Cloud Migration: How to Choose the Best Strategy for Your Business

Regardless of the IT environment you now operate in or the objectives you have for migrating to the cloud, there is a range of options available that may be tailored to match your cloud migration plan.

Remember that shifting to the cloud does not have to be an “all or nothing” proposition. In many cases, it is not only conceivable but also desirable to continue running some applications in a traditional on-premises data center while transferring others to the cloud, such as binary analysis tools. This “hybrid model” is what allows enterprises to migrate their programs to the cloud at their own pace, making it possible.

Thus, this article will provide you with all of the strategies you need, as well as crucial information about each of them, so that you may choose the best ones for you while moving to the cloud.

Re-Host

This is a basic strategy that involves migrating what you now host on-premises to the cloud, frequently referred to as “lift and shift.” You create a complete clone of your current environment and upload it to the cloud with the same settings as your existing environment. This strategy often does not require major architectural changes or reconfigurations. Everything that worked successfully in an on-premises setting should likewise work well in a cloud environment.

This strategy is useful for firms that are just getting started with cloud migration. Since there are few differences between their current environment and the cloud environment, the re-hosting strategy does not require a major financial investment.

Re-Platform

This is similar to a strategy known as “lift and shift.” The key difference is that when programs are hosted in the cloud, further optimizations are required to guarantee that they run more successfully and promptly. Re-platforming requires programming knowledge to guarantee that your previous environment merges seamlessly with the cloud environment.

This strategy is particularly useful for firms that are still deciding whether or not to move their operations to the cloud. These companies aim to build trust in the cloud while reaping the benefits of improved system performance and lower costs.

Re-Purchase

The strategy known as “repurchasing” or “replacing” is the process of totally replacing a legacy program with a SaaS-based solution that offers the same or equivalent characteristics.

The requirements and options for migrating live data have a considerable influence on the amount of effort required for the migration. Certain SaaS replacements for on-premise systems from the same vendor allow for speedy data migration with little to no labor, or even automatic in certain situations. Some service providers offer assessment tools that may be used to estimate the amount of effort involved in the migration process. This may not be the case if you are transferring to a different provider’s product or if the migration path has been interrupted because the on-premise application’s maintenance has been neglected.

Retire

Finding out all you have to offer in terms of information technology is often the first step in migrating to the cloud. In many circumstances, this discovery approach will incorporate application metering to determine the true use of the installed programs. It is relatively uncommon to find that between 10% and 20% of an organization’s IT infrastructure is underutilized. Eliminating these unnecessary items may likely benefit the firm’s bottom line. This is because in addition to the cost savings gained as a result of the apps no longer needing maintenance, the firm will be able to reallocate its IT resources to other tasks, and the risks connected with the obsolete programs will be minimized.

Retain

There is a chance that certain components of your surroundings may not change and will instead be retained in their present condition. There are several reasons to maintain an aspect in-house, such as riding out depreciation or the cost of migration being too expensive, and your company may preserve more value by employing the application or service that is currently in place. One typical hybrid cloud service option is to maintain certain aspects of the information technology operation on-premise.

Refactor and Re-Architect

A company’s desire to add new features or increase its scalability frequently drives the refactoring and re-architecting of apps. Refactoring and re-architecting code may often increase a system’s agility, as well as its capacity to sustain business continuity, general productivity, and collaborative activities. On the other hand, this strategy is the costliest, and it is often employed after an initial migration has been accomplished using one of the other options, such as rehosting.