How to migrate from on-prem to the cloud (a ‘DBA Stories’ series)

In this DBA Stories series, Pat Wright details the key steps of migrating from on-premises to the cloud. Each of the 8 articles focuses on a story that will help you plan your own migration, along with plenty of advice – all picked up from experiences and lessons learned in the past.

Series introduction: how to migrate from on-prem to the cloud

In this series, I’ll be talking about the cloud migration steps I have taken throughout my career – both the successes and the failures.

What I remind all organizations that I work with, is that migrations to the cloud are not just a database (DB) task. While the DB is crucial, the applications need to be considered in the migration. Applications typically must change fundamental ways that they interact with the DB in the cloud. Whether it’s changing logic, connections, or access patterns – they all add up to changes in the application.

I’ve seen migrations fail or take a long time because the application needed to be changed before migration. Often, the issues are around the applications, business processes, and infrastructure.

Each of these articles will focus on a story that will help you plan your own migration, along with advice on what you can do to make sure it’s a successful one. I hope you will join me as I walk down memory lane to share experiences and lessons learned from the past. Feel free to also share your own stories in the comments section of each article.