| | APRIL 20248CIOReviewIN MY OPINIONIs it obvious to say migrating an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to cloud hosting is a complex undertaking that requires careful planning, execution, and a new mindset? Not many would say otherwise, and the fact that hundreds of articles are written on the subject proves the point. There are many factors to consider that are technical, while others have nothing to do with coding. The 80-20 rule is applicable where tackling 20 percent of the migration factors addresses 80 percent of the complexities. The 20 percent can be summed up with just a few key considerations beginning with the common alignment. Before commencing the migration process, it is imperative to harmonize the migration strategy with the organization's overarching business goals and objectives. Factors to be considered encompass comprehending the underlying reasons driving the migration, the anticipated advantages to be gained (including enhanced scalability, cost efficiencies, and improved accessibility), and the congruence of the migration with the organization's longer-term IT and business strategies and roadmap.The roadmap is not just IT; it touches many aspects of the business. As such, one formidable facet of ERP migrations, or any ERP-related transformation, is engaging, agreeing, and securing user and management buy-in. Communication is an essential cornerstone of a successful migration. An org chart and a RACI are excellent tools for mitigating the risk of miss-communications or missing key staff and stakeholders. Communication serves as the glue that binds together team members, stakeholders, and all involved. Much like individuals discard unnecessary, faulty, and outdated household items when moving homes, the process of migrating ERPs presents an opportunity to replicate this approach on a digital and organizational level. One of the notably intricate tasks involves striking the right balance between retiring obsolete components, reconfiguring functionalities, and seamlessly transferring data from the old system to the new. The choice between retiring systems and duplicating certain or all elements during the migration hinges on multiple considerations, including the inherent characteristics of the systems undergoing migration, business imperatives, technical feasibility, cost evaluations, scheduling constraints, and, notably, the willingness of users to invest time in purging historical data and modifying workflows. If time permits, it is advisable to thoroughly streamline the ERP's data in accordance with the project's timelines.Security and compliance considerations can be significantly different on the target hosting environment. Careful evaluation must be given to the new functionality and security measures protecting data from theft, loss, and manipulation. Question every aspect of data regulations (such as GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) because what may have been in a single geographic area may be traversing geographic boundaries. Review encryption and decryption carefully to avoid locking out yourself; verify certificates and keys before any moves are considered. Many organizations let their guards down during the migration process for expediency, which may lead to unauthorized access to private or sensitive information.Lift and Shift, or Rehosting entails migrating the current ERP system to the cloud with minimal adjustments. This approach offers swifter migration but might not harness the full array of cloud-native capabilities or, in some instances, might encounter compatibility challenges. The sensitivity of databases to their hosting environment is a critical factor to consider. It is worth noting that the migration could involve a transition from a dedicated single-tenant environment to a shared public environment. In shared scenarios, the service provider must uphold Quality of Service (QoS), which often involves implementing resource consumption controls, commonly called throttling, to prevent one tenant from monopolizing all available resources. This may become problematic for specific databases that rely on unfettered access to infrastructure resources; for instance, SQL tends to consume all available memory unless restricted.By Enrique Leon, Director of Cloud Services, American Sugar RefiningMIGRATING FROM ERP TO CLOUD HOSTINGEnrique Leon
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