Cloud Computing and SaaS are the latest buzz words in the IT industry these day. Businesses today are migrating their legacy applications to the Cloud, mostly as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The reason being, Cloud Computing offers convenient on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources including networks, applications, services, storage, servers, etc. These computing resources can then be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management efforts. There are many other benefits of cloud computing:
- Cloud Computing offers a broader network access. This means that you can access anything at anytime from anywhere.
- It helps you in achieving economies of scale. Your output is more with lesser people.
- You don’t have to spend huge bucks on technological infrastructure where you have everything that you need on the cloud.
- It helps in streamlining processes which ultimately lets to get more work in lesser time and people.
- With a cloud supported set up, it takes fewer people to do more work. So, there is less personal training required.
Despite all the benefits, the decision to migrate your legacy application to the cloud should not be taken lightly. Your decision should be based on a deep thought given to your business requirements. Remember, it is more about applying the correct strategy for the right application and least about the benefits offered by cloud computing.
A business must consider answering the following questions before deciding to migrate their legacy applications to the cloud:
- Why should I make the move to cloud?
The answers are simple. You should move your application to the cloud when you need to change the architecture of the app, or when you want to upgrade the app, or when you think implementing hybrid networks are required for your firm. - Which application should I migrate?
When it comes to numerous applications, it is never possible that one size will fit all. All applications are different from each other. Some are monolithic while others are single-thread applications meant for processing transactions.
- Which approach should I use to move to the cloud?
You need to decide how far you want to head into the cloud. If you need to have control over the code of your legacy application, SaaS is the best option. If you want to keep only certain functions with yourself as a legacy application, split those functions and outsource the other functions to a cloud provider.
But that’s not it! After answering all these questions, the enterprise must make sure that the applications continue to deliver excellent service to its end users.