When it comes to equipping the business with the latest, most powerful technology, the focus often shifts to cloud technology. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a key position, with almost one-third of the market share.
AWS is a cloud platform on which you can access computing power, storage, and a variety of other resources on demand. In fact, businesses of all sizes find its pay-as-you-go model highly appealing.
And why not?
It certainly eliminates the need for massive upfront hardware investments.
So, instead of buying servers and maintaining data centers, you spin up resources when you need them and shut them down when you don’t. That’s the possibility of flexibility with AWS cloud migration (if you haven’t already).
A 2023 Amazon survey shows that 66% of IT decision-makers plan to increase their cloud budget in the coming year. It suggests that more businesses want to benefit from migrating to the AWS Cloud.
The model is flexible: It can be scaled up to handle a surge in demand or scaled down to avoid paying for idle capacity.
Why move in the first place?
Well, to improve performance, lower monthly bills, quicker innovation cycles, and the freedom to grow without costly upgrades. Moving to the AWS cloud offers many benefits, from global reach to rapid deployment and a wide selection of modern tools.
All of these help to move a business forward.
This article explores the benefits of moving to the AWS cloud in detail. It also offers some pro tips on preparing for migration and confidently tackling each phase.
Preparing for AWS cloud migration
Getting ready for an on-premise to AWS cloud migration requires understanding the current setup of your business. For starters, identify the overarching goal you want to achieve with the migration and evaluate whether upgrading team skills is necessary.
Below, we’ve highlighted some major steps to shape a solid AWS cloud migration strategy:
1. Evaluate current infrastructure
Before any major move, everyone in the organization must understand what they already have and how everything fits together. This includes knowing the tools, technology, and networks they use daily to get their work done.
With AWS cloud migration, you’re setting your business for 66% of infrastructure cost savings.
Primarily, you’ll consider the following:
Inventory assets
Track physical and virtual servers, storage devices, and network components to identify what you have and how frequently each resource is used. Gauge the amount of computing power and storage that each system demands to avoid later migration challenges.
Gauge dependencies
Analyze how applications and databases interact. Applications that rely on specific databases or shared libraries can help discover these connections. This will prevent downtime during AWS cloud data migration in the future.
2. Define objectives
Consult with your teams before making this change. This is a collaborative process, so try to define objectives for each department by setting clear goals regarding the benefits of moving to the AWS cloud.
Set clear goals
What defines cloud success for your business? Is it cost optimization, enhanced performance, improved security, or something else?
Clarity in these areas helps guide decisions throughout your AWS cloud migration services.
Establish KPIs
Goal tracking relies on precise metrics. This means you’ll have to define key performance indicators (KPIs) such as response times, user satisfaction, and monthly cloud bills. Matching these metrics after AWS cloud implementation confirms if your migration is on target.
Skill assessment and training
The changing technology environment requires reevaluating your teams' skills. It’s the people who drive the cloud transformation journey, so you’ll have to fill the knowledge gaps by training the teams.
Evaluate team expertise
Identify your in-house skills and then check whether your teams can handle AWS architecture or if new hires or consultants are needed.
Offer training
There are plenty of AWS training sessions that can help your teams learn more about it. Services like AWS Activate provide credits and training materials to boost knowledge of AWS cloud security tools, storage options, and more.
Phases of cloud transfer
Cloud migration always involves a specific pattern, from business planning to ongoing improvements.
Below, we’ll provide a quick overview of the different phases of cloud migration and their components.
1. Migration preparation and business planning
Begin by setting up the foundation for an entire cloud migration project. To get the benefits of moving to the AWS cloud, it is best to clarify costs, timelines, and who should be involved.
This stage involves looking at the following two options:
Develop a business case
Collect data on current infrastructure spending and compare it to AWS costs for startups or bigger enterprises. Factor in power usage, maintenance, and potential savings through programs like AWS cost Savings Plans. A well-rounded case helps everyone see the benefits of moving to the AWS cloud in clearer numbers.
Engage stakeholders
Include decision-makers, IT staff, and security folks in the conversation. Early involvement makes sure you prioritize each group so that you don’t reduce the risk of hidden objections popping up mid-migration.
Portfolio discovery and planning
Here, monitor all your applications and figure out their requirements. And then, decide on which data you’d move first. Of course, there are different phases of cloud migration, and therefore, the discovery and planning phase will require the following considerations:
Application assessment
Analyze performance, resource usage, and compliance needs. Some workloads are prime candidates for serverless computing, while others require specialized instance types. A thorough review helps shape your overall cloud migration strategy.
Prioritize workloads
You can migrate smaller, low-risk systems to gain experience or tackle the biggest ones first for a faster return. Whichever approach you choose, focus on areas that benefit from AWS Global Infrastructure or advanced services like AWS Secure File Transfer Service.
2. Designing, migrating, and validating applications
Once you have a plan for the migration, start designing the new environment. It's here where you’ll transfer the data and make sure everything is in line and not missing any data.
These are the key aspects to consider in this phase.
