How to Successfully Migrate to SaaS – The Ultimate Guide
In business and in life, the only predictable dimension is the guarantee of change. For a company to stay competitive, its software use must also constantly evolve. That’s why many organizations are shifting from use of on-premises enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and applications to cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, a process known as SaaS migration.
The move to SaaS offers more than just technological advancement. It provides a foundation of agility across all aspects of operations. By embracing cloud-based solutions, companies can rapidly adapt to market shifts and not only weather storms of change but harness them as catalysts for growth.
In This Article:
What is SaaS?
Rather than purchasing and installing software on local machines, users can now subscribe to SaaS solutions that run remotely on cloud servers. This approach offers flexibility and convenience, enabling employees to log in and work from any compatible device with an internet connection.
Think of it as buying streaming music versus buying your favorite artists' CDs. While owning physical discs gives you permanent access to specific tracks, streaming opens up a vast library of content without the need to store or maintain physical media. Similarly, SaaS eliminates the burden of software installation and updates. Many people already use SaaS applications in their daily lives without realizing it. Popular email services accessed through web browsers are prime examples of this technology in action. The software resides on distant servers, seamlessly delivering functionality to users wherever they are.
Of course, relying on cloud-based solutions does mean depending on an internet connection, which typically involves ongoing subscription fees. However, for many organizations, the benefits of always having access to software’s latest features and functionality outweigh these considerations. As technology evolves and innovates, SaaS is likely to play an increasingly prominent role in how businesses operate.
What is SaaS Migration and Why Should You Do It?
SaaS migration is the process of moving a company's software applications, data and IT processes from an on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-based SaaS model, which is hosted and maintained by a third-party provider. One of the primary drivers, and biggest benefits, of SaaS migration is the desire to reduce IT costs and improve operational efficiency. By moving to a SaaS model, companies can eliminate the need for expensive hardware, software licenses and maintenance, as these responsibilities are handled by the SaaS provider. This frees internal IT resources to focus on strategic initiatives that drive business growth.
SaaS Migration Can Digitally Transform Your Firm
One of the most significant benefits of SaaS migration in digital transformation is its resilience. This resilience allows executives to adopt a 'learn from failing' model, fostering a more experimental approach to solving product or service problems. Other benefits of migrating to a SaaS solution include:
- Dramatically Reducing Time to Market for New Products: By leveraging cloud-based platforms, companies can rapidly iterate on their offerings, enabling them to respond more swiftly to market demands. This agility is particularly crucial in today's business environment, where the ability to pivot quickly can make the difference between success and obsolescence.
- Achieving Flexibility Through Scalability: Organizations can start with a modest implementation and gradually expand their usage as their needs grow. A scalable approach allows businesses to realize a return on investment more quickly, as they can align their technology expenditure with their actual requirements and growth trajectory.
- Experiencing Ease of Use: By eliminating much of the operational complexity typically associated with on-premises software, SaaS platforms enable organizations to focus on their core competencies rather than getting bogged down in IT management. Simplification extends to the realm of proof of concept, where companies can test new ideas more affordably and with less risk.
- Leveraging Software that Grows with You: As business needs evolve, so too must the technology that supports them. SaaS offerings excel in this regard, delivering the flexibility to adjust subscriptions and service levels to meet changing demands. Scalability ensures that organizations are not locked into rigid systems that may become unsuitable as their requirements shift over time.
- Accessing Cutting-Edge Functionality: In traditional software models, organizations often find themselves working with outdated tools due to the complexity and cost associated with upgrades. In contrast, SaaS solutions typically offer automatic updates, ensuring that users always have access to the latest improvements without the need for disruptive upgrade cycles.
Steps to Move to SaaS
So how does an organization migrate to SaaS? Exact steps will depend on your business’s size and legacy app situation, but here are some general guidelines to follow:
Laying the Groundwork
Begin with a thorough assessment of your current infrastructure. This first step involves closely examining your existing server setup, performance metrics and storage requirements. By gaining a comprehensive grasp of your current landscape, you'll be better equipped to identify areas ripe for optimization in the cloud.
