My Take on Cloud Migration: Data Transfer Must be a Stand-alone Consideration

by Seth Noble |  Blog |  Mar 06, 2020

I recently read a couple of articles about cloud migration challenges, "Hidden cost of cloud puts brakes on migration projects," in ComputerWeekly and "4 common cloud migration challenges and how to avoid them." in TechTarget's SearchCloudComputing.  What struck me as I read both is that while data transfer is a key bottleneck in any cloud migration, it was not explicitly mentioned by either.  This reflects a common trend I've seen: when talking about cloud, data transfer tends to be grouped in with, and obscured by, other topics like "application rearchitecting" or "how much time" the migration will take.

The ComputerWeekly article notes that 38% of respondents to the cloud migration survey by Capita cited "workload and application rearchitecting issues" as an unforeseen factor in delayed cloud migrations.  More than one-third of respondents said that they did not anticipate the extra skills they would need to complete a cloud migration project.  And the IT manager respondents also reported that a whopping 90% of migrations had been delayed due to one or more "unforeseen" factors.

The article in SearchCloudComputing is more explicit, noting that users must factor in hidden fees, such as data transfer costs.  In addition, it states the importance of anticipating how much time could be needed for a cloud migration.

Based on what I witness every day, data transfer is one of the most common causes of migration delays, but it should not be unforeseen.

I've said many times before, and I'll say it again: nothing can happen in the cloud until the data gets there, and nothing done in the cloud matters until results come out.  Data transfer must be a stand-alone consideration when planning any cloud project.

That means IT managers and others preparing for cloud migrations need to consider network transfer speeds, data transfer rates, pipe size, legacy protocols and more from the very start.  All of these are critical components of the cloud migration path.

Accelerated data transfer is what we do.  Our MTP™/IP software utilizes 100% of your allocated and available network infrastructure to safely and consistently move data to and from the cloud.  CloudDat can move data at up to 2 gigabits per second, per transfer.  For example, we received this feedback just last week from a major movie studio using CloudDat: "…our benchmark for success in this project is 15TB a day, which we're comfortably achieving right now [with CloudDat].  We couldn't get anywhere close to this with other transfer methods." That means less time waiting for data to move, resulting in faster workflows and more productivity for your cloud dollars.  Contact the Data Expedition, Inc.® team to learn more.