While shifting what’s likely to be an important part of any customer’s operations to the cloud may seem like a time-consuming and disruptive undertaking, this needn’t be the case. By following proven processes built on best practices and lessons learned on large numbers of similar migrations, you might be surprised at how quickly you can transition a customer from an on-premises-based architecture to one using Oracle Cloud. A pilot can be delivered in as little as 30 days, while a full production system can be done in just 90.

Where to begin

Start with a customer where the need is greatest: perhaps they’re facing infrastructure-related performance issues that could be addressed by moving to cloud, or maybe their on-premises hardware is approaching end-of life and they’re contemplating what to do next.

A cloud pilot in 30 days: How to do it

To deliver a working pilot in 30 days, start by understanding your customer’s implementation of your application, both from a functional and technical perspective. What is it running on now? Are there any issues that need addressing before or during the move to cloud? With these insights, design an appropriate cloud platform for the customer. If, like many ISVs, you have different sizes of customer implementation, it’s advisable to create a set of re-usable cloud reference designs for small, medium and large implementations. This is something Cintra has done for a number of ISVs, and it considerably accelerates and de-risks the process. Once the design is complete, you can provision the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) environments you need, then migrate your application and its associated Oracle database(s) to it. As part of the migration, ensure all the integrations between your application and your customer’s other systems remain intact.

Following the 30-day pilot

Once your customer’s cloud pilot is running, you’ll start to be able to demonstrate to them (and potentially other customers and prospects) the benefits of delivering it in this way. Assess how it’s running and make any refinements to the application, its underlying platform and any associated systems in their business to improve matters.

Once you have a solution you and your customer are happy with, it’s time to prepare it for production use. Oracle’s cloud offers a ready-made production-hardening toolset that integrates with enterprise tooling, making it easier and faster to get your pilot production-ready than it would be with most other cloud platforms.

Build out your cloud strategy and plans

In parallel with this, take the lessons learned and start planning the subsequent steps of your customer cloud journey. Decide which customers should be next to make the transition, again focusing where the benefits are high and tangible, the migration complexity is manageable and risks are low. Keeping your cloud performing Just as it is with on-premises Oracle application technology, you need to keep your customers’ cloud platforms lean and well-maintained. This will ensure they (and you) continue to enjoy the benefits, particularly around cost-effectiveness. Do all of this, and you’ll be on the path to success. You’ll be able to deliver your customers the Software-as-a-Service-based pricing they want, alongside genuine agility, flexibility and scalability around your application.

Keeping your cloud performing

Just as it is with on-premises Oracle application technology, you need to keep your customers’ cloud platforms lean and well-maintained. This will ensure they (and you) continue to enjoy the benefits, particularly around cost-effectiveness. Do all of this, and you’ll be on the path to success. You’ll be able to deliver your customers the Software-as-a-Service-based pricing they want, alongside genuine agility, flexibility and scalability around your application. And for your business, transitioning customers to the cloud will help you accelerate your growth, invest in intellectual property, increase profits and boost your overall company share price and valuation