Legacy to Cloud Computing Migration Project, Term Paper Example

Executive Summary

Your government run company would like to implement a conversion of your legacy system  over to a cloud computing system. This would include a system that has all precious data such as automatic payroll and expense report process capabilities that can simultaneously enhance the work life of its employees through a more transparent hiring process, advanced recruiting methods, a centralized database with self-serve accommodations, improved performance review analytics and much more. The resources within the organization are limited in number, knowledge, and availability. This project will require outsourcing of skilled resources and expertise to move forward with the initiative. The organization is characterized by working in silos and having redundant functional resources available within many of its divisions

Legacy systems tend to provide a significant value for companies. This is due to the fact that they still meet user needs and are capable of capturing vital business logic.  The cost of replacing these legacy systems with a system designed completely from scratch is much too high, but reusing a legacy system can be equally difficult due to the fact that legacy system reuse comes with its own set of obstacles like platform, documentation, and architecture issues. Cloud Computing has come along and it provides the promise of significantly lower costs with enhanced performance capabilities and efficiency.  Like any software development project, migration projects require careful planning and good methodology to ensure successful execution. When migrating from one database platform to another a good portion of the database design can be carried forward, especially the schema design for relational database migrations.

Changes might be needed to the existing design and architecture in order to leverage new features in the new cloud computing based system in favor of the legacy system., like using database table partitioning in order to support multiple workloads. This is great for maintaining different databases and collaborating them in sync with database replication technologies. Other  optimization factors are essential  in database design. For example it is very important to understand the standard  migration project life cycle and all of the phases involved in it.. Many factors can influence the success of a migration project, specifically the availability of resources and the skill level of the IT team being utilized. This charter affect the success of a migration project, such as availability of a skilled IT staff, tools, and technologies for migration, an understanding of the source and target database architectures, and realistic project planning.

Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholders Needed

• $89,400 =Project Budget
• $13,600 =Funds for expenses

Activity Definitions

Political theory covers corporations whose interaction with society reflects political power and political agendas. Integration theory suggests that businesses adhere to social demands and the growth of business is dependent on the changes in society; the corporation is seen as a citizen that enters into a social contract with the society and culture it exists in. Ethical theory bends toward the notion that businesses have an ethical obligation to society and that ethical values should be the backbone of the corporate structure. Citing Waddock (2004). Du, Swaen, Limdgreem and Sem (2012, p. 155) define CSR as “the broad array of strategies and operating practices that a company develops in its efforts to deal with and create relationships with its numerous stakeholders and the natural environment.” It is an ideology, the authors contend, that has now become a reality with the advent of the United Nations Global Compact policy, “committing to align their business operations with a set of standards of socially responsible behaviors” (Du, et al, 2012, p. 155). The authors contend that CSR stems from leadership style within the organization, and that “transformational” leadership is more likely to be CSR-friendly than a “transactional” approach. “The transformational leader is one who articulates a vision of the future that can be shared with followers, intellectually stimulates followers, and pays attention to individual differences among employees. In contrast, the transactional leader motivates employees primarily through contingent-reward exchanges” (Du, et al, 2012, p. 157).

Project Scope Management

There are many aspects of managing the project scope that must be accounted for as they can mitigate the risk of falling short of milestones. These aspects include prototyping, the utilization of expert judgment, decomposition of project deliverables and inspection.  Prototyping entails acquiring early feedback from stakeholders part way through the projects completion to ensure that the system is on the path to meeting all requirements. Utilizing expert judgment entails matching up stakeholders with tasks and work packages that coincide with their work experience and expertise. Decomposition involves breaking down work packages into more easy to handle tasks. Finally inspection involves that evaluation of project deliverables and relative to their intended function.

Success Criteria or Expected Benefits Procurement Plan

The expected benefit of the project are as follows:

The reduction of costs, specifically as it relates to the number database systems requiring maintenance. The consolidation  of data into one centralized location for more convenient and efficient access. Enhanced performance review management with a new capacity to search through company database for training records. In addition, the capacity to link this data to company logic to enhance performance. Improved position control features that allow for employees to access data more efficiently, as well as engage with one another and share information across a central network. The cloud will also improve tracking of certifications and education requirements. Legacy function should also be seamlessly adapted to the new system, reducing the learning curve required for the company to perform standard functions.

Funding

Based on data retrieved from Oracle’s 2011 report on Cloud Computing migration it is estimated this project will cost around $103,000 to cover compensation of stakeholder/team members, research, installation and setup of new technology, and conversion of legacy data over to a Cloud Computing system. This budget allows for about $1,200 per employee for technology. This accounts for the expenses of the IT staff and all the hardware, software, and other support systems. Currently, there are about 300 employees in the company spread across our six locations. There will be no need to outsource activities or labor as the project can be handled completely in house.

Reference

Buyya, R., Broberg, J., & Goscinski, A. M. (Eds.). (2010). Cloud computing: Principles and paradigms (Vol. 87). Wiley. com.

Laszewski, T., & Nauduri, P. (2011). Migrating to the cloud: Oracle client/server modernization. Access Online via Elsevier.

Marston, S., Li, Z., Bandyopadhyay, S., Zhang, J., & Ghalsasi, A. (2011). Cloud computing—The business perspective. Decision Support Systems, 51(1), 176-189.

Mohagheghi, P., & Sæther, T. (2011, July). Software engineering challenges for migration to the service cloud paradigm: Ongoing work in the REMICS project. In Services (Services), 2011 IEEE World Congress on (pp. 507-514). IEEE.