Why Is Cloud Migration Testing Essential For Your Project?

When making the move to the cloud, testing should be done together with migration, not after. Cloud migration testing is more than just checking if an application works out well after moving to the cloud or not. It is about running specialized processes parallel to the main process, so that any issues in data integrity, performance, security, etc., are detected and fixed as soon as possible. By making testing integral to the migration process, we can avoid costly rollbacks later on.

What is cloud migration testing?

Cloud migration testing is a specialized process to ensure that when moving applications, systems, or data from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud environment, everything remains intact, functional, and efficient. Think of it as relocating a corporate headquarters: it’s not just about moving furniture, but ensuring the office remains functional, employees can work seamlessly, and clients experience no disruption.

In the context of cloud migration, testing guarantees that data integrity is maintained, applications perform optimally, and there are no unforeseen costs or performance bottlenecks in the new cloud setting.

It’s a critical step for businesses to confidently transition to the cloud, safeguarding both operations and customer trust.

When do you need cloud migration testing

A business requires cloud migration testing in the following situations.

Moving to the Cloud

When you transition applications, databases, or systems from an on-premises environment to a cloud platform for the first time.

Cloud-to-Cloud Transitions

When you migrate resources or services between different cloud providers (e.g., moving from Azure to AWS).

Hybrid Cloud Implementations

If a business is adopting a hybrid cloud strategy, where certain components remain on-premises while others move to the cloud.

Data Consolidation

Moving multiple data sources or applications to a centralized cloud system.

Application Refactoring/Re-architecting

If an application is being modified or rebuilt to better suit cloud environments, it will need testing post-migration.

Scaling Operations

When businesses scale up or down in the cloud based on demand, ensuring that systems can handle the scale without performance drops.

Whenever a business undergoes any of these transitions, cloud migration testing is pivotal to validate that the move doesn’t introduce data inconsistency, operational issues, security vulnerabilities, or performance bottlenecks.

Importance of cloud migration testing

Cloud migration is an exciting uplift for your IT capacity, and migration testing allows you to manage this transition with minimal disruptions. Here are the benefits when migration testing is done well:

Business operations are uninterrupted.
Data integrity and security are maintained.
Applications perform as they are supposed to.
You can avoid costly post-migration fixes or rollbacks.

Simply put, migration testing is an indispensable safety measure in the migration process. Without allowing for testing, the migration cannot promise much positive return.

Challenges in cloud migration testing

Cloud migration testing may be plagued by these issues:

Vast data volumes with mixed quality.
Legacy systems causing incompatibilities, unknown issues, and low performance.
The need to maintain operation with minimal downtime.

What would happen if your team did not conduct migration testing? Unvetted migration or unthorough testing can pose these risks:

Operational disruption: undetected issues can cause system outages or malfunctions.
Data loss or corruption
Security vulnerabilities: data breaches or unauthorized access can occur if the cloud environment isn’t securely configured.
Performance issues: applications may perform worse or become unresponsive due to misconfigurations in the cloud environment.
Existing systems or third-party apps may not integrate seamlessly with the new cloud environment.

All of these issues would appear as malfunctions to the end users, including both customers and employees. By then, you would need emergency fixes or even rollbacks, which can all be time-consuming and expensive.

To avoid the issues above, follow the best practice below.

Best practice in cloud migration testing

When your migration project includes these measures, you can be more certain that it will work out well.

Comprehensive planning and requirement analysis

Set out all the requirements for the migration, such as:

Core functionalities must remain intact
Performance meets benchmarks.
The cloud environment must adhere to security and compliance standards.
All third-party tools must integrate seamlessly.

Within the overall project planning, the potential risks should be identified so that you can plan mitigations for each. Migration and testing should go in lockstep, taking into account business cycles and downtimes.

Also put in place backup and rollback plans for systems and data, ensuring that operation can revert back to the original state if issues arise.

Creating a test environment mirroring the production setup

This mirrored environment, often called a “staging” or “pre-production” environment, allows for comprehensive testing without affecting the live operations.

Using automated testing tools for data validation

Automated testing tools can efficiently and reliably validate vast amounts of data, flagging discrepancies and ensuring data quality. Before testing, always backup source data; after migration, continue to monitor data for a period to catch any latent inconsistencies.

You can further ensure data consistency by doing parallel runs of applications on both the source and the destination data, then comparing the outputs. As data is often a company’s most valuable asset, ensuring its accuracy, consistency, and integrity post-migration is non-negotiable.

Testing is integral to our cloud migration service

Cloud migration is a complex project – migration testing adds another quality guarantee to its success, making sure your project meets CIS Standards. We never migrate without leaving ample space for testing; without adequate testing, we would rather not migrate at all. Working with us means your project will be handled according to the best industry practice. Contact us for AWS Cloud Migration now.