System Migration from On-Premise to Cloud in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): A Critical Review and Problem Formulation of Energy Efficiency in Virtual Machines and Containers
Keywords:
Cloud computing, Migration, VM consolidation, energy-efficiency, SMEs, ContainerizationAbstract
Background: Cloud migration involves transferring IT systems from on-premise data centers to cloud-based data centers. This process raises several issues and concerns from both the perspectives of cloud service providers and consumers.
Objective: The objective of this study is to systematically review the literature on cloud migration to identify challenges and solutions, particularly focusing on energy efficiency in data centers and the difficulties faced by small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) during cloud migration.
Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted using Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. Following specific search tactics and selection criteria, 36 out of 964 research articles were selected using key terms and the PRISMA protocol. The thematic synthesis of the evaluation of consolidation algorithms was employed to assess energy efficiency improvements in data centers and the challenges in the cloud migration process for SMEs.
Results: The review revealed that most articles explored various techniques to enhance the energy efficiency of cloud data centers. However, they often overlooked the relationship between migration time and power consumption. Additionally, the proposed algorithms showed inconsistencies in performance metrics. There is a notable lack of models and frameworks tailored for SMEs to address cloud migration challenges effectively.
Conclusion: The study highlights the need for more comprehensive approaches that consider both energy efficiency and migration time. It also emphasizes the necessity of developing robust models and frameworks to assist SMEs, particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia, in overcoming cloud migration challenges. The use of virtualization and containerization techniques in energy-efficient cloud migration was identified as a key area for future research and development.
