6 Azure Cloud Adoption Pitfalls to Avoid

Everything has altered as a result of the growth of cloud computing. As a result of the COVID-19 economic impact, Gartner had projected that the global market for public cloud services to reach at $266.4 billion in 2020. Even with this degree of scale and more than a decade of expertise to draw from, many organizations encounter obstacles that make it difficult for them to be successful with cloud adoption. Microsoft Azure includes some methods to guarantee that services and applications are available even in the case of such situations.

The Azure infrastructure responds quickly to problems to restore infrastructure and services. For instance, if a virtual machine (VM) dies as a result of hardware failure on the physical host, the Fabric Controller can relocate the VM to a different physical node using the same hard drive that is stored in Azure storage. Additionally, Azure can plan updates and upgrades to minimize service interruptions.

While Azure Cloud deployment is simple, it is also crucial to take account of some crucial steps before deploying your first cloud workload with Azure. In this article, let’s look at some of the things ought not to do before deploying your first workload.

But first, let us try and understand the Azure cloud infrastructure before moving ahead.

The Azure Infrastructure

Microsoft Azure is a service designed to offer cloud computing for developing and managing apps and services in a cloud environment. Platform as a service, infrastructure as a service, and software as a service are all offered by Azure (IaaS). The platform is compatible with a wide range of programming languages and frameworks and may be utilized independently or in a multi-vendor cloud environment.

Windows Azure was first introduced by Microsoft in early October 2008, but it wasn’t operational until February 2010. Later in 2014, Microsoft renamed its Azure service Windows Azure. For.NET services, SQL Services, and other Live Services, Azure offered a service platform. Many people continued to have serious doubts regarding “the cloud.” As a sector, we were stepping into a wild new world with lots of opportunities. The future holds greater and better things for Microsoft Azure as there are more features and resources being added every day.

There have been two releases thus far. Its well-known versions are Microsoft Azure v1 and, later, v2. Compared to the new version, Microsoft Azure v2, which features an interactive UI for simplification and easy learning, Microsoft Azure v1 was more like a JSON script-driven platform. The preview version of Microsoft Azure v2 is still available.

How Can Azure Help Enterprises?

The following ways that Azure can benefit our business:

• Requires Less Capital: Less cash is needed because Azure eliminates the expensive cost of hardware, so we don’t have to worry about it. Simply pay as you go to benefit from a subscription-based business strategy that is considerate of your financial flow. An Azure account is also incredibly simple to set up. Simply sign up for an account on the Azure Portal, choose the necessary subscription, and start using it.

 

• Reduced Operational Cost: Because Azure runs on its own servers, which are solely responsible for keeping the cloud functional and bug-free, it has a lower operational cost than your own on-site server.

 

• Simple Options for Backup and Recovery: Azure keeps copies of all of your important data. You may instantly recover all of your data in a disaster event without having any negative effects on your organization. Time is saved, a significant upfront cost is avoided, and third-party knowledge is included as part of the contract with cloud-based backup and recovery options.

 

• Simple to Implement: In Azure, implementing your business models is quite simple. With a few on-click tasks, you are ready to go. Even more, tutorials are available to help you learn and deploy faster.

 

• Better Security: Compared to local servers, Azure offers more security. Regarding your vital data and business applications, relax. Since it is secure on the Azure Cloud. Azure is a lifesaver, even during natural disasters where the resources may be damaged. The cloud never turns off.

 

6 Azure Cloud Migration Pitfalls that Companies Should Avoid

• Not articulating your reasons for adopting the cloud and not understanding them

A significant business transformation, such as mergers and acquisitions or expanding into a new market, may be the driving force behind your company’s decision to adopt or migrate to the cloud.

Establish specific, quantifiable, and doable objectives as you begin to develop your cloud strategy. (This is essential for assessing your cloud success.) Additionally, you must comprehend the drivers behind cloud adoption.

You wish to ascertain: What do you hope to accomplish? What issue are you attempting to address?

The motives that will provide the greatest commercial value are the best ones for adopting the cloud. Join forces with those who gave you those drives. They will be your stakeholders and come in extremely handy when implementing the cloud.

• Adding a cloud migration to the workload for your internal IT teams

Companies often use one of two methods when it comes to really starting to deploy workloads to the cloud.

• The first is to hire a Microsoft Partner to handle the migration or deployment of new workloads.
• The second option is to assign the assignment to an established internal operations team.

