bigger environments.
Applications that are typically hosted on a Small Business server or in bigger environments an Application Server were very locally based until VPN, LogMeIn, Citrix were incorporated into the environment that allowed for more remote opportunities. Then SaaS came along and turned everything upside down but I am jumping a bit in my story telling.
These on-premise applications are legacies from the past for many small and micro business are still very much the reality for bigger businesses. One must decide whether performing the duties of a data center is in their best interest when replacement cycles of hardware run about every three to five years and the licensing alone is going to make you think twice. Not to mention all the security liabilities that come from hosting your own on-premise infrastructure.
What can be migrated and hosted in the cloud?
Cloud Hosting Migration Services can really be anything you want. We will go with the obvious on premise infrastructure to be migrated first and work our way down.
File Servers
Many got a taste for what is possible with the introduction of DropBox in around ’09 but there are many business grade options. Below are some blog posts for what organizations are doing with their data.
File Server in the cloud
Note: Not all file sharing solutions are created equally. Read on to learn more.
Migrating from basic File Server to Another
- A lot of big bulky file servers can be consolidated into a NAS or SAN. Get a taste of what it’s like to migrate data in micro business server environment here.
Oh man, talk to any IT guy and they will use the Microsoft Exchange email system in vain. A lot of small business either had some horrible IMAP or POP service, still used AOL, or later Gsuite came to town and saved the day. Now Microsoft Office 365 swept business off their feet and with all its bundling of software and Gsuite is considered a life of misery.
Application Servers by Industry or Department
Accounting and Bookkeeping
A lot of bookkeeper loves the desktop version of QB for whatever reason. However, Quickbooks is another problematic application server support by IT and paid for by the business owner. Fortunately, with everyone going to the cloud, Intuit Quickbooks was no longer the only game in town. We now have slew of bookkeeping SaaS options including Quickbooks Online, Xero, Zoho Books, and FreshBooks. Other, niche financial software solutions have popped up too of late including a budgeting software called Divvy that really comes in handy for coding all your expenses.
Design and Engineering
Solidworks requires three servers for full deployment and boat load of licensing and support payments. Same with Autocad.
Law – Case Management in the Legal Field
Abacus Law is feeling the pinch from SaaS products like RocketMatter
Health
Electronic Medical Records swept the nation with the HITECH Act in ’09. Companies like eClinicalworks, Epic, and AllScripts to name a few dominated the landscape for better or worse. Most of these platforms were on-prem based but now have cloud solutions.
Centralized User Authentication
A legacy of the past is now come back in vogue the last five years with ransomware creating havoc for big and small. Azure Active Directory allows you to authenticate to the cloud instead of legacy on-premise Domain Controller.
Cloud Migration Services Summary
As you can see, there are plenty of cloud migration services out there. Some are better than others, you may want an organization that specializes in accounting of they are going to migrate your bookkeeping software. Same goes for some other specialty services. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean one IT company is lacking that skill vs another. You just have to ask the right questions when interviewing for you baby. Ie your data.
