cloud service migration

Cloud service migration is the process of transitioning an organization’s data and perhaps other business elements from one cloud service provider to another.

Service migration is complicated because most cloud service providers use proprietary technologies. To move an organization’s data from one provider’s storage environment to another, it’s often necessary to first move the data back to the customer’s own servers and from there to the new provider’s site. Even then, the data may need to be reformatted because of formatting changes made to conform to the first service provider’s system.

Such a situation may lead to vendor lock-in – a situation in which a product or service vendor has made it so difficult or expensive to transition to a competitor’s offering that customers are effectively “locked in.”

See also: cloud integrator