How does Google Cloud partner support cloud migration?

Cloud migration is becoming more and more popular among modern companies. Implementing a cloud solution within an organization can increase IT efficiency, transfer the workforce from maintenance to development, or guarantee flexibility and scalability. One of the most frequent incentives for cloud migration is the will to optimize infrastructure costs. 

Despite this, it is not easy to decide to migrate to the public cloud. It equals an IT (r)evolution and can impact the entire company. Apart from the advantages, directors and managers see the potential threats and difficulties of the migration or the subsequent use of the cloud solution. Partners support the implementation and adaptation of the new solutions – in the case of the Google Cloud Platform it’s the Google Cloud partner.

See also:

What is the Google Cloud Platform and how does it support a business?

20 reasons to choose Google Cloud Platform

What is a Google Cloud partner?

Google runs a partnership programme to support sales, proper operation and development of the full potential of the offered services, e.g. Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) or the mentioned GCP. Partnership companies are located worldwide and provide assistance between Google and the end-users of the cloud services. 

FOTC has been an official Google Cloud partner since 2014. We’ve helped over 3000 companies from CEE and over 300 000 Google Cloud end-users during ten years of our existence.

Areas of cloud migration supported by the Google Cloud partner

Not knowing the service enough, the complexity of cloud architecture, difficulties with implementation, or exceeding the budget – the concerns about cloud migration are similar among many organizations. Google Cloud Partnership Programme has been introduced mainly to overcome these difficulties and allow organizations to benefit from the public cloud. This is how a Google Cloud partner, such as FOTC, supports organizations in changing their infrastructure solution.

Assessment of the profitability

One of the most frequent advantages of cloud migration is IT cost optimization. Before starting any migration tasks, the partner helps to assess migration ROI. The partner analyses the current solution’s usage, the current costs of the infrastructure maintenance, present and future business requirements, and the company’s readiness to start the migration. Considering these factors, the partner evaluates whether turning to the public cloud is the right path. 

The choice of the infrastructure solution – one-cloud, multi-cloud or hybrid cloud

The partnership company is both Google’s and client’s partner – if necessary, they will come forward with not only a promoted solution but also the most profitable one for the client. 

Combining the advantages of various infrastructure environments is a popular solution. Apart from the infrastructure based on Google Cloud Platform, there is also the possibility of creating a solution within the hybrid model (combination of the public cloud and individual on-premise infrastructure) or multi-cloud (using the potential of many public clouds simultaneously). If necessary, the partner helps to combine these environments in order to create an infrastructure that best fulfils the client’s requirements. 

The choice of migration strategy– lift-and-shift, replatform, refactor

The methods of performing the migration depend on the aimed goals. The Google Cloud partner assists in the selection and adjustment of one of the three popular migration strategies:  

• lift-and-shift (also referred to as rehosting) – a cloud migration strategy that consists of making no changes in the existing system; only the infrastructure service provider is changed; 
• replatform – a strategy that includes system changes, often connected with optimization of the existing architecture and providing improvements; 
• refactor – a migration strategy that includes introducing significant changes or performing a complete reconstruction of the system architecture (for example, rewriting applications and putting to containers). 

We can support your need to modify the back-end layer of your system. If you wish to optimize the application or pay off technical debt during cloud migration process, contact us.

Support in selecting Google Cloud Platform services

Google Cloud Platform is not only server space but also almost 200 cloud services, tools and components that can be used to create a personalized infrastructure according to individual needs. Having the necessary business knowledge, the partner helps select the GCP services and distribute the demand to guarantee a scalable, efficient, and relatively cheap infrastructure solution. 

Budget and migration schedule

One of the most frequent doubts is the spectre of exceeding the budget and the ever-changing deadline of finishing the works. In order to avoid this scenario, the Google Cloud partner helps set up a work schedule and budget. Knowing the organization’s needs, a selected migration strategy, and having an infrastructure draft, the experts from the partnership company divide the process into steps, evaluate the difficulty and the time necessary to perform each action – from the first console startup to the last resource migration.

Technical support during migration 

The partner can be present during a technical migration. Their level of involvement is up to the client. You can settle on the distribution of works at the beginning of planning the implementation and delegate a significant, minor or proportional part of activities to the partnership company. If you have your own IT department and want to perform the migration in-house, the role of the Google Cloud partner can be limited to technical support only in case of difficulties.

Voucher to use in the GCP console

The Google Cloud partner guarantees its clients more significant benefits than Google itself. In the case of Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), it is 30 days of use free of charge (instead of the standard 14 days), and in the case of Google Cloud – a voucher to use within the console for any cloud services. 

If you’re planning to use the Google Cloud Platform or using the solution already and want to receive the $500 voucher, contact us.

Current support of the GCP infrastructure operations

The Google Cloud partner guarantees constant support throughout using the Google Cloud Platform. If the client’s IT team encounters difficulty in the console operation or in the settlements for the provided services, they can forward the issue to the partner. The partner plays a middleman role between the client organization and Google – they provide technical support and participate in the negotiations always to the benefit of the client. 

FOTC, being the Google Cloud partner, manages the Google Cloud market in Eastern and Central Europe (i.a., Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania) and, thus, guarantees support in the local language and within the local time zone.  

Possible settlement in a local currency

Cooperation with the partner guarantees yet another benefit, which is very much appreciated by many companies and organizations – the possibility to settle accounts for the Google Cloud services in the local currency. In the case of using the GCP directly at Google, the payments are made in USD. The Google Cloud partner issues clients invoices for the same amount (without adding any commissions or charges – using the partner’s support is free of charge), but in a local currency. 

Are you planning a cloud migration?

If you think that switching your infrastructure solution to the public cloud is the proper strategy for your organization, contact us. Certified FOTC experts will help you evaluate the potential of the investment, select an appropriate solution, plan the strategy preceded by detailed analysis and support you in the migration process and the subsequent Google Cloud Platform operations.

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