The opportunities for development and learning that come with cloud adoption are lost if you contract out the implementation or migration of cloud resources to a third party. Additionally, you’ll probably alienate your operations teams because they’ll think they’re being replaced.

The second possibility is that your internal teams are either already operating at full capacity or, more likely, have a huge amount of work that needs to be done but cannot complete. Assigning them too much work will result in a sluggish adoption of the cloud or operational problems.

Instead, it is better to expand your workforce to use the cloud. To encourage acceptance, try obtaining some advanced technical or architectural know-how. Then, obtain more assistance to handle continuous operational support for the current infrastructure. Your team will still be able to promote cloud adoption and offer operational assistance as needed in this way.

Actually, if your cloud adoption is a success, you might wind up expanding your company through cloud adoption and innovation, and these extra hands might come in handy, permanently.

• Not being aware of the various management responsibilities needed for each cloud service model

You can choose from a variety of service models when deploying workloads to the cloud. Things like Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service are probably familiar to you (IaaS).

when you use Software as a Service (SaaS) user management and perhaps a few other things are likely examples offering to replace a workload. Platform as a Service (PaaS) is another option. The backup and recovery of data are probably extra responsibilities for you.

One widespread misunderstanding is that these service models all require the same level of managerial dedication. As for Infrastructure as a Service, all of the aforementioned are your responsibilities, but security falls under your purview in a far greater way. You must ensure that the operating system and any apps running on those platforms are patched. The danger attached to a workload is considerably increased when it is left unpatched.

• Not allocating work across internal teams in a way that balances agility and risk

There are a few standard ways to organize teams and divide the tasks of deployment and management when you’re delivering new cloud workloads to support innovation and company expansion.

Without having to wait for a central operations team, workload teams can frequently release their workloads faster but at a higher risk. They might excel at adding value to the organization through innovation, but they might lack the knowledge or experience necessary to deploy, secure, and manage cloud workloads. Your core operations staff will typically be excellent at management and security. It’s their main source of income. They probably have years of experience managing and implementing trustworthy workloads.

• Disregarding the development of skills

Another typical mistake is failing to prepare personnel for the continuing maintenance of workloads once they are operating on Azure. You can rely on your current employees for support and maintenance. You can offer incentives to enroll in training that are free or inexpensive. Added obligations or taking them out to lunch to celebrate their most recent certification are two examples of such things. You will achieve outstanding outcomes if your current workforce is trained and supportive of your adoption of the cloud. The effort will pay off, and as an added benefit, it will help stop the brain drain that so many businesses are experiencing.

• Failure to Plan Properly for Security

Because many firms don’t see a problem, managing the security aspect of the cloud move can be challenging.

Because IT processes are sometimes just lifted and shifted rather than transitioned, an organization is frequently left susceptible. Fortunately, a few of the aforementioned methods will aid in avoiding these pitfalls. For instance, having a single point of responsibility for the transition as a whole (whether it be an individual or a group) can assist ensure that sensitive information and assets can’t fall through the gaps.

Your staff may learn Azure cloud adoptions and become capable of configuring them safely by receiving Azure cloud training that is suited to their role and responsibilities. For instance, it is strongly advised that employees of your security team be conversant with cloud computing security best practices, such as CISSP certification. In the excitement of moving to the cloud, it is simple to ignore security gaps in the cloud since they are invisible. However, if you don’t prepare ahead of time, your cloud savings could eventually be lost.

• Failure to comprehend the networks and architecture of the organization

It will be extremely difficult for enterprises to select solutions based on their business and data demands because every solution provider will provide distinctive qualities. Systems break down due to improper understanding, and some data may be lost. This may cause disruptions in operations as well as additional expenses and annoyances.

Periodic lags and downtime brought on by these incorrect setups led to significant disruptions and increased expenditures for the business. SDISB sought a partner to provide a customized, end-to-end solution to enhance the functionality of its Cloud e-commerce website.

Conclusion

The adoption of the Azure cloud is a great tool for businesses, but many are unable to deliver on its promise because of a lack of qualified staff. In reality, it only requires careful planning at the beginning. This comprehensive handbook will help you prepare for success at every stage of your cloud journey.

A team of highly experienced individuals can assist you if you are interested in learning more about cloud adoption or seeking a partner to join you on your journey. We at Webuters would be happy to hear from you.