The COVID-19 pandemic has completely transformed operating models. Traveling to work, attending meetings in conference rooms, brainstorming product development ideas in the cafeteria, or even simple face-to-face conversations with colleagues is no longer what describes professional lives. 

The business world is now depending on digital collaboration tools and virtual conferencing to carry out day-to-day operations, and the only technology that is making business operations possible (and successful) is cloud computing! 

Introduction to Atlassian Cloud 

References:

https://www.atlassian.com/software/premium

https://www.atlassian.com/licensing/cloud#users-roles

https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/pricing

Moving to the cloud, which was seen as a critical business move until a few months ago has suddenly become every CIO’s top priority. As more and more employees work from home, Atlassian Cloud is a perfect choice for meeting the growing collaboration needs of businesses across the world. 

With the new upcoming enterprise plan that supports unlimited users in the cloud, businesses opting for Atlassian Cloud can: 

• Scale as required while enjoying enhanced capabilities across security, governance, data privacy, and administration.
• Enjoy centralized administration and enterprise-grade security across all Atlassian Cloud products. 
• Assign users to an unlimited number of instances with a single user license and make the most of a centralized billing structure. 
• Get automatic security and feature updates and leverage modern enhancements and security patches of upcoming cloud releases to the fullest. 
• Enjoy a 99.95% uptime SLA and highest priority support to have issues addressed quickly and efficiently. 
• Choose where they want to store their data – depending on where they are located geographically – and meet regulatory requirements and business needs with ease. 
• Choose from thousands of marketplace apps and SaaS tools to integrate apps and solutions and leverage the benefits of an integrated system. 
• Provide developers isolated sandbox environments to test new features – without impacting the production environment. 

Atlassian Cloud Migration Best Practices 

Given the current situation, migrating to the cloud is probably a critical business move today. 

However, when it comes to Atlassian Cloud migration, a one-size-fits-all strategy doesn’t work. Enterprises should first analyze their existing and future needs, budgets, and expertise and select  the right option of cloud (Standard or Premium or Enterprise) Since no two migrations are the same, it is important for organizations to plan the right approach. 

Here are 7 Atlassian Cloud migration best practices to keep in mind: 

1. Assess the existing system and evaluate it against the cloud features: Atlassian Cloud offers a plethora of modern features and capabilities to suit the needs of organizations across industries. Before making the migration, make sure to assess the existing system and evaluate it against cloud features. Understand current gaps/challenges and determine what features/capabilities you would need for your specific organization needs. 
2. Strategize what all needs to move to the cloud: Moving all your workloads at once to the Atlassian Cloud might not result in an optimum output. For maximum returns, it makes sense to move instances in a phased manner. Make a list of all existing workloads and instances and evaluate which need to move to the cloud. Also, plan the migration based on the priority of each instance/workload – move critical workloads first and then move the not-so-critical ones. 
3. Backup the existing data and have a strong data migration plan: Moving to the cloud also necessitates having a strong data migration plan in place. A plan that clearly maps business motives, resources, and tools needed, as well as the roles and responsibilities of those involved, is critical to make every phase of the migration seamless. While preparing the migration plan, also make sure to take the backup of existing data – to minimize the risk of data loss during the process of migration. 
4. Evaluate and re-draft security policies: Security and compliance are top concerns for organizations looking to move to the cloud. Therefore, while migrating, make sure to evaluate security policies and re-draft them if necessary. Having a sound governance framework with clear, policy-based rules in place is essential to prepare for (and ensure) a secure migration – while minimizing risks and maximizing value from the migration. 
5. Check access control measures: Although Atlassian Cloud makes it very easy for users to have access to the tools and resources they need to do their jobs, implementing strong access control measures is essential for authorization purposes. Atlassian Access is a great way to enjoy enterprise-grade security. Through strong security measures such as Active Directory sync, user provisioning, single sign-on, and 2-factor authentication, Atlassian Access provides centralized security and governance – making it easy to build a scalable governance plan.
6. Evaluate the cloud roadmap and its possible impact on your applications: Any cloud migration is bound to impact your existing applications. Therefore, as a best practice, you need to evaluate the Atlassian Cloud roadmap and its possible impact on your applications. Such evaluation will help you determine if you can move your applications as-is or if you need to modify them before migrating them. 
7. Evaluate your current apps and explore new cloud apps: Migrating to Atlassian Cloud means you get access to the Atlassian marketplace which is a treasure trove of new cloud apps, new-age add-ons, and advanced integrations. Once you decide what apps you wish to migrate to Atlassian Cloud, you can choose from 1,000+ new integrations and extend your current applications for everyday use or implement new apps based on your precise needs. 

Ensure a successful migration

In a crisis-struck era, the percentage of the global workforce working from home is unimaginable. The trend is likely to continue much after the world bounces back to normal, with reports estimating 25-30% of the workforce will be working-from-home multiple days a week by the end of 2021. 

Meeting the requirements of a largely remote workforce means a quick transition to the cloud – so companies can empower employees and provide them with the tools they need to do their jobs. If you’re looking to move instances to Atlassian Cloud to cater to the demands of the growing remote workforce, it’s important to embrace these best practices to ensure your migration is timely, successful, and cost-effective. 

Since there are several considerations in cloud migration, engage an expert Atlassian Partner like enreap, who can help you with the selection of the right plan and smooth migration with minimal downtime.  Partners such as enreap can bring to the table deep practical experience gained from various successful migrations. They can preempt the unknowns that may arise in real-time and help you sail through the situation with solution consulting.

Talk to our experts today to assess your readiness to migrate to cloud.