Once you've completed your assessment, it's time to craft your migration strategy. This phase is all about setting clear objectives and choosing the right approach. Are you looking to boost performance, enhance scalability or reduce costs? Perhaps all of the above? Your goals will shape your migration path, whether that's a straightforward lift-and-shift or a more complex re-architecting of your systems.
Building Your Cloud Foundation
With your strategy in place, the next step is to set up your cloud environment. This involves more than just flipping a switch. You'll need to carefully configure your new digital home to ensure it meets your application’s performance, scalability and security needs. This will probably include leveraging scalable cloud infrastructure—the ability to expand or shrink— to provide enhanced flexibility for your operations.
The Great Data Migration
Moving your data to the cloud is a critical phase that requires planning. You'll need to determine the best methods for transferring your data, whether through online channels or physical devices for larger datasets. The key here is maintaining data integrity and security throughout the process.
Launching Your SaaS Application
With your data safely in its new home, it's time to bring your SaaS application to life in the cloud. This involves installing necessary components, deploying your code and conducting thorough testing to ensure everything runs smoothly. It's also an opportunity to optimize your application for its new cloud environment, ensuring it's ready to perform at its best.
Making the Switch
The final stretch involves redirecting traffic to your new cloud infrastructure. Depending on your specific needs and risk tolerance, this might happen gradually or all at once. Throughout this process, monitor user experience closely to quickly catch and address any issues.
Ensuring Long-Term Success
Your journey doesn't end once you've made the switch. Post-migration, you’ll need to continually monitor and optimize your SaaS application's performance in its new cloud host. This ongoing process ensures you maximize the benefits of your move to SaaS, from improved efficiency to cost savings.
SaaS Migration Examples
Consider these real-world instances of SaaS migration:
Haley & Aldrich: Seamless Transition to Cloud-Based ERP
Haley & Aldrich, an environmentally conscious geotechnical architecture and engineering firm, successfully migrated their unwieldy on-premises ERP and applications system to a cloud-based solution. The move allowed the firm to streamline and enhance its financial, accounting and project management processes across its 800-person employee base, without saddling its IT team with new responsibilities. By transitioning to the cloud, the company better aligned its offerings with a project-based business model and cut costs in the process. Haley & Aldrich’s migration to the cloud helped the company realize nearly $200,000 a year in operational savings between licensing, maintenance and on-premises infrastructure support costs.
Peraton: Cloud Technology for Enhanced Security
Peraton, a government contractor specializing in space, intelligence and cyber operations, made the strategic decision to migrate its on-premises ERP system to a GovCon cloud solution. Driven by the need for a single source of truth for acquired companies’ ERP systems, enhanced security measures and improved scalability, the migration process involved collaboration between Peraton's IT team and its provider’s cloud experts. By adopting a cloud-based solution, Peraton gained access to advanced security features and automatic updates, ensuring compliance with stringent government regulations. The transition also enabled Peraton to reduce IT infrastructure costs while improving system performance through a centralized integration.
Ogilvy: Cloud-Based Project Management
Ogilvy, a renowned global advertising agency, successfully migrated from their legacy timesheet and project management tools to a cloud-based setup. This transition allowed the agency to centralize its project data and improve collaboration across international offices. The migration process included thorough data mapping and user training to ensure a smooth transition. Ogilvy's teams now enjoy real-time access to project time-tracking information, streamlined resource allocation and improved financial forecasting. The move to a SaaS model has not only enhanced Ogilvy's operational efficiency but also provided them with valuable insights to drive business growth.
How to Know if You Are Ready for SaaS Migration
Here are a few indicators your business is ready to migrate to the cloud:
- Rapid Growth: Your company is experiencing fast growth and increased demands that your current infrastructure struggles to support. Cloud technologies can accommodate surges in workload without enormous upfront costs.
- Security Challenges: Your IT team is struggling to keep up with evolving cybersecurity threats. Major cloud providers offer robust, up-to-date security measures to protect sensitive data.
- Lack of Disaster Recovery: You don't have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place. Cloud platforms provide built-in failover and redundancy across multiple geographic regions.
SaaS Migration Models
Any firm's business priorities usually dictate the type of SaaS migration it chooses. Regardless of a company’s size, the goal is always to minimize the disruption, risk and time it takes to move from one platform to another.
