Interscale Content Hub – As cloud adoption picks up speed, businesses are always on the lookout for new ways to innovate, optimise and stay one step ahead of the competition.
Yes, we all know the cloud is a great way to achieve these things. Cloud adoption offers everything from scalability and flexibility to cost-efficiency.
But how can we keep up with the latest cloud trends? What is a cloud migration strategy? Why is it so important for businesses to go on this big change journey?
Let’s break down those fundamental questions.
What is a Cloud Migration Strategy?
A cloud migration strategy is a plan designed to help you navigate the complexities of moving your digital operations from traditional on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-based environment.
The strategy covers everything from:
- Assessing your current IT setup
- Picking the right cloud provider
- Selecting the best way to migrate each application
- Making sure data security and compliance are covered throughout the process.
The main aim of cloud migration is to make the best use of the scalability, flexibility and cost-efficiency that cloud environments offer.
Every organisation needs to make its own migration strategy to fit its own particular business needs, whether this involves moving a few data points or executing a large-scale migration across multiple data centres.
So, this strategic plan is not just a technical blueprint. It’s a vital part of a broader business transformation.
To get a broader overview, you can read “What is Cloud Migration? Definition, Importance, & Types.”
Phases of a Successful Cloud Migration
Moving to the cloud isn’t as simple as just copying and pasting. Moving to the cloud is a big deal. It’s not something you can just jump into. There are different stages to it, and you have to pay attention to each one.
As explained in Hitachi Vantara’s white paper, “The Three Phases of a Successful Cloud Migration,” the journey can be broken down into three main stages: preparation, migration, and post-migration management.
The preparatory phase is like laying a solid foundation. It involves a thorough assessment of the existing IT infrastructure, defining security protocols, and strategising the migration approach.
The migration phase is when the actual transfer of workloads and data happens. It’s important to plan and execute it carefully to minimise disruptions.
Finally, the post-migration phase is all about making sure the business keeps running smoothly, making the most of the new cloud environment, and staying compliant.
The “Cloud Migration Strategy,” by Successive.cloud also makes a good point about having a well-structured approach. They suggest a three-phase model: assess, decide, and transform.
The ‘assess’ phase is all about taking a look at the current infrastructure and application portfolio to see what could be migrated and what challenges might come up.
The ‘decide’ phase is all about choosing the right cloud service provider, service model and migration strategy.
Then it’s time for the ‘transform’ phase, where we actually move the workloads over. This is where we use strategies like rehosting, re-platforming or refactoring.
What are the 6 R’s of Cloud Migration Strategy?
The 6 R’s framework below helps organisations figure out the best way forward for their applications.
Rehosting
Rehosting, which is often called ‘lift and shift’, is the simplest way to move your data.
It means copying the existing app to the cloud without making too many changes.
This is a great option for applications that aren’t cloud-native but could benefit from the cloud’s scalability and cost-efficiency.
However, please note, rehosting might not fully tap into the cloud’s potential for innovation and agility.
Replatforming
Replatforming, or ‘lift and reshape’, is a bit more involved.
It involves making a few minor optimisations to the application to make the most of cloud-native features.
This could mean switching to a managed database service or a serverless architecture.
Replatforming is a great way to get some of the benefits of the cloud without completely overhauling your application.
Replatforming can also mean integrating managed services, like cloud databases, to boost the application’s capabilities without changing its core architecture.
Repurchasing
When you repurchase, you’re swapping out an existing app for a new, cloud-based one.
This is often the case when the existing application is out of date or doesn’t fit with the company’s long-term cloud strategy.
As Amdocs says in “Cloud Migration Strategy,” this approach is really effective when you’re moving from old on-site software to modern SaaS solutions.
This means organisations can make the best use of the latest tech without having to worry about maintaining old systems.
Refactoring
Refactoring, or re-architecting, is basically rebuilding the application from scratch to make the most of cloud-native tech and design principles.
That’s why refactoring is the most complex and resource-intensive of the six Rs.
This method is perfect for companies who want to get the full benefit from their applications in terms of performance, scalability and agility.
