Why should you have a cloud exit strategy ready even before migration

Cloud adoption has risen rapidly and become the ultimate promise of scalability, flexibility, and cost savings. While most organizations are still moving their applications and data to the cloud, some businesses are experiencing challenges in their cloud infrastructure and reevaluating their strategies. They are either moving back to on-prem or migrating to other cloud platforms. This trend, called cloud exit or cloud repatriation, is rising parallel to cloud adoption. A recent survey by Citrix found that 42% of US organizations moved away from their existing cloud platform. In this blog, let’s break down cloud exit and why you should consider it. 

What is cloud exit and why is it important? 

Cloud exit is the process of migrating from one cloud to another or to on-premises systems. While planning cloud adoption, most businesses ignore the exit strategy. They often overlook the potential challenges, such as unexpected cost increases, data privacy challenges, regulatory requirements, vendor lock-in, etc.  

Unprepared for these challenges, organizations struggle to negotiate terms with the cloud providers to achieve better outcomes. Preparing a perfect cloud exit strategy before moving to the cloud would protect the interests of organizations and help them achieve success. 

Besides, the dynamics of cloud-based services are rapidly shifting. Cloud service providers (CSPs) are extensively investing in R&D to make their platforms more sophisticated and secure to support innovation and skyrocketing demand. You don’t have to stick around with one CSP and limit your opportunities to scale and drive growth. But, you need a clear strategy to switch smoothly between providers. 

Let’s dive into the factors that make a cloud exit strategy inevitable for businesses considering a move. 

Cost control: 

While cloud solutions are well known for their cost effectiveness, the reality could be different. Factors such as unexpected pricing changes, increased usage, hidden fees, etc., can drive up your costs. Businesses might find themselves in situations where the financial implications outweigh the benefits of using a cloud platform.  

By practicing an effective cloud exit strategy, organizations can save unnecessary costs, keep track of their cloud spending, explore alternative options, and potentially reduce costs by optimizing their cloud usage or switching providers.  

Avoiding vendor lock-in: 

One of the primary challenges with cloud services is vendor lock-in. Many organizations depend on a single cloud provider, and the main challenge arises when the provider does not adhere to the service level agreements (SLAs) or the costs become prohibitive. This mostly happens when businesses engage in auto-renewal of contracts, proprietary tools, technologies, or unique services. This reliance makes it difficult for businesses to switch providers or bring back services on-premises. 

A well-defined cloud exit strategy can help businesses switch providers and mitigate the risk, ensuring they maintain control over applications and data. Businesses can reduce their dependency on a single vendor by adopting open standards and multi-cloud approaches, enabling them to make more strategic and flexible decisions in the future.  

Risk management: 

Cloud providers may experience data and security breaches, outages, or service level changes that might impact business operations. External mergers and acquisitions, regulation changes, and political reasons might also impact cloud services. A cloud exit strategy mitigates these risks by providing a clear plan for data integrity and maintaining continuity. 

Compliance and regulation: 

Data security is a significant concern for organizations. Changing compliance requirements by governments regulatory bodies, such as CCPA and GDPR, make it necessary to move to different cloud providers or look for an on-premises solution. For example, a data residency law requires you to store the data of a nation’s citizens inside the country. If your cloud provider doesn’t have their servers in that country, you might need to find an alternative to adhere to the law. Failing to compliance would attract legal actions and hefty penalties. 

A cloud exit strategy allows organizations to evaluate the cloud provider’s security measures and help them determine whether their services align with their business needs. 

 If the provider fails to provide necessary solutions to meet compliance standards, an exit strategy helps organizations transition to a more suitable environment without causing any disruption in operations or compromising data integrity.  

A robust security framework is necessary to protect sensitive data during and after cloud exit. To protect sensitive information, businesses must implement security controls such as intrusion detection systems, encryption, and access management. 

Optimizing Performance 

As businesses grow, they also demand operational needs. The performance of the cloud service provider may not scale up accordingly. Latency, insufficient resources, and downtime may affect user experience and hinder productivity. 

A cloud exit strategy enables businesses to access their current performance metrics and determines if the cloud provider can meet the specific requirements. If performance issues persist, businesses can explore alternative options that align better with their needs, ensuring satisfaction with optimal performance. 

Who needs a cloud exit strategy? 

Any organization that is considering or has already migrated to the cloud and expecting to achieve desired outcomes should have a proper cloud exit strategy ready. When organizations have an opportunity to optimize their costs and performance, drive innovation with cutting-edge capabilities, and scale their resources to meet changing needs, there is no reason to host all their data and applications on one CSP. 

For small and medium businesses, cloud offers cost-effectiveness and flexibility. However, as the companies scale, they may encounter various limitations in their cloud arrangements. Similarly, vendor lock-in can become a pressing issue, limiting the ability to pivot to explore other solutions that align better with evolving needs. 

Large enterprises on the other hand might face different challenges. While a specific cloud provider may seem like a perfect fit initially, organizations may face several challenges necessitating reassessment as they deploy. Performance issues can arise due to the growing workload, leading to downtime and latency that affect productivity.  In such cases, a well-defined cloud exit strategy helps enterprises transition to a more capable and compliant provider, ensuring they remain agile in a complex landscape. 

Need help with your cloud exit strategy? 

Cloud repatriation gives you an opportunity to grab new opportunities. So, preparing a strategy for cloud exit requires as much attention as cloud migration does. You need to plan the budget, resources, backup, risk management, and implementation. These strategies need continuous validation as the trajectory of your business changes and latest cloud trends emerge. 

Some businesses consider the investment in preparing a cloud exit strategy insignificant and try to cut corners only to find themselves at a disadvantage with unexpected costs and performance challenges. In reality, the value of a well-defined cloud exit strategy outshines the costs. 

Technical knowledge or business acumen alone wouldn’t help create a fail-proof strategy. You need the perfect mix of both backed by proven expertise. This is where you need the help of a trusted technology partner, like Saxon AI. 

At Saxon AI, we have been a Microsoft Solutions Partner for more than 16 years and helped hundreds of enterprises successfully move to the Azure cloud and migrate from other cloud platforms. We pair cloud migration roadmaps with solid exit strategies to strengthen the foundations of our customer’s cloud infrastructure. 

Book a free cloud consultation today!