A cloud migration strategy is a plan by a company to move applications, information, and/or data to a cloud-based infrastructure. While there are a number of benefits to this process, not all workloads are suitable for migration. A successful strategy should validate and prioritize workloads to transition and determine the appropriate migration plan for each individual workload.
The complexity of this procedure varies depending on the existing architecture, whether or not the source and target platforms have a similar architecture, as well as whether the migration tools are fit for purpose, will have a significant impact on the effort and cost of migration.
The goal is to have a smooth transition of applications from on-premises to the desired cloud infrastructure, which does not affect application availability or interfere with the day-to-day operations of the company.
Why use a cloud migration strategy
Cost savings: Storage costs and conditions for physical servers are borne by the vendor. A third-party data center manages servers on a subscription-based model.
Agility and scalability: Operational agility is one of the key drivers of cloud adoption, as they not only automatically scale capacity based on growing demand or business needs, but also allow teams to collaborate on application updates or issues from anywhere.
Security and control: Provides greater security than data centers by storing sensitive information centrally. Most cloud providers perform regular security updates to combat risks and/or vulnerabilities.
The 6Rs or Cloud Migration Strategies
Rehosting
Also known as lift-and-shift and relocation. It involves taking the information and changing it from on-premises hosting to the cloud, transporting an exact copy of the current environment without making major changes so that the return on investment is faster.
Among its features are the minimization of changes to the existing application; It can be fast, less disruptive compared to other approaches, and less potential cost savings on physical infrastructure. However, cloud-native capabilities are not fully leveraged.
This strategy depends on the comp technical reliability of the source and target infrastructure, as well as the need to accelerate migration without significant reengineering.
Replatforming
It is a variation of lift and shift. Switching platforms involves making some additional adjustments to optimize the environment for the cloud, and the core architecture of the applications remains the same.
The strategy is tailored to specific aspects of the cloud, such as the database or storage. It may require some reconfiguration, but not fundamental changes to the architecture. It also has greater utilization of cloud resources, performance improvements, and scalability.
Repurchasing
It involves moving applications to a new cloud-native product, most commonly a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. The challenge is to lose familiarity with the existing code and train your team on the new platform.
Its capabilities include a shift to an externally managed service model; less control over customization and configuration; reduction of maintenance burden; updates and support managed by the SaaS provider.
This strategy depends on the availability of a SaaS solution suited to the needs of the business, as well as the willingness of the business to give up some control over customization.
Refactoring
It’s about rewriting or redesigning the application to take full advantage of cloud features such as scalability and resiliency. In most cases, this is due to a strong business need to add features, scale, or performance that would otherwise be difficult to achieve in the existing application environment.
It involves significant changes to the architecture and code of the application, maximizing the advantages of the cloud. It has great performance and high scalability.
Retiring
This means moving away from using applications or systems that are no longer needed in the business, migrating them to the cloud. It can free up resources and reduce operational costs by simplifying the technology environment.
In this strategy, it is very important to identify applications that are no longer critical to the business and assess the readiness of the business to retire these obsolete systems.
Retaining
It involves maintaining applications and systems in their current state, without migrating them to the cloud. It can be a choice when it’s not feasible or necessary to migrate. No changes are made to the existing application. It avoids the disruption or risk associated with migration and can be a short-term strategy when evaluating a future migration.
It depends on the feasibility and need to migrate a particular application, as well as the company’s long-term strategy for its technological infrastructure.
What Topaz Can Do
Choosing the right cloud migration strategy depends on your specific business situation and available resources. At Topaz we guide you through your company’s digital transformation process, choosing the best strategy according to your current infrastructure and in view of the established objectives.
We are a strategic ally with the most complete and adherent technological platform on the market recognized by Gartner and other international consultancies; with more than 270 customers in 25 countries in the Americas. Learn more about our solutions by clicking here.