In today’s digital age, businesses are constantly looking for ways to improve their operations and remain competitive in the market. The cloud is one of the most significant advancements in technology that has revolutionized how businesses operate. Cloud computing has transformed the way companies store, manage, and access data, providing a more flexible and scalable approach to IT infrastructure. However, as technology advances, old practices become outdated, and it is essential to consider cloud modernization practices which in turn saves cloud expenses.
What is Cloud Modernization?
Cloud modernization refers to the process of updating existing cloud infrastructure to leverage new capabilities and ensure that it aligns with the latest industry standards. With the ever-increasing demand for agility, scalability, and security, cloud modernization can help businesses stay ahead of the curve. Let’s see some strategies for cloud modernization.
Use Serverless Computing
Serverless computing is another trend that has gained momentum in recent years. With serverless computing, businesses can run applications without having to manage servers or infrastructure. This approach can help businesses achieve greater agility and scalability, as they only pay for the resources they use.
Serverless platforms, such as AWS Lambda or Azure Functions, do not require any upfront costs or long-term commitments. You only pay for the actual execution time and the number of invocations. This cost structure is particularly beneficial for sporadic workloads or applications with unpredictable usage patterns, as you are not locked into paying for unused resources. This reduces operational overhead and associated costs for system admins or DevOps teams.
Optimize Resource Utilization
Finally, businesses can optimize their infrastructure costs by optimizing their resource utilization. By monitoring their cloud infrastructure usage, businesses can identify areas where they can reduce their resource utilization, such as idle instances or oversized resources. This approach can help businesses reduce their infrastructure costs by only paying for the resources they need. Cloud FinOps tools like CloudCADI effectively do this and come with more exciting features like the one-panel dashboard, externalized business rule engine, and non-intrusive deployment.
Microsoft recommends three modernization practices for maximized cloud results.
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Application modernization
Application modernization is leveraging technological advancements for upgrading legacy applications to improve their functionality, performance, scalability, security, and user experience to suit fast-paced business needs.
Different approaches to consider are,
Re-arrange:
Lift and shift your legacy code to modern technologies without significant changes to the code.
Re-architect:
Redesign the application leveraging microservices or containerization approaches. These technologies enable more efficient resource utilization by allowing applications to scale up or down based on demand. With auto-scaling capabilities, organizations can dynamically allocate resources as required, minimizing idle resources and associated costs.
Re-build:
Build an entirely new application using modern frameworks, and languages from scratch while retaining the core business logic and functionality.
Re-place:
Replace the legacy application with commercially available SaaS solutions saving extensive development efforts. Retiring the legacy applications reduces the costs associated with maintaining and supporting outdated infrastructure and licenses, while also benefiting from the cost-effective, scalable, and managed services provided by the cloud platform.
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Process Modernization
Bringing DevOps methodology into processes is the best modernization approach as it brings together planning, development, delivery, and operations. Microsoft Azure comes with a lot of DevOps tools like Azure Repos, Azure Pipelines, Azure Boards, etc. that can effectively help developers to speed up their processes when coupled with the Agile framework.
Database Modernization
Microsoft recommends Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) adoption for cloud database modernization. Examples are, Azure SQL, Open-source SQL & NoSQL. Modernizing databases in the cloud allows organizations to take advantage of cloud-based infrastructure and eliminates the investment in expensive servers, storage systems, and networking equipment, organizations can leverage scalable and cost-effective cloud resources, paying only for what they use.
Conclusion
Cloud modernization is essential for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve in today’s digital age. Adopting the above-mentioned best practices can achieve greater agility, scalability, and flexibility while reducing costs. With the right approach to cloud modernization, businesses can unlock the full potential of the cloud and stay ahead of the competition. Undoubtedly, it should be a continuous process for success at all levels.
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