What is a Cloud Migration? – Benefits & Migration Steps

Sridhar Panchapakesan

Nov 28, 2022 / 4 min read

Synopsys Cloud

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Definition

A complex process that’s unique to each organization, but it results in cloud applications and workloads that are scalable, affordable, flexible, and secure. A cloud migration requires migrating data, applications, and workloads to a cloud environment. It may also involve moving from one cloud to another, switching from a private cloud, to a public or hybrid cloud, or to a vendor offering better pricing or features.

What are the Benefits of Cloud Migration for Chip Designers?

Some of the benefits of cloud migration for chip designers include:

 

Fast and Easy Scaling

Cloud infrastructure is much more scalable than on-premises infrastructure. You can easily scale up services and licenses with the click of a button, or you can use elastic scaling that automatically grows and shrinks to meet demand.

 

Cost Reduction

Migrating to the cloud reduces your dependency on expensive on-premises equipment and software licenses. In addition, most cloud services use a “pay-as-you-go” model, which means you only pay for the resources you’re using, reducing waste in your budget.

 

Enhanced Flexibility

A cloud migration results in highly flexible infrastructure that you can scale up and down as needed to meet spikes in demand or reduce costs during slow periods. Many cloud services also offer extra features, extensions, and API integrations that allow you to add additional functionality with minimal time and hassle.

 

Security Assurance

Cloud vendors are responsible for many aspects of security, which reduces the time and expense you need to invest in measures like cameras and biometric locks. When you use a trusted cloud provider certified by a cloud security framework, you get assurance that your resources are protected without the headache of managing all your security.

Understanding the Key Steps in the Cloud Migration Process

Every cloud migration is unique, but there are some basic steps to help you outline the migration process, including:

 

1. Develop a Business Case

First, you must justify why this particular workload or data should be migrated to the cloud. Consider things like cost, management complexity, performance, and scalability.

 

2. Choose a Migration Strategy

Next, you need to decide whether or how a workload should be changed to utilize cloud resources best. The three basic migration strategies are:

Lift-and-Shift
This strategy involves picking up your on-premises application or data and moving it to a cloud platform as-is. This process is relatively straightforward but doesn’t make the best use of cloud architectures, so your workload may not be as flexible or scalable as you want.
Re-Architecture
In this strategy, you redesign an on-premises system to take advantage of your new cloud environment, for example, turning a monolith into a microservices application. This process is more time-consuming and requires developers with cloud-native experience, but it results in highly scalable and flexible workloads.
Replacement
A replacement strategy involves redesigning an on-premises system to take advantage of your new cloud environment, for example, turning a monolith into a microservices application. This process is more time-consuming and requires developers with cloud-native experience, but it results in highly scalable and flexible workloads.

3. Choose a Service Model

Cloud services are delivered in various ways, so you must determine which one suits this particular workload.

  • IaaS. Infrastructure-as-a-Service provides virtualized resources like servers, storage, and networking that mimic traditional data center infrastructure. This method gives you more control over the underlying infrastructure that will host your workload but requires more configuration and development.
  • PaaS. Platform-as-a-Service delivers a platform to build out your applications and integrations. You don’t need to configure the virtual infrastructure or maintain the operating system, but you’ll need to develop or install all the software.
  •  SaaS. Software-as-a-Service offers a complete cloud-native application that’s optimized for its environment and ready for you to customize and use off the shelf. The SaaS model is often the simplest because all you need to do is migrate or integrate your data, and the cloud provider handles all of the development and upkeep.
Types of Cloud Computing | Synopsys Cloud

4. Pick a Cloud Vendor

Next, you need to choose a cloud provider that suits your business needs, budget, technical requirements, and service model. For example, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform are popular IaaS or PaaS deployment options. For a SaaS EDA solution, you should ensure the vendor provides all the functionality you need and scalable, on-demand licensing, such as Synopsys Cloud.

 

5. Develop a Migration Plan

Now, it’s time to plan the nitty-gritty details of the actual migration. Some of the steps that need to be planned include:

  • Notifying and training the user base
  • Data and application backups
  • Data transfer
  • Application or workload installation
  • Documentation
  • Incident response procedures
  • Recovery and rollback plans

 

6. Execute the Migration

It’s finally time to execute the migration! Put your plan into action, documenting each step as you go.

 

7. Monitor and Optimize

Once the migration is complete, you’ll need to continuously monitor your deployment to catch any bugs and ensure optimal performance.

Synopsys, EDA, and the Cloud

Synopsys is the industry’s largest provider of electronic design automation (EDA) technology used in the design and verification of semiconductor devices, or chips. With Synopsys Cloud, we’re taking EDA to new heights, combining the availability of advanced compute and storage infrastructure with unlimited access to EDA software licenses on-demand so you can focus on what you do best – designing chips, faster. Delivering cloud-native EDA tools and pre-optimized hardware platforms, an extremely flexible business model, and a modern customer experience, Synopsys has reimagined the future of chip design on the cloud, without disrupting proven workflows.

 

Take a Test Drive!

Synopsys technology drives innovations that change how people work and play using high-performance silicon chips. Let Synopsys power your innovation journey with cloud-based EDA tools. Sign up to try Synopsys Cloud for free!


About The Author

Sridhar Panchapakesan is the Senior Director, Cloud Engagements at Synopsys, responsible for enabling customers to successfully adopt cloud solutions for their EDA workflows. He drives cloud-centric initiatives, marketing, and collaboration efforts with foundry partners, cloud vendors and strategic customers at Synopsys. He has 25+ years’ experience in the EDA industry and is especially skilled in managing and driving business-critical engagements at top-tier customers. He has a MBA degree from the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley and a MSEE from the University of Houston.

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