Architectural design
Pick your computer choices (Amazon EC2, containers, or AWS Lambda) and decide on storage (EBS, S3, or EFS). Don’t forget security layers such as AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for fine-grained permissions.
Migration execution
Transfer apps and their related data, often using the AWS Database Migration Service or a cloud storage transfer service. Make sure you have the rollback plan available.
Validation and testing
Run checks to confirm performance metrics, security policies, and overall functionality. Here, you’ll get the green light to move forward without big surprises.
Modern operating model
When the transfer is complete, you shift your focus to ongoing operation, resource optimization, and regular updates. Focus on the below functions at this stage.
Optimize operations
Tools like Amazon CloudWatch and AWS Trusted Advisor help you track costs, automate scaling, and handle routine tasks. This is how many businesses see the benefits of migrating to AWS Cloud continue over time.
Continuous improvement
Monitor new AWS features or expansions in AWS cloud compliance and certifications. By reviewing the environment regularly, we ensure that it stays current and provides security and performance.
Benefits of AWS cloud migration
It’s common for businesses to chase better bottom lines, shorter product release times, and stronger security. The benefits of AWS cloud migration inherently address your business goals.
Also, these advantages have much to do with the freedom to shift directions quickly without heavy hardware costs.
Let’s explore how each benefit translates into real, positive outcomes:
1. Cost savings
The first and obvious benefit of moving to AWS cloud is the cost advantage.
Here are the different ways how AWS cloud migration unlocks financial benefits.
No upfront costs
Since AWS uses a pay-as-you-go approach, you can leverage resources instantly and pay only for what you use. This is an attractive alternative to traditional data centers, which need major initial spending on servers and cooling systems.
Elimination of over-provisioning
In old setups, businesses preferred to keep extra gears for “just in case.” But that won’t be the case with AWS cloud migration. Especially since you’d leverage AWS Auto Scaling, which can automatically adjust the capacity based on actual demand. This means you only pay for the load your systems handle.
Savings plans & Spot Instances
You can benefit from the use of EC2 Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and Spot Instances by committing to a certain level beforehand. It lowers costs by tapping into unused AWS capacity with Spot Instances. When planned correctly, a good mix of these options can help you make big savings.
Optimized Storage Costs (Intelligent-Tiering)
Leverage Amazon S3 Intelligent Tiering, which shifts data into the most economical storage class based on access frequency, reducing long-term storage bills.
2. Reduced maintenance costs
With AWS managing physical hardware, there’s no need to spend money on server upkeep. This is one way to reduce maintenance costs while enabling your teams to focus on growth instead of daily fixes.
Read more: How AWS Managed services can help optimize your cloud costs?
Below are a few different ways you can experience the benefits of moving to the AWS cloud.
Autoscaling & elastic load balancing
AWS takes care of traffic distribution.
Like, if there’s a spike in traffic or a need for data access, then the system smoothly spreads workloads. In this case, you won’t need to manage load balancers by hand.
Vertical and horizontal scaling
Vertical scaling lets you increase machine size on the fly, and horizontal scaling adds more instances. Both approaches limit wasted resources, which is a key reason many see the importance of cloud computing in business growth.
AWS global infrastructure
Leverage 99 Availability Zones across 31 regions so that you can place apps close to users.
It also simplifies distributing workloads across multiple areas for stability.
Serverless computing
AWS Lambda runs code only when triggered, so you don’t need continuous server upkeep. It’s an approach that often lowers monthly bills and staff overhead because there’s no OS or server maintenance to handle.
3. Assured top-notch security
Security is naturally a consideration when moving to AWS cloud infrastructure. Sensitive data is protected by AES-256 encryption, both at rest and in transit. Below are the other advantages you can experience.
AWS security tools
With a range of security tools like AWS Shield, AWS WAF, and AWS Security Hub, your data and applications remain protected. These services block attacks, monitor threats and provide insights into your security posture.
Additionally, AWS cloud services are designed to scale with your applications, making them an essential component of a comprehensive cloud security strategy.
Data encryption
Data is encrypted at rest and in transit because AWS KMS managed encryption keys. The AWS Secrets Manager also keeps sensitive details out of public view.
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Role-based access control grants the least privilege needed for tasks. Micro-level, Granular permissions can keep your environment safe and reduce the risk of unauthorized actions.
DDoS protection
AWS Shield Standard is automatically included, and you can upgrade for advanced protection. This helps keep vital services online even under heavy malicious traffic.
Compliance & certifications (ISO, SOC, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR)
AWS Cloud Compliance and Certifications meet major regulatory needs. By placing your data in AWS regions that hold specific attestations, you maintain your regulatory posture more easily.
3. Performance and reliability
Speedy performance and strong uptime are often why people look into the importance of moving to the AWS cloud. Below is what you get in those terms.
High-Performance Compute (HPC) instances
If you need major computing power for tasks like simulations or analytics, HPC instance types stand ready to handle serious workloads.
Low latency with AWS Global Accelerator
Global Accelerator finds the shortest path for user requests, improving response times. This is an advantage for apps where every millisecond counts.
