Google Professional Cloud Architect Study Guide

Chapter 8. Migration and Deployment Strategies: The Journey and Destination

When I left home for my first attempt at college, I was 18, and it was my very first move. I packed everything I was bringing with me into a 1973 Jeep CJ, put my little sailboat (Laser) on the hitch, and drove about 24 hours from Fish Creek, Wisconsin (where I was visiting family), to Mobile, Alabama, where I would be starting some higher learning. Since then, especially with my stint in the USMC, my family and I have moved several times.

Helping an organization move to the cloud reminds me a lot of moving the fam to a new city. First, you can’t just open the back of the truck and start chucking things in. You have to decide how to pack different items and in which order. Putting that piano on top of your fine china collection isn’t going to work well. Moving is also a really good time to have a come-to-Jesus meeting where everyone decides on what’s coming, what’s staying, what’s going to Goodwill, and what’s going on the junk pile.

Once you get to where you’re going, you have to decide what gets unpacked first and where each and every item goes in your new digs. And perhaps most importantly, you and your family need time to adapt to new routines, find new favorite spots, and transform that new house into a smooth-running home.

Similarly, cloud migration isn’t simply copying data and applications from one place to another. It’s a transformative journey that touches every aspect of your IT landscape and ...