“Migration” comes from the Latin word “migratio”, which means to move from one place to another. In information technology, migration involves understanding the advantages of new systems, identifying current system deficiencies, planning and transferring selected applications. Not all IT assets need to be moved; migration may mean the relocation of a part of them. This article will go over the details of moving IT assets to public clouds such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.
Many factors can influence the decision to move to the cloud, such as expiring data center leases, high data center management costs, outdated hardware, software license renewals, geographic compliance needs, market growth, and the need to adjust resources to match demand quickly. Executive support is essential for a company to begin its cloud migration journey. This support is the cornerstone of any large-scale migration success. Leadership must unite their teams for the journey, as collaboration is key. Attempts by isolated teams can lead to problems. Regular leadership meetings, whether weekly or bi-weekly, can overcome obstacles and keep the migration process on track.
A key step in achieving a successful cloud migration is the formation of a Cloud Governance Committee. This team brings together technical experts to create initial cloud adoption patterns. The optimal team structure includes infrastructure, security, application, and operations engineers alongside a lead architect, all managed by a cloud Steering Committee leader. Together, they set goals for security, availability, reliability, scalability, data cleansing, and compliance.
Embarking on a cloud migration journey can seem daunting when faced with a vast array of applications and servers awaiting transition. There is no universal solution for migration; every business faces unique challenges and opportunities. However, many organizations have successfully navigated their way to the cloud by exploring established frameworks and different migration strategies.
Framework
Evaluate and discover
Enterprises must establish a strong business case by aligning their goals with an understanding of the age, architecture and limitations of their current applications. Leadership engagement, clear communication and a defined purpose are key to unifying the organization and setting feasible goals and deadlines for the migration. In addition, comprehensive portfolio analysis is essential, including application discovery, interdependency mapping, and formulation of migration strategies and priorities. This phase determines the complexity and business impact of the applications, guiding the migration sequence. Starting with non-critical, simpler applications helps the team understand the new platform and understand the shortcomings.
Design and migrate
After classifying the applications identified in the discovery phase—whether web, mobile, or database systems—a standard blueprint must be created for each type. Each application requires careful design, migration, and validation following one of six migration strategies, discussed later in this paper. An ethos of continuous improvement is recommended, including regular evaluations of the blueprint to identify and correct gaps.
Modernize
Migration is not just about moving applications; it is about their optimization. This means retiring outdated systems and constantly improving the operating model. Think of this as a synergy that develops between people, processes and technology that gradually improves during the migration journey.
Migration strategies
Keep
Some applications or segments of IT assets remain on-premises because they are not suitable for the cloud, do not deliver business value, or are not prepared for cloud migration. This could be due to dependencies on local systems or data sovereignty issues.
into retirement
Applications that no longer bring business value can be phased out. By abolishing these systems, resources can be redistributed to more influential business areas.
Rehost
Commonly known as “lift and shift,” this strategy is popular among enterprises for its ability to enable rapid migration to the cloud. It requires minimal code, database, or architecture changes, allowing for a smoother transition.
Replatforming
Often referred to as “lift-tinker-and-change,” this process involves minor application optimizations for cloud performance, such as software updates, configuration tweaks, or the use of cloud-native services such as Kubernetes-as-a-Service or Database- as a service. An example includes moving from traditional database services to a cloud-based option such as Amazon RDS.
Redemption
This strategy comes into play when the application is not suitable for cloud deployment or existing licensing agreements do not support the Bring-Your-Own-License (BYOL) cloud model. This includes switching to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform or working with independent software vendors (ISVs). For example, replacing an on-premises customer relationship management (CRM) system with Salesforce.
Refactor/Re-Architect
This more intensive approach requires redesigning and rebuilding the application from scratch to take full advantage of cloud-native features, significantly improving agility, scalability and performance. While it is the most expensive and time-intensive strategy, it positions companies to seamlessly integrate future cloud innovations with minimal effort. A typical scenario is the transformation of an application from a monolithic architecture to microservices.
Conclusion
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for cloud migration, businesses can benefit from analyzing successful migration journeys. Organizations can optimize their approach by emulating effective strategies and adapting them to their unique requirements. Taking the time to understand a new platform, thoroughly learning from past missteps, and refining processes are key steps toward meaningful results. Moreover, it is strategic to prioritize migration projects based on business needs, taking into account factors such as complexity, revenue impact, operational criticality, and timing of hardware upgrades. In addition, investing in staff training to master new tools and technologies is critical to a smooth transition to the cloud.