Cloud Migration Strategies and Challenges in Highly Regulated and Data-Intensive Industries: A Technical Perspective

Abstract

Cloud migration is a transformational experience with special challenges and possibilities on a wide range of industries. The paper offers a deep-technical discussion of the cloud migration approaches in five highly regulated and data-rich industries: Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI); Healthcare and Life Sciences; Retail and E-Commerce; Telecommunications; and Manufacturing and Industrial IoT. Each vertical has its set of unique challenges ranging from regulatory and compliance mandates to legacy integration and real-time data processing necessities. In BFSI, for instance, regulatory limitations and legacy integration demand hybrid, phased migration approaches complemented by DevSecOps practices for building security and compliance. Healthcare\& Life Sciences require strong data privacy protection and easy interoperability with Electronic Health Records and medical devices connected through IoT, whereas Retail\& E-Commerce require architectures supporting dynamic auto-scaling and omni-channel integration. Telecommunications take advantage of cloud-native deployments of network functions and edge computing to provide ultra-low latency, whereas Manufacturing\& Industrial IoT use edge-cloud hybrids for real-time processing of sensor data and secure integration with legacy SCADA systems. The article also outlines recommended cloud migration strategies for each industry, citing strategies like containerization, microservices, and API-first integration. To complement these technical strategies, the discussion cites custom training programs designed to upskill engineering teams in regulatory compliance, cloud-native design, and security best practices to enable smooth migration to modern, agile, and secure cloud environments.