As the Hitachi Vantara white paper says, refactoring is often on the agenda for businesses looking to modernise their apps through things like microservices, serverless architectures and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.
Retain
The retain strategy is used when an application isn’t ready for the cloud or doesn’t make financial sense to move it.
In these cases, the application stays where it is while other applications move to the cloud.
The Successive Cloud approach suggests you can keep certain apps while you move others to the cloud, which lets you focus on the most important stuff first.
Retire
When you retire an application, you’re basically saying that it’s no longer needed or useful.
This approach helps organisations get their IT portfolios down to size, cut costs, and get rid of security risks associated with outdated software.
The Amdocs team points out that retiring unnecessary apps frees up resources and makes the whole migration process easier, which is a great move for businesses looking to optimise their cloud environments.
How to Choose The Right Strategy
There’s no single right way to move your data to the cloud. You need to think about your apps, your business goals and how much risk you can afford to take.
If you’ve got apps in a stable state but could do with the cloud’s scalability, ‘rehosting’ (or ‘lift and shift’) could be the way to go.
If you’re looking for quick wins and some cloud optimisation without making major changes, ‘re-platforming’ could be the answer.
If you’ve got legacy apps holding you back, ‘repurchasing’ with a SaaS solution could be a great way to start afresh.
If you’re looking to be as agile and innovative as you can be, ‘refactoring’ your applications to be cloud-native could be the transformative step you need.
The most important thing is to look at each application separately and choose the strategy that best fits its specific needs and your overall business goals.
So, which strategy you go for depends on a few things, like what your company’s current IT setup looks like, your business goals, and how complex the apps you’re moving are.
And on top of all that, we need to think about how each strategy affects security.
For example, replatforming might involve integrating managed services that offer enhanced security features, while refactoring could introduce new vulnerabilities if not managed carefully.
So, a proper risk assessment is essential to make sure you choose the right strategy and that it fits with your security setup and any rules you have to stick to.
For further details on the Azure migration strategy, please refer to “How to Get Right in Azure Migration Strategy: Steps in Developing It.”
Best Practices for Developing a Cloud Migration Strategy
So, what is a cloud migration strategy? Is defining the technical strategy enough?
Cloud migration strategy takes more than just technical expertise to develop a solid cloud migration strategy.
A strategy needs to be a joined-up approach that covers leadership, communication and careful planning.
The Amdocs guide says it’s really important to have a ‘guiding coalition’, which is basically a cross-functional team that champions the migration and makes sure that business and IT objectives are aligned.
The Hitachi Vantara white paper shows how important it is to have a solid foundation, including a thorough assessment of the existing IT infrastructure and a clear definition of security requirements.
It’s also a good idea to set up some clear ways of tracking how things are going and spotting potential problems, so you can make changes if you need to.
Remember, a successful cloud migration is a journey, not a sprint. You’ll need to adapt and optimise along the way.
How Interscale Helps You Develop a Suitable Cloud Migration Strategy
At Interscale, we use our years of experience in cloud environments like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to help our clients create cloud migration strategies that are thorough and affordable.
That’s why we work closely with you to put together a strategy made just for you, based on what you need and what you want to achieve.
We start by taking a close look at your current IT set-up to see what needs to be fixed.
Next, we put together a plan that makes sure your data is secure, you stay compliant, and your operations keep running smoothly.
We’ll help you figure out the best way to get the most out of the cloud.
We’ll also make sure your data is secure and compliant throughout the migration, so you can relax while you move to the cloud.
We know our offering might seem a bit complex, and we apologise if that’s the case. Therefore, we truly hope you’ll do your homework, though.
We’d be really grateful if you could do a bit of background research, fact-checking and due diligence on us.
We’d recommend you start by looking at our Interscale Server Migration to Cloud Service page.
Or, if you get the chance, let’s grab a coffee and a croissant. We’d love to have a talk about anything you’re struggling with during your cloud migration.
In Closing
By choosing the right strategy and following best practices, you can minimise risks and maximise benefits from cloud adoption.
Every step should be guided by a well-defined strategy in line with business objectives and capabilities.
So, what is a cloud migration strategy? A cloud migration strategy goes beyond the technicalities and encompasses the vision behind it.