Fault Tolerance and Disaster Recovery (built-in redundancy)
Deploying across multiple Availability Zones means your application stays online even if one zone has problems. It’s an approach that highlights an AWS disaster recovery plan/solution that can restore services quickly.
Continuous health monitoring
Avail automated tracking with AWS CloudWatch and AWS X-Ray, making it easy to spot performance dips or security anomalies. You can act fast instead of learning about problems after customers complain.
4. Business agility and innovation
Moving to the AWS cloud has several advantages, including the ability to experiment successfully with new ideas and bring them to market faster.
For instance, the German football league, Bundesliga, used AWS for cloud‑powered, machine learning–based solutions to transform raw Bundesliga match data into enriched, real‑time insights, most notably the xGoals metric.
Rapid prototyping
Testing ideas on AWS is quick. You can launch resources within minutes and shut them down if they don’t meet your needs. This shorter feedback loop speeds up the path to new solutions.
AI & ML capabilities
Amazon SageMaker, for instance, helps you build, train, and deploy machine learning models without fuss. It lowers the barrier to machine learning, even if you’re not an AI pro.
Low-code and No-code development (AWS Amplify, etc.)
These development services let smaller teams create apps quickly. For teams that lack deep programming skills, this is a major plus, as AWS Amplify handles the majority of tasks involved in building a full backend.
DevOps & Automation
AWS cloud migration can enable utilise CI/CD automation services with the help of AWS CodePipeline and AWS CloudFormation. You can automate builds, tests, and deployments, leading to fewer manual errors and faster releases.
5. Global reach and edge computing
Think of how you’d move your services closer to end-users and reduce latency. This is where you tap into the advantages of on-premise to AWS cloud migration to reach a global audience and leverage the power of edge computing.
Here are some of the key benefits you can expect.
AWS CloudFront CDN (edge locations across 450+ points of presence)
Get the advantage of CloudFront CDN, which ensures that the content is delivered from the location nearest to your users. This slashes page load times and heightens user satisfaction.
AWS Local Zones & Outposts (low-latency applications in specific geographic locations)
Some apps need processing power near local customers. AWS Outposts and Local Zones bring a slice of the AWS platform to local data centers, further reducing latency.
Multi-Region Deployment
Spreading infrastructure across different regions can provide better fault tolerance. If one region experiences an outage, traffic shifts to another, so you keep downtime at a minimum.
6. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
You can’t risk a long duration of downtime. Therefore, there’s another benefit you get with AWS cloud migration, which is that it helps systems get back online if something goes wrong.
The following benefits work in your favor in this context.
Automated Backups & Snapshots (Amazon RDS and AWS Backup)
Regular backups are automatic and stored in secure Amazon S3, which helps recover data quickly in case unexpected issues crop up.
Multi-AZ Deployment for HA (High Availability)
Databases can mirror data across different zones. With Amazon RDS Multi-Az, even if one zone is offline, the other continues serving requests.
AWS Disaster Recovery Solutions (AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (DRS) and AWS Snowball)
AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery replicates entire servers so that during any crisis, you can spin them up in another AWS region. Physical data shipments with AWS Snowball are handy for moving data to the cloud with minimal hassle.
7. AI and Data Analytics
The data is of no use if you can’t make it work for your business. So, another benefit of AWS cloud migration is that it is in line with how you can process the data in meaningful ways.
Here’s all that you get as benefits.
AWS Big Data Analytics
For big data analytics, Amazon Redshift, AWS Glue, and AWS Lake Formation can benefit you by allowing you to create scalable data pipelines to transform raw data and store it in data lakes for deep analysis.
AI-Powered Insights (Amazon Forecast and Amazon Polly)
Amazon Forecast predicts future outcomes using your historical data, and Amazon Polly turns text into natural-sounding speech. These services let you introduce AI features without building everything from scratch.
Real-Time Data Streaming (AWS Kinesis and AWS IoT Core)
Process streaming data in real-time for use cases like clickstream analysis or IoT telemetry. This modern approach does help your business react to events faster.
8. Compliance and Regulatory Adherence
It can be a challenge to meet legal regulations when hosting customers’ data. However, you can also benefit from moving to the AWS cloud.
Here’s how it helps:
9. AWS Artifact
This portal holds compliance reports, certifications, and other resources that show how AWS meets various standards. It’s handy if you need proof for your auditors.
10. Pre-Certified Infrastructure
Many international and local regulations have already approved the environment. That lowers your risk and shortens the path to meeting regulations.
Conclusion
Moving data to the cloud can open fresh opportunities for many companies, including Amazon Web services for small businesses and Amazon AWS for startups. You also gain tools like the AWS Enterprise Support Plan, which covers critical issues at any time of the day.
That kind of backing is invaluable for busy teams.
If you want to learn more about the importance of moving to the AWS cloud or are uncertain about an AWS cloud migration strategy, consider talking to a certified partner.
At Peerbits, we offer insightful AWS cloud computing services that matches your specific needs—whether it’s AWS Secure File Transfer Service for data pipelines, HPC solutions for analytics, or just good old AWS costs for startups.
