GIS Cloud Migration Services

The best migrations include the right players, the right planning, and flawless execution.

What Is GIS Cloud Migration?

Simply put, it is moving your GIS from an on-premise environment onto a new, freshly built server environment in the cloud. A migration requires a lot of preparation and advance work, but it is worth the effort, resulting in cost savings and greater flexibility. ROK handles cloud migrations with a well-honed system that is designed to ensure continued performance and a smooth transition that will keep your business up and running throughout the process.

Cloud Migration — It’s What We Do

The ROK migration process is governed by three essential steps: Identify, Execute, Validate

Identify

During this stage, we will work with your business to understand your current GIS estate and determine which service(s), database(s), and third-party applications are essential to meet your business needs. This step is the time to clean out old data or map services that are sitting idle, so you only migrate what you need! Once defined, ROK will architect a cloud environment specific to your organization's GIS and security needs.

Execute

The ROK Team will build your new environment in the cloud of your choice; AWS, Azure, or GCP. Once the cloud environment is ready, ROK, will install and configure your Esri software and ensure your GIS is ready to work with any of your critical third-party applications after migration is complete. Finally, we migrate your GIS to your new cloud environment, bringing only the data you want and leaving the rest behind.

Validate

Now it’s time to test. You and your team will have full access to your software, database(s), and infrastructure to test all work flows and applications before you go live. It is just that easy.

Why Migrate to the Cloud?

There are plenty of reasons migrating your GIS to the cloud is a smart decision, such as:

More cost-effective security for business information and data than similar measures at private data centers
Better ability to scale up or down based on IT requirements, which can save your business money
You only pay for the capacity you utilize, eliminating static costs from data centers for capacity you may not ever use

Ready to Get Started?

The journey to the cloud takes thoughtful planning, careful preparation, and organizational commitment. Let us help you take the right next steps, get started on your journey today!

Take Our Free Cloud Assessment Build Your Case with Our ROI Calculator Contact Our Cloud Services Team

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WHAT OUR CLIENTS HAVE TO SAY:

“Fishbeck has been challenged to work remotely on a larger scale than had ever been anticipated. Our recent decision to move our GIS data to a remote server has allowed us flexibility in accessing and managing our files. We chose ROK Technologies to provide this service to adapt to emerging technologies and before there was an actual need, and that decision has proven to be a valuable solution in the current climate. We are pleased to say our operations and transition have run more smoothly because of our relationship with ROK Technologies.”

Caryn Ashbay • GISP Senior GIS Specialist

Fishbeck

"ROK Technologies has been a pleasure to work with. They are a solid GIS/Technology firm that is attentive to our needs, and is very knowledgeable on the AWS platform."

Joe Renzetti • IT & GIS Director

Village of Oswego, Illinois

Cloud Migration FAQs

What does relocating a GIS environment to AWS look like? What about moving to Azure?

Migrating your GIS to AWS, Azure or any cloud solutions provider is accomplished in phases. Here is a brief overview of the methodology we use at ROK. Keep in mind that there are several steps within each phase, but this will give you an overview of what needs to take place.

Phase I: Spin up and configure the cloud environment you will use to support your software. Apply security, backup, and retention policies.
Phase II: Install and configure your Esri software. Deploy Virtual Desktop Instances.
Phase III: Migrate your GIS — this is a great opportunity to “clean the closets” and ensure you are only migrating what you need. We generally start migration planning in Phase I.
Phase IV: Cut over to your new cloud GIS environment. The entire process timeline varies depending on the complexity of your environment. As a very general rule you should budget between eight and 10 weeks.

What are some of the cons for GIS cloud migration?

There will always be challenges to overcome when encountering something different or unknown. For example, if some of your data or technology is proprietary, you may not legally be able to deploy to the cloud. You may also need to modify and/or map your application design and architecture to follow the cloud architecture. There could also be downtime due to technical outages (loss of power, maintenance, etc), but this would also be true on-premise.

What are some of the requirements for cloud migration changes - CPU, balance charge, memory on demand, etc?

This really depends on the Esri software that is in use. You can find the specifications on Esri's website, here’s a good place to get started: ArcGIS Enterprise system requirements | Documentation

We currently maintain infrastructure per environment (dev, QA, prod). How difficult is it to move and maintain all of that into the cloud?

Deploying and managing a three-tier environment in the cloud is standard practice for many of the organizations we serve. Migration, when planned correctly, can be a smooth and painless experience.

How is load handled in the cloud?

When working with clients on cloud migrations, the first step is to understand their environment. We start with a holistic view, formulating a detailed plan that serves as a roadmap. Then we work with the client to transfer and configure data (database(s), imagery, flat files etc.), working/project files (ArcMap/Pro documents, scripts, proprietary information), web applications, and any third-party integrations. After all configurations are complete, we validate the cloud environment through a client testing and QA/QC phase to work out any and all issues. We then hand the keys over and GO LIVE!

How can latency between user machines and the cloud be minimized?

Latency, not to be confused with bandwidth, is a known factor since distance is key to determining latency — no matter how fast a connection, data must still physically travel the distance from cloud to machine and is constrained by the laws of physics. With this in mind, we can reduce the travel time by staying in one availability zone. Most of the clients we work with actually realize better performance after migrating to the cloud.

What are some of the key administration and security issues with GIS cloud migration?

The primary issues in both administration and security are vast amounts of workflow differences compared to traditional IT. Administration of a cloud environment, as well as securing it, requires a paradigm shift in the thought process and approach to architecting solutions and solving problems.