Transitioning an organization’s data, applications, and infrastructure from on-premises servers to cloud-based platforms is a complicated project. It’s also a potentially paradigm-shifting move that can boost scalability, flexibility, cost savings, and performance, all in one big effort.
Research and planning for a cloud migration project can go a long way to smooth the transition and keep stakeholders properly in the loop and prepared for what’s to come. Fortunately, industry-wide trial and error has produced solid blueprints to draw from.
With careful planning and execution, organizations can optimize operations, reduce costs, and stay ahead in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Our previous article explored the evolution of “R Model” cloud migration strategies, starting with Gartner’s 5 Rs and ending with AWS 6 and 7 Rs. The development of these models provides essential insight into how these strategies came to be and how they improve results for different types of applications. The “7 Rs” is also an excellent resource to help you choose your strategy.
In this article, we update the 7 Rs to their most current definition and provide some factors to consider when crafting a plan from them.
In our third article to follow this one, we will provide a decision tree to help you choose one of the 7 Rs for your application.
The 7 Rs of Cloud Migration
Now that we know where the 7 Rs came from, we can define them as currently understood as a point of reference. Each R represents a distinct approach, reflecting different goals and considerations:
Rehosting (also known as Lift and Shift):
Rehosting involves migrating applications or workloads to the cloud without significant modifications. It is a straightforward approach that offers quick migration with minimal disruption. Rehosting is suitable for organizations seeking to move their infrastructure to the cloud without substantial changes.
Relocating:
Relocating refers to migrating applications or workloads to a different hosting environment within the same cloud provider. This approach allows organizations to optimize infrastructure costs, improve performance, or comply with data residency requirements. Relocation can be useful when organizations want to take advantage of specific cloud services or regions while minimizing downtime.
Refactoring (also known as Re-architecting):
Refactoring involves redesigning and optimizing applications to leverage cloud-native capabilities fully. This approach requires modifying the application architecture, codebase, or database structure to align with the cloud environment. Refactoring enables organizations to achieve higher scalability, resilience, and cost efficiency by leveraging platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offerings.
Replatforming:
Replatforming refers to migrating applications, workloads, or databases to a cloud platform compatible with the existing infrastructure. This approach allows organizations to take advantage of cloud-specific features while minimizing the need for significant code or architecture changes. Replatforming strikes a balance between minimal disruption and leveraging cloud benefits.
Repurchasing:
Repurchasing involves replacing existing software or applications with cloud-native alternatives provided by a third-party vendor. This approach gives organizations the opportunity to move away from legacy systems and adopt off-the-shelf cloud-based solutions. Repurchasing can simplify maintenance, enhance functionality, and reduce costs associated with custom-built applications.
Retiring:
Retiring involves decommissioning or eliminating outdated applications, services, or infrastructure. By retiring unused or redundant components, organizations can streamline their cloud environment, reduce costs, and improve overall efficiency. Retiring should be a consideration to optimize resource utilization and minimize complexity during the migration process.
Retaining:
Retaining refers to keeping certain applications or workloads on-premises or in a private cloud rather than migrating them to the public cloud. Organizations may choose to retain specific systems due to compliance, security, or performance requirements. Retaining allows organizations to maintain control over critical assets while still benefiting from cloud migration for other components.
Factors to Consider
When choosing the right approach for cloud migration, several factors should be considered:
- Business Goals: Aligning cloud migration strategies with the organization’s broader objectives is essential.
- Application Dependencies: Understanding dependencies between applications and infrastructure is crucial for selecting the most appropriate migration approach.
- Data Sensitivity: Consideration should be given to data privacy, compliance requirements, and regulatory constraints.
- Resource Allocation: Assessing resource availability, including time, budget, and skill sets, is vital to plan a successful migration.
- Cost Optimization: Evaluating the potential cost savings and return on investment (ROI) offered by each migration approach is critical.
Tips for Planning a Seamless Migration
To maximize the benefits of each migration approach, consider the following tips for planning a seamless migration:
- Thorough Assessment: Conduct a comprehensive analysis of existing infrastructure, applications, and dependencies to determine the most suitable migration approach for each component. Our CM evolveIT solution can help you complete your assessment faster and more efficiently (continue reading for more on that).
- Prioritization: Prioritize applications based on criticality, dependencies, and potential business impact to streamline the migration process.
- Testing and Validation: Perform thorough testing and validation before and after migration to ensure compatibility, performance, and data integrity.
- Incremental Approach: Consider migrating applications or workloads in phases rather than all at once to minimize downtime and reduce the risk of disruption.
- Monitoring and Optimization: Continuously monitor and optimize the cloud environment to leverage cost savings, ensure optimal performance, and identify areas for improvement.
Additional Considerations
In addition to the above tips, here are a few more considerations to keep in mind when planning a successful cloud migration:
- Staff Training: Ensure your team has the necessary skills and knowledge to manage and maintain the cloud environment.
- Data Backup and Recovery: Develop a robust backup and recovery plan for critical data to ensure minimal disruption in case of any unforeseen events or disasters.
- Compliance and Security: Ensure your cloud migration strategy complies with relevant regulations and security standards to protect sensitive data and maintain customer trust.
- Communication and Collaboration: Keep all stakeholders informed about the migration process, timelines, and any potential impacts on their operations. Encourage collaboration between IT teams and business units to ensure a smooth transition.
- Ongoing Support: Establish processes for ongoing support and maintenance in the cloud environment to ensure continuous optimization and improvement.
Final Thoughts
With careful planning and execution, organizations can optimize operations, reduce costs, and stay ahead in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. So don’t wait any longer – start planning your cloud migration journey today! Let the sky be the limit for your organization’s success in the cloud.
Happy migrating!
Pick the Right Migration Strategy with CM evolveIT
CM evolveIT provides a comprehensive suite of tools and services designed to help you assess your legacy application and help you pick the migration strategy most likely to achieve your company’s objectives.
The tool’s granular approach to modernization is designed to help you get the process underway with minimal disruption to your existing operations. You’ll be able to extract and re-engineer individual components before taking the final critical modernization step.
When your modernization effort is finally underway, CM evolveIT will assist with a suite of tools and services designed to automate the migration process, including code analysis and transformation tools that help you understand the structure of your legacy code and identify areas for improvement.
Contact CM First today to learn more about how our CM evolveIT software can help you modernize your systems, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.
