Uncover Application Essentials for Cloud Migration

This article helps you unbox the application essentials for cloud application migration on any cloud platform. Whether you are migrating to public, private, hybrid cloud or multi cloud, you can assess the as-is application based on the points below and prepare for cloud architecture design and migration strategy.

This article provides a brief view on information/inventory required to be discovered & assessed well before arriving at the design of target cloud architecture. It will also enable you to define appropriate cloud foundation services for the entire program along with migration timeline & resource management. These are minimum essentials required for application, irrespective of application migration R-path.

The following discovery will help you to arrive at the right solution. 

1. Application Overview
2. As-Is Architecture
3. Current Environment Details
4. Deployment Process
5. Database Requirements
6. Security & Compliance
7. Integrations
8. Existing issues if any
9. Target Cloud requirements

Let us understand above points briefly –

Application Overview

For any application migration, you need to understand as-is application end to end flow along with current functionality. This provides us visibility on various parameters like application type, criticality, end users, stability, usage details etc.

As-Is Architecture

It can be divided into 2 parts.

a.      Technology Architecture - You can understand the application technology, its deployment architecture and various parameters like architecture principles used, cutover & DR strategy, availability, scalability, deployment processes, connectivity with other interfaces etc.

b.      Infrastructure in various Environments

Current environment details will provide you the ability to identify parameters such as what all storage, compute services are used currently, technology parameters, non-functional parameters, technology debt, application tiers, SME’s, monitoring & logging, compliance procedures, users, testing requirements etc.

Deployment Process

It is helpful to understand current configuration parameters for any application and advise if there is any process that needs to be modified. For example, application deployment might be manual and business requirement is to deploy application using Dev ops tools such as GitHub, Jenkins, Terraform, CloudFormation etc.

Database Requirements  

Database migration is a critical part of cloud migration where you need to understand current database type, storage used, storage allocated, stored procedures if any, tools, configurations, users, access methods, dependencies, technical details, backup, and recovery processes, data itself.

Security & Compliance

You need to understand different parameters like whether application need encrypted network, authentication mechanism (ex. SSO, AD integrated, others etc.). You may also would like to know is there any special security restrictions (ex. client-based URL restrictions), application specific ports, certificates, URL whitelisting, sensitive data, and its storage, whether application uses data encryption at rest and in transit, data sensitivity classification, web application firewall etc. You also need to check whether the application requires any business specific compliance or any regulatory requirements.

Integrations

Integration patterns for any application possess challenges to cloud migration. You need to understand interfaces integrated with the application like file systems, messaging systems, communication systems and open the required firewalls to communicate with them. For example, you may need to identify FQDN, listening ports & protocols and whether connection is active presently.

Existing issues if any

Whether the application is in stable condition, any issues, scan, risk and vulnerability, changes to be considered while performing the migration.

Target Cloud requirements

If there are any additional request related to application modernization such as code upgrade, license upgrade, modify baseline platform, moving to PAAS services, security etc. can also be considered in the discovery of application phase and arrive at the right target design. There will be a need for new certificates, licenses, change to tech stack, OS upgrades, EOL of software that could also be discussed and included in the solution.

Conclusion

The above pointers will help to

• Assess the application fitment for modernization and migration.
• Understand limitations or blockers.
• Help ballpark estimate.
• Help prepare migration and modernization plan.
• Plan resourcing and governance.
• Derive cost for implementation.