We’ve already discussed why cloud migration is a complex and multi-layered process that can bring immense value to organizations when performed the right way.
After deciding to move to the cloud, organizations need to choose a cloud vendor. Without a doubt, the most common choice is Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Let’s look at what AWS is and see what it offers to businesses and government organizations.
What is Amazon Web Services (AWS)?
AWS is a huge cloud platform that offers different cloud computing products and services to customers. AWS provides infrastructure, networking, storage, mobile solutions, multimedia services, cloud migration services, and a vast number of other tools and capabilities for organizations.
As of 2019, these products and services are available all over the world, with 66 availability zones in 21 geographic regions.
According to Statista, Amazon captured 32% of global cloud infrastructure spending in 2018. The other largest players in the market – Microsoft, Google, IBM, and Alibaba – held a combined 33% share of the same market. Statista also predicts that AWS will hold 52% of the overall cloud services market in 2020.
Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky considers AWS’s ability to cater to small companies, multi-national corporations and all other organizations in between as the main reason for its dominant place in the market.
In an in-depth study of the cloud market, Gartner also noted that AWS had become the “safe choice” for customers with its maturity, proven track record of success, a vast partner ecosystem, and an array of expanding capabilities.
Both giant companies and small startups have chosen AWS as their cloud vendor. Huge names in the tech world like Adobe, Samsung, and Netflix, along with banks like Suncorp Bank and Capital Bank, and government organizations like NASA, for example, are using AWS and reaping the benefits.
AWS Migration Services
As you can imagine, cloud migrations are a huge part of the AWS business model.
While a migration looks different from one company to the next, Amazon has taken its vast experience in the cloud computing sector and developed strategies and frameworks for successful utilization of the cloud.
The so-called 6 R’s outlined by Gartner and further developed by AWS have provided simple definitions for otherwise complex cloud migration strategies employed by thousands of companies.
In addition to the 6 R’s AWS has developed its Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF). The CAF provides a structured approach to cloud adoption to companies and demonstrates how they can take full advantage of the cloud. The idea behind using the CAF is for companies to create a detailed action plan for cloud adoption based on the best practices from thousands of other organizations.
The CAF divides each organization into six areas (called perspectives) – business, people, governance, platform, security, organization. Each area consists of specific skills and processes that provide structure and help with identifying gaps in a company’s current state.
AWS also offers a vast number of options for quick and simple data, database, and server migrations.
When it comes to transferring data, AWS has worked out a formula for figuring out how much data can be migrated and in how much time:
Number of days = (Total bytes) / (Megabits per second * 125 * 1 000 * Network usage * 60 seconds * 60 minutes * 24 hours)
The AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) and AWS Server Migration Service (SMS) are two of the company’s most popular services. The DMS supports both homogenous and heterogeneous migrations between different database platforms while keeping the source database fully operational during the migration therefore minimizing downtime. The SMS, on the other hand, is an agentless service that provides simple migrations of thousands of workloads to AWS.
All of these services are supported by several tools (link to article about migration tools) and a vast network of certified AWS partners who help companies with their cloud migrations and provide different AWS managed services.
Conclusion
There’s a lot more that can be said about cloud vendors and their capabilities.
Each organization has to take into account its problems and needs and go from there. Like all other complex business processes, a successful cloud adoption needs are solid plan and strategy, tailor-made for each specific company.
That said, AWS is the safest and most popular choice in terms of capabilities, tools, and services which most companies can use to their advantage.