A few key terms to remember when considering SaaS migration models are “single tenant” and “multitenant.” Single tenancy provides each customer with a dedicated software instance running on infrastructure that isn’t shared with other users. Multitenancy uses a shared infrastructure to provide multiple customers with access to the SaaS.
Siloed Migration Model
This is a single-tenant migration model in which an organization implementing SaaS uses a dedicated server for its product or service. This model is ideal for businesses that want to avoid sharing infrastructure with other SaaS users and want maximum control over their data, including its location.
Layered Migration Model
Here, systems migrate to SaaS incrementally, with components moving onto the new architecture service by service. This model lets companies start off small and slowly move to a multitenant model.
Data Migration Model
In this model, all data transfers at once from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-native infrastructure—and can combine both single-tenant and multitenant migration strategies. A major advantage is that data won’t straddle operating models, and you can shut down more of your on-premises facility, maybe even all of it.
Parallel Migration Model
With a parallel model, a company runs the same process in two systems and compares the results. The most common reason for doing this is regulatory compliance. The best example is software used for a publicly held company's financial consolidation and quarterly close. The company may want to compare the consolidated outputs from the old on-premises system to those from the new SaaS platform for a quarter to ensure the new system generates accurate results before publishing them.
Cloud SaaS Migration Challenges
While transitioning to cloud-based solutions offers numerous benefits, companies should be prepared to address several hurdles along the way. Specific challenges depend largely on a firm’s chosen migration model and approach, such as whether it opts for a full transition right away or maintains a hybrid environment with some on-premises systems.
That said, here are some common roadblocks:
Lack of a Migration Strategy
One catalyst to a successful cloud migration is crafting a well-defined roadmap. Many companies eagerly jump into cloud adoption without adequate planning, potentially leading to setbacks. A robust migration strategy should account for various factors, including overall business objectives, potential downtime mitigation and workload assessment.
Also, evaluate which applications are prime candidates for cloud deployment versus those better suited to remain on-premises, if any. This decision-making process hinges on an organization's unique needs and chosen cloud platform.
Inaccurately Forecasting Costs
Underestimating the upfront financial implications of cloud migration is a common pitfall. Beyond the initial data transfer expenses, organizations must consider ongoing operational costs in the cloud environment, though they’ll undoubtedly be lower than on-premises implementations over time. Additional factors like increased network bandwidth requirements or application upgrades can significantly impact the starting budget.
For example, a manufacturing company migrating its ERP applications to the cloud might need to factor in costs for data cleansing, temporary parallel systems during the transition and staff training on the new platform.
Misaligning Complex Architectures
Harmonizing an organization's existing IT infrastructure with its cloud strategy can prove challenging, especially for enterprises with intricate legacy systems. Complexity may warrant phased migration approaches to ensure smooth integration between on-premises and cloud-based components.
A healthcare provider, for instance, might need to painstakingly orchestrate the migration of patient records while maintaining seamless access to both cloud-based and on-premises patient-centric applications during the transition.
Lack of Data Compliance
Data protection remains a top concern when moving sensitive information to cloud platforms. Companies can implement robust security measures to safeguard data during transfer and while at rest in the cloud environment. This includes encryption, access controls and compliance with industry-specific protocols—especially in regulated industries.
Financial institutions, in particular, must navigate strict data privacy laws and may need to work closely with cloud providers to ensure their solutions meet all necessary compliance requirements.
Ready to Migrate to SaaS with Deltek?
From our industry-specific enterprise resource planning (ERP) and mobile apps to cloud integration, Deltek is at the forefront of delivering innovative SaaS solutions that leverage a modern, secure and adaptable cloud platform. We aim to help project-based businesses seamlessly connect and automate the project lifecycle, enabling them to achieve unprecedented efficiency and productivity.
With Deltek's SaaS solutions, project-based organizations can harness the power of the cloud to access their critical project data from anywhere, at any time. Deltek’s robust cloud infrastructure provides a secure and scalable environment that ensures seamless collaboration and real-time information sharing among team members, regardless of their physical location.
Our industry-leading cloud products are easy to use and purpose-built to help you grow your business now and into the future.
Power Projects In the Cloud With Deltek Saas
Beyond a user experience that drives productivity, the Deltek cloud platform delivers the security, privacy and long-term cost savings the best cloud applications promise.