Learn how to avoid risks and ensure success when deploying software in the cloud. Follow these best practices in the software development life cycle (SDLC).

We need to Start analyzing from the perspective of why/ how it is going to impact your existing business flow. What is your top most priority ( Cost optimization, operational excellence, security, Scalability, etc.) and what is your ROI , when is your breakeven. What is your back out/ exit option in case of a failure. What is the risk associated if your are not going for Cloud adoption. These need to be carefully evaluated, with a proper technology/ consulting companies who are specialized in this area. "Think Big, Start small". Once you make a long term goal , start as small as possible with less impacting systems, to go for cloud adoption/ and take further steps to success. Like any other thing in life, "Change" is inevitable...!!

How can you avoid risks when deploying software in the cloud?

Deploying software in the cloud can offer many benefits, such as scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. However, it also comes with some risks, such as security, compliance, performance, and reliability issues. How can you avoid these risks and ensure a successful cloud deployment? Here are some best practices to follow in the software development life cycle (SDLC).

1 Plan your cloud deployment strategy

Before you move your software to the cloud, you need to have a clear vision of your goals, requirements, and expectations. You should also evaluate the pros and cons of different cloud service models (such as SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS) and providers (such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud). You should choose the one that best suits your software needs, budget, and timeline. You should also consider the legal and regulatory aspects of your cloud deployment, such as data privacy, security, and compliance.

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Krishna G T

Principal Architect at Intelliswift Software, Inc.
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We need to Start analyzing from the perspective of why/ how it is going to impact your existing business flow. What is your top most priority ( Cost optimization, operational excellence, security, Scalability, etc.) and what is your ROI , when is your breakeven. What is your back out/ exit option in case of a failure. What is the risk associated if your are not going for Cloud adoption. These need to be carefully evaluated, with a proper technology/ consulting companies who are specialized in this area. "Think Big, Start small". Once you make a long term goal , start as small as possible with less impacting systems, to go for cloud adoption/ and take further steps to success. Like any other thing in life, "Change" is inevitable...!!

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Rashed Chowdhury

Global VP | IT & Digital Transformation | Salesforce Partner | Tech Executive
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To avoid risks when deploying software in the cloud, prioritize security with strong measures and encryption, ensure automated backups and recovery plans, comply with industry regulations, carefully assess cloud service providers, use real-time monitoring and logging, manage costs efficiently, implement redundancy and load balancing, stay up to date with regular updates, test deployments in staging environments, and establish data governance and privacy policies.

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Nilesh Kanawade

Cloud Administrator - TCS | Provision, Decommission virtual server | Puppet | Vulnerability Management | Cloud Security | Azure Az- 900, Az- 104, Az-500 | VMware(Linux, Windows)
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Most important - You should focus on business continuity. If anything wrong happens migration time (onprem to public cloud) you should backup the plan available switch over and switch back (RTO and RPO time most important). You should also consider the legal and regular aspects your cloud deployment, such as data privacy, security and compliance.

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Chris Seferlis

Strategic Advisor, Keynote Speaker, Published Author, Mentor, Professor, Data Architect, Customer Advocate - Advising customers on solutions that immediately provide value
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Further, it is important to understand that differences between a "lift-and-shift" model compared to a "redesign and rearchitecture" as you determine the best approach to the various options mentioned above. The former is easier to move and quicker to get back online, however, will be more costly and offer no additional value to what is already being provided. The latter will take longer to plan and build, but will be optimized for the cloud and likely result in lower operating costs.

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Jawahar Selvaraj

Staff Engineer @ Cloudbees
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It is important to keep in mind that cloud is nothing but another person’s computer. Make sure to review the kind of data we deploy to cloud. Consider dedicated hosts when dealing with sensitive data and make sure your data is not visible to other applications hosted by other companies.

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2 Design your software for the cloud

Not all software is ready for the cloud. You may need to make some changes to your software architecture, code, and configuration to make it compatible with the cloud environment. For example, you may need to use microservices, containers, or serverless functions to make your software more modular, scalable, and resilient. You may also need to use cloud-native tools and frameworks to optimize your software performance, security, and reliability. You should also follow the principles of DevOps and continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) to automate and streamline your software development and deployment processes.

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Chris Seferlis

Strategic Advisor, Keynote Speaker, Published Author, Mentor, Professor, Data Architect, Customer Advocate - Advising customers on solutions that immediately provide value
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This is all part of that evaluation process I mentioned in the previous section. If you decide to deploy the application via Lift-and-Shift in order to quickly get it off legacy hardware, a closing datacenter, etc., you won't necessarily need to put much effort into these items until it is time to reimagine what a new version of the software will look like.

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3 Test your software in the cloud

Before you launch your software in the cloud, you need to test it thoroughly to ensure that it meets your quality standards and user expectations. You should perform various types of testing, such as functional, performance, security, and usability testing, in the cloud environment. You should also use cloud-based testing tools and platforms to simulate real-world scenarios and conditions. You should also monitor and collect feedback from your testing results and use them to improve your software quality and functionality.

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Abiola Akinbade

Senior DevOps Engineer | Microsoft Certified Trainer
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In my experience, I will say setting up backup and recovery is key. Planning a backup and recovery strategy is key to ensuring a quick time to recovery when disaster inevitably happens. This process generally needs to be tested periodically to avoid surprises.

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4 Deploy your software in the cloud

Once you are confident that your software is ready for the cloud, you need to deploy it carefully and gradually. You should use a deployment strategy that minimizes the impact on your existing users and systems, such as blue-green, canary, or rolling deployments. You should also use cloud-based deployment tools and services to automate and orchestrate your deployment process. You should also communicate and coordinate with your stakeholders and users about your deployment schedule and expectations.

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Jawahar Selvaraj

Staff Engineer @ Cloudbees
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Consider moving the least critical workloads like pre production environment, internal applications, etc to the cloud first. Setup proper monitoring and observe it for days before migrating critical workloads.

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Aditya Ranjan

Solutions Architect | Transitioning Businesses to the Cloud
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When choosing cloud provider, one should look into not only budget or software needs but also in these 2 fields: 1. How the cloud provider or your software in cloud aligns with your future business goals 2. Avoid vendor locking, if not necessary i.e use few services of other cloud providers too

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5 Maintain your software in the cloud

After you deploy your software in the cloud, you need to keep it updated and secure. You should monitor and measure your software performance, availability, and usage in the cloud using cloud-based analytics and monitoring tools. You should also troubleshoot and resolve any issues or errors that may arise in the cloud using cloud-based logging and debugging tools. You should also apply patches and updates to your software regularly to fix any bugs or vulnerabilities. You should also backup and restore your software data and configuration in the cloud using cloud-based backup and recovery tools.

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6 Improve your software in the cloud

Finally, you need to continuously improve your software in the cloud based on the feedback and data you collect from your users and systems. You should analyze and evaluate your software performance, user satisfaction, and business outcomes in the cloud using cloud-based analytics and reporting tools. You should also identify and prioritize any areas or features that need improvement or enhancement in your software. You should also implement and test any changes or updates to your software in the cloud using cloud-based development and testing tools.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you avoid risks when deploying software in the cloud?

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1 Plan your cloud deployment strategy

2 Design your software for the cloud

3 Test your software in the cloud

4 Deploy your software in the cloud

5 Maintain your software in the cloud

6 Improve your software in the cloud

7 Here’s what else to consider

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

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