This is the last part of the article series about Cloud Movement. If you have skipped the first 2 parts, check them out:
- Cloud Movement Part 1: Checklist for your Successful Migration
- Cloud Movement Part 2: Top Tips for Security Assessment
Now let's assume you have planned your timelines, defined a holistic project structure and developed a detailed communication plan. Your business analyst has started working on a security assessment. Finally, it's time to talk about solution design.
Identify dependencies. As a "Platform of Platforms", ServiceNow is tightly integrated with other tools and services across your organization. Typical examples of such integrations are LDAP, SSO, MID servers, REST/SOAP interfaces, SMTP servers, portals, apps, reporting tools and many more. That's why you need to inspect your corporate infrastructure and identify all components which depend on ServiceNow. Will they continue working after migration? Will users across all regions have access to the cloud? Will it be secure? If not, then plan carefully all changes necessary for seamless and compliant migration, such as network or firewall changes, additional encryption, URL redirect, MFA, etc.
Define the database migration approach. Although data transfer is only a part of your solution, it can be the most challenging part. Depending on the objectives and requirements, your strategy might vary. Is your on-premise instance LIVE? Which downtime can your business afford? How big is the current database? Which applications and processes are on board? Are you migrating them using a Big Bang method? Is it a like-for-like migration or there should be adjustments in the target cloud environment? What are the security constrains? All these variables will contribute to your approach, so make sure you collect the knowledge and engage key SMEs on time.
Consider network bandwidth. It is critical not only for the migration, but also for the further operations that the network traffic against on-premise environment during business hours does not exceed the organization’s Internet channel bandwidth.
Prepare and optimize your instances. Make a full assessment of the on-premise instance. It’s recommended to have the same ServiceNow patch and DB version on both environments. If any additional plugins are required, install and test them in advance.
Define performance benchmarks. To measure performance improvements in the cloud, you need to define simple and straightforward KPIs. They should include the most common business operations, such as queries against Tasks or CIs, incident creation time, form loading time, etc. Do not hesitate to measure them prior and after migration - this will give you a clear picture of performance gain.
Identify post-production activities. Cloud migration is only a milestone in your program. Next steps would be cloning, patching, applying upgrades and continuing regular DevOps cycles. I recommend keeping those in mind from the very beginning of the project.
These were only few main tips for a cloud movement. Unfortunately, it's impossible to cover all details in one article, even in a series of articles, but it was not the goal. I hope these materials will at least give you some additional tips and ideas. Should you have questions, feel free to ask!
