Challenges when migrating to the AWS cloud by SMBs

Cloud computing has opened up new possibilities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to expand their reach and tap into a global customer base. And AWS is often their first choice because of its experience in helping organizations of all sizes migrate their workloads to the cloud. Over 71% of SMBs favor AWS over other cloud providers.

Some of the key hurdles faced by SMBs during this migration process and discuss effective solutions to overcome them:

Challenge 1: Cost

While cost savings are a significant benefit of migrating to the AWS cloud, managing cloud costs effectively continues to be the most cited challenge for SMBs. They either end up with high running costs on the cloud or don’t have a clear idea of what it will cost to move to the cloud.

Challenge 2: Resistance to cloud adoption

Resistance to change is another common challenge SMBs face when migrating to the AWS cloud. Employees can be hesitant to embrace new technologies or are concerned about the impact on their roles and workflows. Fear of job displacement or a lack of understanding about the benefits of cloud adoption can also contribute to resistance.

Challenge 3: Lack of skills

Many SMBs do not have a dedicated IT team or professionals with cloud experience, making it difficult to effectively plan and execute the migration. Many migrations are started with “lift and shift,” which literally takes existing on-premises data and places it in the cloud. Thus, it’s not optimized to fully utilize the power of AWS.

Challenge 4: Security concerns

Ensuring that sensitive data remains secure and compliant with regulations during the migration process and in the cloud can be a daunting task. In addition, SMBs are challenged with limited knowledge or information on the cost of supporting secured cloud solutions.

Challenge 5: Finalizing the right migration strategy

Migrating applications to the cloud, especially those built on traditional infrastructure, can be complex and time-consuming. Plus, there is the inherent risk of failure when undertaking a migration to the cloud. Thus, determining the most suitable migration approach is challenging.

Challenge 6: Performance issues

Performance issues can initially happen when SMBs move to the cloud due to various factors. One common reason is the mismatch between the on-premises infrastructure and the cloud environment, leading to suboptimal resource allocation and configuration. Additionally, network latency, improper workload sizing, inefficient application architecture, and lack of optimization for cloud-native services can impact performance.

Checkout the solutions to the challenges: 6 Challenges and Solutions for When SMBs Move to AWS Cloud