6 Major Steps for Migrating to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

APRIL 01, 2019 08:00 AM

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Any significant IT platform migration requires detailed planning, budgeting, approvals from different stakeholders, and careful change management. Oracle Cloud migration is very challenging due to the intricate nature of business processes. If the migration is done without proper planning and research, it can adversely impact the business's efficiency. The success or failure of the migration depends on the people involved. Adequate and appropriate planning and execution are required so that the migration to Oracle Cloud is done efficiently. The following significant steps should be followed to ensure a successful migration to the Oracle Cloud:

Step 1: Identify Technology Partner

Oracle Cloud infrastructure is a complex architecture. For proper guidance, system configuration, training, and project delivery, a team of knowledgeable third-party consultants with prior experience implementing Oracle Cloud infrastructure must be engaged. Organizations must carefully evaluate their Oracle Cloud infrastructure implementation partner based on their certifications, Oracle expertise earned, and prior engagements.

Step 2: Analyse the Current Infrastructure

A detailed evaluation of the present application, including integrations with third-party applications, databases, and cloud applications, is critical. This includes application upgrade requirements, patches, version compatibility, etc. This is an essential step before you plan the migration approach so that any unforeseen challenges can be averted.

Step 3: Evaluate the infrastructure needs

It is essential to analyze current capacity and estimate future requirements. IT team should determine how many years of data needs to be carried forward in the Oracle Cloud environment and what resources are required. This will provide an opportunity to eliminate old data, processes, or applications that are no longer needed for business purposes. The IT team can decide on archival and eliminate applications that are not required for future use. Any legacy applications, data that can be purged, and business-critical data, processes, and applications must be validated before migration. Understanding the tiered pricing model and deciding which data and applications need to be migrated to the cloud or otherwise is advisable.

Step 4: Plan

Oracle Cloud Migration master plan depends on various elements like availability of expert resources, availability of business users during design, requirement gathering and testing phase, version compatibility of all applications, systems that interact with the Oracle Cloud regularly, size of the current database, growth projections to maintain reserve capacity. The business-critical applications should also be considered, and the time frame of Oracle Cloud migration should also be analyzed. These factors will help decide if the entire Oracle Cloud Implementation can be accomplished in one or multiple phases.

Step 5: Finalize Design

Understanding business requirements and pain points is a significant step before designing a new Oracle Cloud infrastructure. A system user team must list their expectations from the latest Oracle Cloud infrastructure. A team of architects will then identify gaps in the current infrastructure and address them in the new Oracle Cloud infrastructure design. The leadership team needs to review recommendations given by the Oracle Cloud architects and decide on business priorities. Based on this decision, the Oracle Cloud implementation team will proceed with system design, building prototype, and workload migration.

Step 6: Training

A proper training plan must be developed to train existing employees on the Oracle Cloud infrastructure. Existing employees must be encouraged to get certified in the new technology. The implementation consulting team must be engaged in preparing detailed training material. Training can be delivered in 'Train the Trainer' format, as well as in videos and training documents. External online training can also be subscribed to.

FAQs

What role does a technology partner play in Oracle Cloud migration?
A knowledgeable third-party technology partner with prior experience implementing Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is crucial for a successful migration. These partners provide expertise in system configuration, training, and project delivery. Organizations should evaluate partners based on certifications, Oracle expertise, and past engagements to ensure they are equipped for the complexities involved.
What key steps should be taken to analyze the current infrastructure before migrating?
Analyzing current infrastructure involves thoroughly evaluating existing applications, including their integrations with third-party applications, databases, and other cloud applications. This analysis must also include identifying upgrade requirements, patches, and version compatibility. This in-depth view is essential to anticipating and mitigating potential issues during the migration.
How should an organization evaluate its cloud infrastructure needs?
Organizations must analyze their current capacity and estimate future resource requirements. They must decide how much historical data to migrate to the Oracle Cloud environment. This is also an opportunity to identify and purge obsolete data, processes, and applications. Evaluating tiered pricing models is crucial to strategically determining what data and applications should be migrated to the cloud.
What elements are crucial for a successful Oracle Cloud migration plan?
A successful plan should consider the availability of expert resources, the involvement of business users in design and testing, the version compatibility of all applications, systems interacting with Oracle Cloud, database size, and growth projections. Also important is understanding the criticality of applications and the timeline for migration to decide if a phased approach is needed.
How should the design phase be approached for a new Oracle Cloud infrastructure?
The design phase begins with understanding business requirements and pain points. System users should outline their expectations from the new infrastructure. Architects will then identify gaps in the current setup and address them in the new design. Leadership should review these recommendations and decide on business priorities, guiding the design, prototyping, and workload migration.

Get help migrating to the OCI from your trusted partner, SMACT Works. Contact us today!

About SMACT Works

SMACT Works is a technology-focused systems integrator and IT/ERP consulting firm. We deliver end-to-end consulting, managed, and implementation services for Oracle Cloud Applications, IaaS & PaaS, On-Premise PeopleSoft & EBS Applications. Headquartered in Dublin, OH, we have a global presence with North America and Asia offices. We are an Oracle Gold Partner Cloud Standard, ISO 9001, and 27001 certified delivery organization serving customers with Excellence and Integrity.