Types of IT migration

There are different types od IT migration and they may involve a part or all of owned IT environment. It is usually a complex and difficult process that require proper preparation. However, it is important to remember that the step intend to help companies grow and gain competitive advantages. 

Reasons for IT migration

Why do the companies choose to make changes related to IT migration? This happens when a particular IT environment is not adapted to the currently required business areas or when a software has lost support and the company is forced to look for another solutions. However, there may be more caused and it is hard to mention them all.

Data migration is one of the most difficult IT processes but sometimes this is the only way to keep up with market environment changes and clients’ needs. In the material I try to bring the most popular types, forms and kinds of IT migration.

Types of migration

Migration of physical server to virtualized environment

Migration of physical server to virtualized environment is one of the most popular types of migration. It is the result of – as business analyses shows – more and more enterprises decide to virtualize their server infrastructure.

Migration across virtualized environment

Process of migration between virtualized environments may take place due to replacement of the current environment, launching the second one or a change of the virtualizer. I involves moving data which has been already virtualized to another environment – also virtualized.

Migration of hardware to another

This type of migration the most often is caused by outdated devices or lack of technical or upgrade support for components.

Migration of virtualized environment to a physical one 

This kind of migration is really rare and usually dedicated by a specific condition of purchased software, such as database software.

Where is the data migrated?

Every of the described forms of IT migration may take place liberally between clients’ environment and a data center, whether the context of colocation or moving virtual machines to a dedicated or shared server clusters, arrays, etc.

Is relocation another type of IT migration?

When describing the various type of IT migration, we often forget about one more possible model – relocation which is just another kind of IT migration. This is the process of moving IT resources to an external data center.

Ways to implement data migration

Migration process can be divided into several metods of implementation, depending of the circumstances of a particular company:

• Stage migration – is a way that allows to move running environment in stages. Usually it is a lengthened process, but provides greater control over the migration.
• Homogeneus migration – gives the possibility of an interrupted migration process to the new environment, or the gap is reduced to the minimum

Migration with the guadiance of specialists

If your IT department is not very experienced or you are afraid of making migration on your own, it is worth to ask specialists. Data centers are specialized in such processes, and it is often confirmed by clients’ reviews. One thing is certain – experience is crucial in this case and it provides a guarantee of a successful migration.