The Types of Cloud Migration Strategies
Our professionals at IT Resources understand the importance of cloud migration for businesses no matter how big or small. Cloud migration involves relocating a company's digital resources, including databases, IT services, and applications, either partially or completely to the cloud. This process can also be transferring everything from one cloud platform to another.
One of the key decisions that business owners must make when making the transfer from one cloud to another is choosing the right strategy. Here we will discuss each of these strategies and how they can help organizations to mitigate risks associated with starting their migration project.
What are the “6 Rs” of Cloud Migration?
There are six primary cloud migration strategies which are often referred to as “the 6 Rs” of Cloud Migration.”
The “6 R’s” include:
- Rehosting
- Re-platforming
- Repurchasing
- Refactoring
- Retaining
- Retiring
1. Rehosting
Rehosting, also known as lift-and-shift, is a cloud migration strategy that involves moving a business’s existing applications and data to a cloud environment without making any significant changes to them.
If your organization is short on time and resources for cloud migration, rehosting might seem like a good choice. However, it might not be the best strategy for keeping your data secure in the cloud. Rehosting doesn't really address the risks that come with cloud computing, and in some cases, it can even create a whole host of new security problems.
2. Re-platforming
Re-platforming involves optimizing your operating system, upgrading your middleware, and updating your application's API while still using the basic lift-and-shift approach.
By doing so, you can enjoy more cloud benefits, make your sourcing environment more compatible with the cloud, fine-tune your application's functionality, and reduce the amount of work you need to do after the migration is complete.
Remember, even small changes to the underlying codebases can impact your app’s performance.
Be sure to thoroughly retest your application after ANY changes.
3. Repurchasing
Repurchasing replaces an organization's existing applications with cloud-based alternatives. The idea is to benefit from the advantages of cloud computing like being able to scale up or down easily and save on costs while using applications that are specially designed for the cloud environment.
Repurchasing is a smart way for business owners to minimize risks by using applications that are specifically built for the cloud, you can take advantage of features that keep your data safe and secure. However, keep in mind that repurchasing can be expensive and take a while, so it's a good idea to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.
Need help deciding what the best strategy is for your needs? Contact IT Resources today!
4. Refactoring
This migration approach is fueled by a strong desire to improve your product and stands in contrast to the lift-and-shift method. It requires setting a specific business target from the outset, such as the availability or reliability of your application's performance. This may involve completely re-engineering your application logic and creating a cloud-native version from scratch.
Although it may require more resources due to its complexity, it enables you to fully leverage disaster recovery and therefore can be more cost-efficient in the long run.
5. Retaining
To keep a business’s existing applications and data on-premises or in a private cloud environment, they can use the strategy of retaining. The goal of this is to maintain control over the business’s systems and data while still taking advantage of some cloud-based services, such as backup and disaster recovery.
However, retaining may not be the most effective strategy for organizations that want to take full advantage of the benefits of cloud computing, such as scalability and cost savings.
Organizations that choose “retaining” as their cloud migration strategy should still implement appropriate security measures to protect their on-premises or private cloud environment.
6. Retiring
Retiring decommissions an organization's existing applications and data and replacing them with new cloud-based applications and data. The goal of retiring is to take advantage of the benefits of cloud computing while eliminating legacy systems that may be difficult to maintain or may have security vulnerabilities.
By getting rid of old systems that might be more vulnerable to attacks or other security problems, you can help keep your data safe. But it's important to keep in mind that retiring can be a big job that takes a lot of time and effort.
Read More > Benefits to Your Business: Backup and Disaster Recovery
Develop a Successful Cloud Migration Strategy with IT Resources
Moving to the cloud can be a challenging task. Your cloud migration strategy must be strong enough to achieve your business goals while being flexible enough to incorporate feedback as the process progresses.
At IT Resources, we specialize in helping our clients get their cloud migration projects off the ground while keeping a sharp focus on their desired end results and business operations.
If you’d like to know more about how our Tampa-based IT support specialists can assist you in getting started with your cloud migration journey, don't hesitate to reach out to us.
