Imagine what your business can achieve if it transcends traditional boundaries and unlocks exponential growth in the cloud. According to a recent study by McKinsey & Company, organizations that have successfully migrated to the cloud have experienced an average revenue growth of 25%. The power of scalability, cost savings and enhanced data management awaits — but navigating the challenges of cloud migration is crucial to realizing these outcomes. 

In our recent webinar with TDWI, "Learning from Failure: Best practices for data integration in the cloud," we had the privilege of hosting industry experts Bruno Aziza, Head of Data & Analytics at Google Cloud, and Veronica Zhai, Director of Analytics Technical Product Management at Fivetran. Their expertise shed light on the hurdles organizations face during cloud migration and how to overcome these obstacles.

Challenges to expect during cloud migration

Access and accuracy of data are integral for organizations, so undertaking any project that could risk altering your organization’s relationship with your data is rightfully risk-filled. 

Smoothly transitioning from on-prem to the cloud requires understanding the challenges ahead to properly prepare. While every organization is different, Bruno Aziza and Veronica Zhai identified some key obstacles their customers currently face: 

• Cost Visibility: Without proper cost visibility, organizations risk inefficient resource allocation and budgetary constraints. This is frequently due to the disparate nature of data sources across your environment and the silos that can create.  

“In complex cloud environments, it can be challenging to have a clear view of the costs incurred by different teams, projects, data sources and the costs incurred by different types of data models. Without proper cost tracking governance mechanisms in place, a lot of companies struggle to accurately understand where their costs occur and identify areas of overspending.” 

Veronica Zhai, Director of Analytics Technical Product Management at Fivetran

• Data Governance: Establishing robust data governance frameworks from the outset ensures data quality, security and access control throughout the cloud migration process. Neglecting data governance can lead to data integrity issues and compliance challenges.

“If you don't have data monitoring… and standardization implemented earlier on, you’ll have lots of issues later on rolling up the process….It's so much better for companies to set up a framework before they start their digital transformation process.”

Veronica Zhai, Director of Analytics Technical Product Management at Fivetran

• Strategy Gap: Approaching cloud migration as a mere lift and shift process hinders organizations from fully leveraging the transformative power of the cloud. Rethinking processes, data management strategies, customer interactions and aligning cloud migration strategy with overall business objectives is key to maximizing the benefits of cloud technology and driving business transformation.

• Mindset and Multi-Cloud Thinking: Customers often struggle when they expect cloud environments to behave similarly to on-premises setups and the database world. Adopting a forward-thinking mindset and embracing intelligent platforms that automate scaling and performance optimization are vital for success in cloud environments.

"The world we are moving to is highly distributed data, highly distributed users. So you want to build into a cloud that is open… We are seeing 90% of the companies we work with at Google Cloud adopt a multi-cloud strategy. So when I think of moving to the cloud, I think of moving to the clouds." Embracing a multi-cloud mindset enables organizations to leverage diverse cloud resources, meet regulatory requirements, and foster collaboration with partners.

Bruno Aziza, Head of Data & Analytics at Google Cloud

Solutions to overcome challenges

"Customers that succeed the most are extremely focused on data quality– breaking bad data... Investing in creating high-quality data sets the foundation for success. Gartner research shows that bad data costs organizations $13 million a year. Building trust in data is essential as most solutions have no value if people cannot rely on the data itself.” 

Bruno Aziza, Head of Data & Analytics at Google Cloud

To achieve continuous improvement during cloud migration, organizations should navigate the following phases of success:

1. Build your Data Ocean: Coined by a customer, this term represents a multi-cloud environment that transcends boundaries. Establishing a robust technical infrastructure, including leveraging powerful solutions like Google BigQuery, becomes the cornerstone for seamless data integration and future phases. This phase brings together diverse data sources, fostering a unified and interconnected data environment.

2. Intelligence and Fabric: The next phase focuses on leveraging the vast data within the data ocean to derive actionable insights. Establishing universal semantic layers and standardized data definitions ensures consistency and reusability across various applications. By harnessing intelligent analytics tools and techniques, organizations can unlock the full potential of their data, enabling data-driven decision-making and generating tangible business value.

3. Data Product Creation: The ultimate goal for data-driven organizations is to create valuable data products that directly impact the bottom line. This phase prioritizes trusted, recent and rich data. Aligning the three phases and building a value chain for data empowers organizations to power their applications and drive business success through data-driven initiatives. This includes optimizing the utilization of high-quality data assets to create innovative products and services that deliver measurable business outcomes.

The bottom line

Cloud migration is a transformative journey that presents immense opportunities for organizations. No different than most worthwhile endeavors, that opportunity is going to include some obstacles along the way. Preparing for those obstacles ahead of time and acknowledging them while you strategize will make them easier to navigate if (or when) they arise. 

By establishing a robust definition of data quality, implementing data governance frameworks and building a strong technical infrastructure — organizations can overcome the challenges presented by cloud migration. These transformative solutions will empower your business now to harness the full potential of the cloud in the future, driving innovation and fueling growth in the process.

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