"Lift and Shift" Rehosting Strategy of Cloud Migration

What is "Lift and Shift" - Rehosting?

Rehosting, commonly known as "Lift and Shift," is a foundational approach in cloud migration, emphasizing the direct transfer of applications and data to a cloud environment without redesigning the applications.

This strategy, which forms a critical part of the "6Rs of Cloud Migration" framework, is often the first step for organizations embarking on their cloud journey due to its straightforward nature and swift implementation.

This guide builds upon our previous discussions of replatforming, rearchitecting, retiring, retaining, and repurchasing, and shifts the focus to what rehosting entails within the spectrum of cloud migration strategies—outlining its benefits, scenarios for use, and strategic importance in achieving quick wins and setting the stage for further cloud adoption and transformation.

📚 Related: Cloud Migration Software

When to choose Lift and Shift?

Rehosting, the direct 'lift and shift' of applications to the cloud, is a pivotal strategy for businesses aiming to capitalize on cloud benefits with minimal disruption.

It's the go-to approach for companies that need an immediate cloud presence due to scaling demands, are looking to reduce data center footprints, or want to avoid the complexity and risk associated with altering their existing applications.

This strategy can serve as a stepping stone to more cloud-centric operations, providing quick gains while laying the foundation for future modernization.

• Quickly scale operations: Organizations facing business growth or seasonal demand spikes can leverage rehosting for its quick scalability, avoiding the lead times associated with scaling up physical infrastructure.
• Minimize initial costs: Rehosting sidesteps the need for significant investment in redesigning or rearchitecting applications for the cloud, presenting a cost-effective migration path for budget-conscious businesses.
• Meet tight deadlines: When market pressures or contractual obligations demand a swift move to the cloud, rehosting is the optimal strategy to meet these tight timelines without the need for extensive planning or downtime.

📚 Related: Critical Role of Enterprise Architecture in Cloud Migration

Benefits of choosing lift and shift

The decision to rehost can be driven by a variety of strategic business considerations. It's a strategy that aligns with organizations seeking immediate operational benefits and a rapid path to cloud adoption without the complexities of a full-scale transformation.

Rehosting offers a pragmatic and efficient route to the cloud, ensuring business continuity and minimizing the learning curve for IT staff. It allows businesses to maintain their application's functionality while harnessing the foundational benefits of cloud infrastructure.

• Reduced complexity: The simplicity of rehosting lies in its like-for-like migration approach, which maintains the existing application architecture and avoids the intricacies of code changes or reconfiguration.
• Faster cloud adoption: It enables organizations to quickly transition to the cloud, allowing them to promptly benefit from cloud features such as increased availability, disaster recovery, and global reach.

📚 Related: Are the Benefits of Application Migration Becoming Cloudy?

Potential Lift and Shift migration alternatives

While rehosting is an effective migration strategy, it's important to consider alternatives that may align better with long-term goals. Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) offer more cloud-native benefits:

• PaaS: This involves the "Replatform" approach, where applications are slightly modified to utilize cloud platform services, enhancing functionality without a complete rebuild.
• SaaS: This corresponds with the "Repurchase" strategy, which involves moving to a completely different cloud-based product, typically a subscription-based service that can reduce the need for in-house maintenance.

Both options can provide additional capabilities and efficiencies not available in a traditional IaaS-based rehosting scenario. 

📚 Related: Data-driven Cloud Transformation

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Planning your Lift and Shift strategy

Effective planning is the bedrock of a successful rehosting project. It involves evaluating several factors that will affect the migration's difficulty, cost, and value:

• Infrastructure assessment: Analyze the existing infrastructure to understand the scope and requirements of the migration, including server types, storage needs, and network configurations. Ask yourself: “How well does our current infrastructure align with the capabilities of our chosen cloud provider?”
• Application dependencies: Map out the dependencies between applications and services to ensure that there are no disruptions during the transition. Ask yourself: “Have we mapped out all application interactions to ensure seamless functionality post-migration?”
• Data considerations: Consider the size and complexity of the data to be migrated, as large datasets can complicate and prolong the migration process. Ask yourself: “Are we equipped to handle the transfer of our data volumes, and have we planned for the potential impact on performance during migration?”
• Compliance and security: Review compliance requirements and security postures to maintain data integrity and regulatory compliance during and after the migration. Ask yourself: “How will our compliance posture change, and what security measures need to be in place in the cloud environment?”
• Cost analysis: Develop a cost model that includes cloud service expenses, potential downtime costs, and any additional resources needed for the migration. Ask yourself: “What will be the total cost of ownership in the cloud compared to our current on-premises costs?”
• Application lifespan: Assess the expected lifespan and future relevance of each application. It's crucial to consider whether investing in migrating an application is worthwhile, especially if it's nearing the end of its useful life or if it's due for a significant update or replacement soon. Ask yourself: “Is the projected lifespan of our applications justifying the cost and effort of migrating them to the cloud?”
• Migration priority: Determine the migration priority of each application based on business importance, user impact, and readiness for migration. Prioritizing applications can help in creating a phased migration approach that aligns with business continuity and operational efficiency. Ask yourself: “Which applications should we migrate first to achieve the optimal balance between business impact and migration readiness?”

