The Hidden Cost Of Free Cloud Migration Tools

More than never, due to the pandemic crisis, cloud migration has become a strategic topic for companies.

This sector is experiencing a global rise in the development of different types of data migration solutions, with multiple levels of performance depending upon the project complexity.

Will the free cloud migration tools save your organization money? It is not guaranteed, as we will demonstrate in this article.

The growth of cloud-based data migration solutions.

The recent popularity of cloud software is boosting the number of data migrations and increasing the interest of editors in migration solutions.

A lot is happening in the world of cloud statistics. If cloud computing boomed over the last decade, it is exploding in 2020. Indeed, the cloud saw almost 40% growth in 2019 alone. 59% of enterprises expect cloud usage to exceed prior plans due to COVID-19.

Lead by the top three providers AWS (Amazon Web Services), Azure (Microsoft) and Google, public cloud adoption continues to accelerate.

Cloud computing responds to a real need for speed, flexibility, and now social distancing. The advantages of this system are numerous. It is easy to use, develop, and implement. It offers the possibility and freedom of changing IT environments and is financially very accessible.

Leading software editors are on the offensive by promoting their Free Cloud Migration Tools, … free to use with the purchase of their software licenses.

This evolution is motivated by a double challenge: win new customers with offers of free services and control the market of data migration. Therefore, it is a well-executed marketing strategy that consists of testing the potential of a growing market.

The advantages are at first sight attractive: an unbeatable cost because migration is free for the customer and a guarantee of satisfaction because of working with leading technology providers.

Free cloud migration tools have limitations

If we take a closer look, these Free Cloud Migration Tools solutions have limitations that can severely impact your planning and make you lose even more money than if you have planned your migration with a paid solution.

Firstly, the number of features is limited and does not allow a complete migration, which could lead to losing relevant data.

Next, implementation can be very long, and there is a lack of freedom on the choice of destinations of cloud systems. Finally, mention should be made of the risk of additional costs associated with these offers: simple and free migration, but with expensive options that can quickly increase the costs.

Free Cloud Migration Tools

📢 It’s still important to understand what you get when you choose “free”. At Cloudiway, we often work with customers with project requirements that the free tools cannot cover. In some cases, we even help customers completely remigrate their data because of limitations with the tools used in the original migration.

For example, with Microsoft and FastTrack, you will not be able to migrate User, Group, and level file permissions. At Cloudiway, we recently remigrated another project initially performed with this Free Cloud Migration Tools. FastTrack does not migrate archive either from GSuite to Office 365, which could be a real loss for your company.

What about paid solutions in this cloud migration market?

In parallel to the range of free solutions described previously, there are paid cloud data migration tools often developed by smaller but expert actors. These solutions are custom made to suit specific needs with high performance and a strong network of partners to ensure an appropriate follow-up for each user.

Considered as premium tools, these solutions have greater automation with no data or user limits. They are ideal for large and complex migrations. A clear vision of the costs of this type of solution prevents going over budget. After consideration, free migration solutions are not necessarily the most advantageous path for your business.

Migrating with a Free Tool can be very difficult and costly in the long run. As an IT Professional, you want to avoid rushing into a free cloud migration solution without knowing the product’s features and the scope of your project.

Free cloud migration solutions can turn out expensive because of optional features, and the lack of support can get you into difficult situations! There is no single answer. It is advisable to take the time to evaluate the different offers and to evaluate the needs of your technical environment properly. Therefore, an in-depth analysis is necessary before making such a project, and it is recommended not to listen to marketing promises.

Don’t forget that choosing the right tools is a guarantee of success for your migration project. You may be spending more on a ‘free’ version than a well-built, affordable solution.