Making the Shift From Legacy Systems to Cloud: Bottom Line Benefits
Discover the benefits of cloud while shifting legacy operations and how to overcome the roadblocks to the cloud shift.
The shift to remote and hybrid work has compelled CIOs and tech leaders to make their legacy systems effective in a new world of work. Many companies are considering shifting their operations to the cloud but often have concerns about what it means for their bottom line. Mo Hafez, senior solutions engineer, Expereo, discusses the advantages of cloud systems and how to overcome the roadblocks to the cloud shift.
As the pandemic revealed, enterprise IT leaders could no longer rest on their laurels of running networks successfully through legacy systems. In fact, the shift to remote and hybrid work has been a real eye-opener for many companies that used to rely on running legacy systems. Today, many companies no longer have this option and are making the shift to the cloud. What success can they look forward to as a result of this shift? And what kind of impact does this shift have on their bottom line?
Legacy vs. Cloud — A Glaring Difference
First, let us take a deep dive into legacy systems, outdated computing software, and/or hardware that are still in use. Legacy systems may be more of a liability than an asset. In fact, they are quite vulnerable from a security perspective. The software has to be constantly updated, and the racks they are sitting on–the bare metals–can often fail or have other issues. In short, it is a lot of work for an internal IT department to manage and maintain legacy systems.
As for efficiency, legacy systems can serve as an impediment since their obsolete hardware or software can slow productivity. Today, we want to get things done faster, cheaper, and better. As noted above, legacy systems fail when it comes to faster and better, and they do not deliver on being cheaper as they require costly system upgrades.
Consider the software as a service–SaaS, more specifically, as an alternative. The enterprise pays a subscription for the service to be maintained. Vulnerabilities are routinely patched by experts, and the software is consistently upgraded and tested, with high availability and redundancy built-in to the service. Simply put, you do not have to worry about maintaining it — just use it.
Roadblocks to the Cloud Shift
Yet with all the benefits that the cloud brings to the table, why do some enterprises hesitate to make the shift? Security is the biggest concern. Enterprises that own their hardware and software in their own data center run their network over an MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) network — a private connection physically linking data centers and branch offices, considered reliable and secure but expensive, especially on a global scale. Because MPLS is essentially an enclosed system, it is inherently secure and reliable.
However, enterprises still have a need to go out to the Internet. As companies adopt more and more cloud services and applications, they will want their branches to be able to access these cloud services, which means they will need the Internet. As a result, there are more attack vectors, so security becomes an issue.
See More: How SD-WAN Is Simplifying and Accelerating Multi-Cloud Adoption
The Added Advantage of SD-WAN
Despite pushback, our times dictate that companies make the shift to the cloud. So some organizations will stick with MPLS and then get an Internet circuit, so their branches can connect to the cloud service. While MPLS is secure, it is very costly. But there is a smarter alternative with SD-WAN, a technology that allows users to secure cloud-based, Layer 3 services in a scalable, manageable, and data-visible way.
SD-WAN allows you to eliminate MPLS (or simply downgrade it to save money) and use Layer 3 services not just to connect to the cloud but also to have your sites talk to each other securely. It also provides full visibility over the traffic — you can see what kind of traffic is going from branch to branch because SD-WAN gives you metadata about what is going across your network over Layer 3. Plus, you can utilize cloud services and connect all your sites securely and cost-effectively.
SD-WAN secures traffic over internet transports via encrypted tunnels, managed and configured from anywhere in the world via a central orchestration platform, without physically having to be at each site. SD-WAN also facilitates high availability with multiple circuits for redundancy and scalability.
Cost savings are also inherent in SD-WAN’s value. When companies live and die by IT spend, it behooves them to spend on cloud services that help their enterprise do more with less than spend on legacy and connectivity. Further, the money saved from MPLS can be put toward more cloud and SaaS services that help streamline business processes, such as cloud-based Human Resources and Finance software. These new cloud applications help improve internal processes, are less error-prone, and are more reliable.
Your People Are Key
Another significant challenge you will face when transitioning to cloud-based systems and services is acclimating your employees and establishing proper best practices for secure usage. Expect your enterprise to have a long tail of adoption, especially for employees outside the IT side of the business, during this transition, and plan accordingly. Allow ample time for platform training and questions before fully switching to ensure that all employees are adequately prepared and equipped for success.
IT leaders must ensure that their team has, or develops, the skills needed to minimize the disruption during and after migrating to the cloud. According to Gartner, insufficient cloud IaaS skills could delay 50% of enterprise IT organizations’ cloud migration plans by at least two years. Whether this is proper security training or allowing extra bandwidth to coordinate with vendors, prepare talent so that they are equipped to handle changes occurring as a result of the transition to the cloud.
Implementation Is Critical
At the end of the day, when considering a move to the cloud, implementation is crucial — it must be done right. Do you make the shift with internal IT staff or partner with a trusted provider, one that can easily manage the intricacies of the major shift to the cloud? While enterprises may opt to go with their internal staff, opting for a provider offers internal staff to focus on other business matters. These include the LAN or Local Area Network, IT business process, and supporting the enterprise’s employees to allow them to utilize software and technology efficiently.
Clearly, the shift to the cloud is a change for the better. It can save companies considerable time and money and boost productivity immediately and for years to come.
What steps have you taken to overcome the roadblocks to making the shift from legacy systems to the cloud? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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