By addressing these factors, organizations can prepare a robust rehosting strategy that minimizes risks and aligns with their financial and operational goals.

📚 Related: Cloud Migration Assessment

Executing a rehosting migration

Executing a rehosting migration requires not just technical readiness but also strategic foresight to ensure a smooth transition to the cloud.

• Migration environment setup: Before initiating the migration, it's critical to create a cloud environment that accurately reflects your current setup. This replication is key to minimizing the risks of system incompatibility and performance issues. I.e. For instance, a retail company might replicate its e-commerce platform in the cloud to test functionalities before going live, ensuring that customer transactions will not be affected.
• Data migration strategy: The safe and efficient transfer of data is paramount. Developing a data migration strategy that maintains integrity and security throughout the process is essential to protect against data loss and corruption. I.e. A healthcare provider may employ secure data transfer services that encrypt patient records during migration, maintaining compliance with healthcare regulations.
• Application downtime management: Ensuring that critical business functions remain operational during the migration is a top priority. Planning for application downtime involves strategies that might include phased rollouts or temporary scaling measures. I.e. An online publisher could schedule the migration of their content management system during off-peak hours, minimizing disruption to both readers and content creators.
• Security protocol implementation: As you move to the cloud, your security protocols may need to adapt to new threats and comply with cloud-specific best practices. Ensuring these are in place before migration is crucial for protecting your data and applications. I.e. A financial institution might integrate additional cloud-based network security tools to enhance protection and meet industry security standards as they migrate their customer data.
• Cost monitoring: Keeping a vigilant eye on migration costs ensures that the project stays within budget and cost overruns are addressed promptly. Continuous monitoring allows for quick adjustments to the migration strategy if financial metrics start to deviate from the plan. I.e. A tech startup could use cost management software to track their cloud spending against the migration budget, allowing for real-time adjustments to avoid unexpected expenses.

📚 Related: Application Modernization Roadmap

Challenges and solutions in rehosting

Navigating the rehosting process often brings to light various hurdles that can impact the migration timeline, performance, and budget.

Identifying these challenges early and having a predefined set of solutions can significantly streamline the transition, ensuring that the migration is efficient and effective.

• Infrastructure compatibility issues: An enterprise may find its legacy systems aren't compatible with cloud services. A solution could be to use cloud infrastructure that offers hybrid capabilities, allowing for a more gradual migration.
• Data transfer delays: Bandwidth limitations can slow down data migration. Utilizing data transfer services dedicated to large-scale migrations can mitigate this issue.
• Unexpected downtime: A software company might experience service interruptions during migration. Implementing redundant systems in the cloud can provide continuity of service.
• Security vulnerabilities: Transitioning to the cloud can expose new security gaps. Conducting thorough security assessments pre-migration and employing cloud-native security features can enhance protection.
• Cost overruns: Underestimating the cost of migration is common. Detailed tracking of resource usage and employing auto-scaling can help manage costs effectively.

📚 Related: Critical Role of Enterprise Architecture in Cloud Migration

Post-Rehosting optimization

After the migration, the focus shifts to optimizing the new cloud environment. This stage is important for leveraging the full potential of the cloud.

• Performance monitoring: Implementing comprehensive monitoring tools can provide insights into application performance, allowing for adjustments to be made for optimal operation.
• Cost optimization: Regularly reviewing service usage against budget can help identify areas where costs can be reduced without impacting performance, such as scaling down resources during off-peak hours.
• Security enhancements: The post-migration phase is an opportune time to reassess and enhance security measures, ensuring that the cloud environment adheres to evolving security best practices and compliance requirements.

Conclusion

The 'Lift and Shift' approach, while seemingly straightforward, forms a crucial part of an organization's cloud adoption strategy. Rehosting not only provides a fast track to the cloud but also sets the foundation for future innovation and optimization.

As businesses continue to evolve in this digital era, rehosting serves as a pivotal first step towards more agile, cost-effective, and secure IT operations.