Build a Cloud Migration Business Case With the AWS Migration Evaluator

The first step in any cloud migration project is making sure upfront that the decision to migrate makes sense. Too many organizations focus on the doors that the cloud opens, rather than on how the business will see an immediate return on investment (ROI). It’s exciting that powerful technologies, such as AI/ML, IoT, and big data analytics, are easier to leverage on the cloud. But they can sometimes be distractions from what really matters – addressing a clear business need or challenge. Taking advantage of flashy technology can come later.

That’s why cloud service providers, like AWS, offer tools to help companies quantify their cloud migration readiness based on current state IT. For instance, AWS users have access to the Migration Evaluator. This tool can estimate cloud costs and savings based on existing IT utilization.

About AWS Migration Evaluator

The Migration Evaluator comes with an on-premises Agentless Collector that can connect to hypervisors and servers to gather utilization information. Teams can also upload data from spreadsheets or discovery services, like the AWS Application Discovery Service, into the Migration Evaluator. The tool will take all of this information and deliver quantitative insights regarding what the organization stands to gain by completing a migration. IT teams can review Migration Evaluator’s findings in Quick Insights reports. They can then use that information to build a robust business case.

The benefits of using something like AWS Migration Evaluator before moving forward with a project are significant. AWS reports that organizations can reduce costs by up to 50%, thanks to Migration Evaluator’s ability to accelerate and improve migration decision-making. The tool can reveal where organizations are currently overprovisioning or underprovisioning resources. And it can highlight AWS alternatives that make right-sizing easier. Furthermore, Migration Evaluator illuminates existing licensing and running costs that may be unnecessary on the cloud.

Put simply, AWS Migration Evaluator gives IT teams a comprehensive picture of what they are working with today so that they can plan effectively for life on the cloud. Executing a migration without this kind of visibility increases the risk that these projects fail to deliver. That’s why at ClearScale, we strongly encourage tools like Migration Evaluator and lean on them in our own migration engagements.

How Do ClearScale and AWS Ensure Cloud Migration Readiness?

ClearScale is an AWS Premier Tier Services partner that has helped organizations across many industries migrate to the AWS cloud. We know what it takes to migrate to AWS successfully. But we also know how to accelerate innovation, create value, and maximize performance over the long term. We’ve earned 11 AWS competencies, including the Migration competency. We’re not just technical experts. We’re thought partners who work alongside IT leaders to meet their business goals.

For example, we worked with a large marketing technology company that wanted to migrate 6,300 servers from 12 data centers to the cloud in a short period. We led the in-house IT team through an extensive migration readiness process. It involved evaluating the organization’s cloud preparedness and researching existing application infrastructure, data architecture, and more. From this preliminary work, we created a compelling business case for why migrating to AWS made sense for the business. After completing the migration, the client realized a number of benefits, such as having a more agile IT ecosystem and the ability to launch a new service quickly.

In another project, we partnered with a company in the clinical research space to help them execute a large-scale database migration and modernization project. Again, the first step of the migration was determining the best approach to make sure the organization would see immediate and tangible results. We collaborated with the client’s engineers to identify potential migration roadblocks and refactoring opportunities. Together, we came up with a plan that ensured the client’s application wouldn’t experience any downtime during the migration. We also decoupled the company’s application logic from database queries, making life easier for the engineering team going forward.

ClearScale and Cloud Migration Readiness

Before moving forward with any migration project, we always validate that migration makes sense for the business. Tools like AWS Migration Evaluator and the AWS Migration Accelerator Program (MAP) make it much easier to quantify the potential value of a cloud migration and minimize risk during the transition. If you are considering a migration to AWS, whether it be for a database, mission-critical application, or some other asset, we can help.

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