Scale without strain: Choosing the right Cloud Migration strategy

Scale Without Strain: Choosing The Right Cloud Migration Strategy

Cloud migration has become a cornerstone for businesses aiming to harness the flexibility, agility, and cost-efficiency of modern cloud-native infrastructure. However, the journey isn’t as simple as a ‘lift and shift’ forklift migration. Organisations must carefully evaluate their specific requirements and existing IT infrastructure to determine the optimal strategy for a successful transition. This is where the “7 Rs” of cloud migration come in, providing a valuable framework for decision-making. This framework, which has evolved over time since Gartner’s initial introduction of the 5 Rs model in 2011, provides a useful roadmap for determining the best path forward.

Rehosting (“Lift and Shift”) involves moving your existing application stack ‘as-is’ from on-premises infrastructure to the Cloud with minimal changes. It’s a tempting approach when speed is paramount, as it requires less upfront time and effort than more complex migrations. However, while rehosting may offer a quick path to the cloud, it often results in suboptimal resource utilisation and missed opportunities for cost savings. Simply replicating your on-premises environment in the cloud can lead to over-provisioning and inflated costs, as applications aren’t optimised to leverage the cloud’s flexible pricing models and efficient scaling capabilities. Therefore, while rehosting might be suitable for businesses with limited resources or tight deadlines seeking a rapid cloud transition, it may not be the best long-term strategy, particularly for those aiming to control and optimise their cloud expenditure.

Relocating refers to moving workloads between Cloud environments or from on-premises to a new Cloud provider without significant changes to the application. This is usually done when a business wants to change Cloud providers, optimise costs or leverage a multi-cloud strategy. It can be a pragmatic choice for those looking to maintain control of their infrastructure while gaining the benefits of a new Cloud environment.

Replatforming involves making minimal adjustments to an application, such as moving it into containers, to optimise it for Cloud infrastructure while the core architecture of the application remains largely intact.

Refactoring is a more intensive process where an application’s code is restructured or broken down into microservices to optimise it for the Cloud.

Repurchasing is also known as “drop and shop”, and involves switching from a traditional application to a Cloud-native, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution. This may well be the most cost-effective route if an application can be replaced by a commercially available Cloud solution. It eliminates the need for managing infrastructure and application layers, while offering continual updates and support from the service provider. For instance, it may be more cost-effective and efficient for a business to switch from an on-premises accounting software system to a Cloud-based solution such as Xero or Sage Accounting especially as many companies are operating in hybrid working situations and need to access critical financial systems from anywhere at any time.

Retiring refers to decommissioning applications that are no longer necessary or have been replaced by newer solutions. This can free up resources and reduce overheads by eliminating redundant or outdated systems.

Retaining means keeping certain applications on-premises or delaying their migration to the Cloud, often due to security concerns, complex dependencies or specific regulatory requirements. In some cases, the costs or risks associated with migrating certain legacy systems outweigh the potential benefits, making this strategy a top choice.

While all seven strategies have their merits, replatforming and refactoring are often considered the best options for businesses aiming to fully embrace the cloud’s potential.

Enhance Performance and Flexibility with Minimal Changes with Replatforming

By containerising applications, businesses can leverage cloud-native features like auto-scaling, load balancing, and elastic storage, which improve performance and reduce operational overheads.

Replatforming introduces cost savings by enabling businesses to improve efficiency without needing a full code overhaul. It reduces resource usage and helps organisations manage cloud spending effectively over the long term.

While less complex than refactoring, replatforming still boosts flexibility by allowing applications to run on managed cloud services. This enables businesses to modernise their infrastructure gradually, making it an excellent intermediate step towards full cloud-native optimisation.

Replatformed applications are more future-proof and can evolve with cloud technologies. By embracing containerisation and other cloud-friendly enhancements, these applications are well-positioned for further modernisation as business needs grow.

Maximise Agility and Long-Term Savings with Refactoring

The refactoring process is typically undertaken and executed by your internal application development team and support from relevant vendors.

By restructuring applications into independently scalable microservices, organisations can maximise cloud resources and optimise performance under varying workloads.

Refactoring enables precise scaling and resource allocation by using microservices. Although it requires more upfront effort, this approach significantly reduces operational costs over time and provides an optimised, scalable architecture.

Refactoring aligns well with modern DevOps practices, enabling organisations to implement CI/CD pipelines for continuous integration and deployment. This flexible approach allows for rapid innovation, faster updates, and minimal disruption when introducing new features.

Refactored applications are built to evolve, making it easier to update, scale, or re-architect them as business needs change future-proofing the business.

The way ahead

The path to cloud success is paved with informed decisions. Even though replatforming is typically LSD Open’s modus operandi, we understand that no two cloud journeys are alike. We partner with you to navigate the complexities of migration, taking into account your business intricacies, existing infrastructure, and long-term goals. Our expertise ensures that your cloud strategy is not just technically sound, but also aligned with your business objectives, maximising value and minimising disruption. With LSD Open, your cloud journey is a strategic partnership, not just a technological shift.

Charl Barkhuizen | Marketing Plug-in

Scale Without Strain: Choosing The Right Cloud Migration Strategy

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