Optimizing app and network performance during a Microsoft Azure cloud migration

This is the last in the series on optimizing application and network performance during a cloud migration to the more prominent Infrastructure-as-a-Service platforms. Previously, we covered Google and AWS. Today, we cover Microsoft Azure.

In the enterprise race to the cloud, organizations can gain competitive advantages from cloud computing. But when not properly planned, things can get a little murky. Most businesses understand why moving their apps and workloads to a cloud infrastructure environment is beneficial. However, many overlook the significant impact a cloud migration could have on their applications and networks and particularly SD-WAN performance.

To put it bluntly, a move to the cloud could negatively impact network and app performance, but it doesn’t have to happen in your case. Businesses that have a good handle on how all aspects of their network are performing are in the best position to undertake a cloud migration and to ensure their apps are optimized throughout the process.

A large number of enterprises are adopting an intelligent, software-defined approach to manage their geographically dispersed, wide area networks (SD-WANs). IDC predicts the worldwide SD-WAN market will reach $5.25 billion in 2023, driven by widespread enterprise adoption.

SD-WANs are a popular choice as a means to reduce cost, advance digital transformation, improve network resiliency, and rely less on legacy network connectivity (MPLS), increase automation, and a host of other benefits. Maintaining a reliable and predictable SD-WAN performance during migration to Microsoft Azure is critical to success.

Thankfully, network and application performance management (NAPM) solutions are widely available to handle the task. Enterprises that work with a proven NAPM partner have a significant advantage during an app or workload migration to Microsoft Azure.

An effective solution will provide valuable information about the performance of the entire network, throughout the full app stack. NetOps and DevOps will be able to review performance stats before, during, and after a cloud migration to mitigate problems before they impact end-users.

Migrating to a public cloud infrastructure platform like Microsoft Azure is not a small undertaking, however. The following five tips will help enterprises optimize app migrations while also being mindful of their impact on SD-WAN performance.

1. Strategize app and workload migration through thoughtful planning

Businesses should ideally take a phased approach when it comes to Microsoft Azure cloud migration. That means identifying which apps and workloads are most suited to the cloud, and determining which service model is the best fit for the individual app.

Enterprises should also understand that not every app will need optimization in the cloud. Legacy apps that can only run on an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) model that involves multiple expensive VMs may be better off left residing on-premises.

2. Take advantage of monitoring and management services

Azure offers several solutions to help enterprises monitor and manage apps and workloads that have migrated to the cloud. These include Azure Monitor, which can be used in tandem with Azure Application Insights and Azure Log Analytics.

A high-performing Azure environment is a key to cloud migration success, but that won’t matter if SD-WAN suffers poor performance. Enterprises that have a trusted NAPM solution in place can ensure their applications and networks remain optimized both during and after an Azure migration.

3. Be realistic about the amount of data you plan to migrate

Businesses need to plan in advance for cloud migration, and that includes calculating the amount of data that needs to be transferred. An extensive data transfer process will eat up time and bandwidth, which could become a problem, particularly if the data is required for business operations.

Azure offers several tools to help with this process, including its ‘Import/Export’ service. This feature enables enterprises to ship disk drives to an Azure data center physically, and is ideal for moving large quantities of data.

Businesses also can use Azure Backup for moving less mission-critical types of data or archived data. This tool lets enterprises back up their data to Microsoft’s cloud, then restore it to the appropriate storage solution.

The StorSimple storage area network (SAN) may also be deployed on-premises and can copy data automatically to Azure.

4. Create policies and procedures governing organization and security

It is critical for any business undergoing a cloud migration to implement organizational policies and procedures for use during, and after the migration. It ensures business processes will not be adversely affected and that security measures will be observed.

Keeping a close eye on network and application performance should be part of this process. An automated, intuitive solution for holistically monitoring and managing network resources is a vital part of the planning and organization process.

5. Be mindful of the impact on end users

The ultimate success gauge for any cloud migration is the impact on end-users. Ideally, the move to the cloud will benefit enterprise end-users and departments through enhanced app features and functionality.

The goal of any cloud migration should be to minimize any negative impact on end-users and performance. Creating a test user group can help gauge how an app or workload migration will impact end-users before the actual movement takes place. Monitoring network performance at the network’s edge is vital to ensuring migrated apps are performing as expected.

An app’s performance and reliability will ultimately measure the success of an app migration to Microsoft Azure. Enterprises want a smooth migration and applications that are running at optimal performance in the cloud.

By taking advantage of the tips above and using Microsoft’s cloud migration checklist, enterprises can achieve a mostly painless migration. But to mitigate the potential negative impacts on apps and SD-WAN performance, a trusted NAPM solution should be part of the process.

In this series, we started with “what you need to know about SD-WAN performance”. Then we shared how you can optimize your application and network performance as you migrate to AWS, Google Cloud, and now, Microsoft Azure. To learn more, check out Accedian’s Skylight network and application performance monitoring solution.