Cloud Data Migration: From Emotional Whirlwind to Technical Mastery

In a previous blog, The Emotional Rollercoaster of a Cloud Data Migration, I explored the psychological highs and lows of leaving behind legacy file systems. There was fear, excitement, resistance, and ultimately, resolve.

Now it’s time to buckle in and move from mindset to method.

If the first blog was about why to migrate, this one’s all about how. We’re pulling back the curtain on the actual mechanics of migrating to the Nasuni File Data Platform, and the experts who make it feel effortless.

Meet the Migration Masters: Nasuni Professional Services

At the core of every smooth transition is Nasuni’s Professional Services (PS) team. These aren’t just IT consultants. They’re cloud file system specialists with over 275 years of combined experience. They’ve handled everything from boutique projects to full enterprise migrations across hundreds of locations. In 2022 alone, they moved more than 27 petabytes of data.

Customers come to Nasuni with different needs, which is why PS offers two distinct service tiers:

• Migration Assist: For teams with in-house IT strength who want structure and support while keeping hands on the wheel. Migration Assist delivers a “teach to fish” model that includes Nasuni knowledge transfer with a Nasuni expert. A Nasuni Project Manager is assigned to help ensure the migration progresses as expected. Customers can choose to use their own migration tools or a Nasuni-recommended tool, and our experts will guide planning and execution while your team manages the day-to-day lift.
• Full Migration: The white-glove treatment for customers with very complex migrations or those who prefer not to expend internal resources. Nasuni PS owns the process from design to cutover, using Nasuni’s custom-built migration tool set that is designed to scale with the complexity of any project. Nasuni PS Engineers handle all aspects of the migration including execution, final deltas, cutover activities, and coordination of Nasuni resources. A Nasuni Project Manager and Analyst provide detailed, transparent migration progress reporting throughout the process, allowing your team to stay focused on business continuity.

Additional services like file repermissioning, SharePoint migration, and performance tuning are also available for more complex environments.

Real Customers, Real Wins

This isn’t theoretical. Our approach has delivered measurable results across industries:

• Dow, one of the world’s largest chemical producers, streamlined its legacy infrastructure. File access times dropped from minutes to seconds while improving scalability and cutting costs.
• Cole, Scott & Kissane, Florida’s largest law firm, eliminated 14 file servers and significantly improved ransomware resilience.
• Greene County, with over 800 users, modernized its environment without operational disruption. They brought cloud benefits to local government.

What a Typical Migration Looks Like

A successful migration doesn’t start with a data copy. It starts with planning. Here’s the journey Nasuni PS leads customers through:

1. Sales to PS Handoff: Once a deal is signed, all goals, context, and technical specifics are transferred from sales to Professional Services (PS). PS helps our customers transition to implementation after Nasuni is introduced to your organization.
2. Kickoff Call: Introductions, project alignment, timeline expectations, and success metrics. Customers will meet with their Nasuni Sales and Professional Services teams to ensure a smooth handover from presales to production.
3. Architecture & Planning (A&P) Workshop: A deep dive into your infrastructure, including risk discovery, dependency mapping, workload planning, and a tailored migration roadmap. Customers can come to this workshop with no cloud experience, no virtualization experience, and no migration experience. Our engineers will develop an architecture plan that is used as your Nasuni blueprint.
4. Migration Execution: Using automation and best-practice playbooks, data is moved securely, efficiently, and transparently. Our PS team will regularly meet with the customer’s technical team to review the migration throughput and consistency.
5. Post-Migration Handover: After validation, your project transitions to the Nasuni Account Management team to ensure long-term platform value and stability. Nasuni is always with our customers through each phase of their journey onto the Nasuni File Data Platform. Customers will often come back to PS to help them expertly assist with future projects.

Tools That Power the Process

We believe in using the best tool for the job, because every migration is different. Some involve high volumes of small files, others large monolithic datasets, complex permission structures, or the need for deep data discovery. That’s why we maintain a flexible toolbox that adapts to each unique migration scenario. Our core toolset includes:

• RichCopy: A high-performance utility that ensures data integrity and speed during file transfers.
• Nasuni Professional Services’ Custom-Built Migration Tool (MEMO): Our full migration services typically use our multi-engine Migration Orchestrator for our largest and most complex migrations.
• Nasuni Now: Our latest innovation (for select datasets) lets users start accessing their data in the Nasuni platform immediately, even while the migration is still underway.
• Other Migration Tools: Nasuni has worked closely with some of the largest migration tool companies with advanced capabilities such as Datadobi, Resilio, and Microsoft RoboCopy. Customers get to choose the right tool for the job, including features like chain of custody reporting, WAN optimization, fast scanning, and scale.

These tools, coupled with expert personnel and a proven methodology, help transform complex migrations into streamlined, low-stress operations.

It’s Not Just a Migration. It’s an Upgrade.

Migrating your file data to the cloud isn’t just a technical shift. It’s a strategic transformation. Yes, the process involves moving terabytes or even petabytes of information. But what’s really happening is the evolution of your business into something more agile, scalable, and secure.

The emotional leap — the decision to leave behind legacy systems — is only the beginning. What follows is the real work: building a future-ready data infrastructure that supports faster access, global collaboration, stronger ransomware resilience, and simplified IT operations.

At Nasuni, we don’t just bring the right tools. We bring the right people. Experts who have seen a wide range of environments, planned for countless scenarios, and know how to guide your organization through the complexities with clarity and confidence. Whether you need a fully managed migration or targeted strategic guidance, our team is ready to support your unique journey.

We believe every migration should leave your organization better than it was. With improved performance. Stronger protection. And measurable value for your users and your business. If the first step is choosing to modernize, the next is choosing a partner who knows the way and walks it with you.

We’re here for both.