Replatform Strategy of Cloud Migration

Introduction

As part of the journey through cloud migration strategies, replatforming represents a middle ground between the minimal changes of rehosting and the extensive modifications of rearchitecting.

Building on our previous guides that delve into the comprehensive cloud migration process and the various strategies encapsulated by the 6Rs; rehosting, rearchitecting, retiring, retaining, and repurchasing, this guide focuses on "Replatforming" — a strategic move to enhance and optimize applications by making minor modifications for cloud adaptability.

📚 Related: Cloud Migration Software

What is replatforming?

Replatforming in cloud migration is the process of making minor but significant modifications to applications to take advantage of cloud capabilities without a complete overhaul.

It's an approach that allows for optimization and scaling benefits, often involving changes to the application's management and runtime environment.

This strategy strikes a balance between the investment in application modifications and the advantages gained from cloud features, such as increased resilience, scalability, and potentially lower operating costs.

The most common use cases of replatforming

• Web applications: Migrating web applications to use cloud-based services like managed databases and content delivery networks to improve scalability and performance.
• E-commerce platforms: Replatforming to utilize cloud services that can handle variable traffic loads and enhance customer experience.
• Legacy systems: Modernizing legacy applications to run on cloud infrastructure, often to reduce the cost and complexity of on-premises systems.
• Data analytics: Moving data analytics workloads to the cloud to take advantage of more powerful and cost-effective computing resources.
• Mobile backends: Shifting mobile application backends to the cloud to gain from elasticity and global reach for a growing user base.

📚 Related: Critical Role of Enterprise Architecture in Cloud Migration

Assessing suitability for replatforming

Selecting the right applications for replatforming is a nuanced process that can significantly impact the success of your cloud migration.

It requires an understanding of the technical composition of your applications, as well as their strategic fit within the cloud environment.

• Application architecture: Examine if the application's architecture can benefit from cloud-native services without significant changes. For example, a monolithic application that could benefit from decoupled storage and compute scalability might be a good candidate for replatforming to leverage cloud efficiencies.
• Cost efficiency: Consider whether replatforming will provide a return on investment when compared to rehosting or rearchitecting. A legacy system with expensive licensing fees could be migrated to a PaaS solution to reduce costs while enhancing functionality.
• Performance needs: Evaluate if the performance enhancements offered by cloud platforms can be achieved with minor modifications. A high-traffic web application might only need minor adjustments to take advantage of auto-scaling features on a cloud platform.
• Business objectives: Align the decision with the business's strategic goals, such as increased agility, improved resilience, or faster time-to-market. An e-commerce platform requiring improved disaster recovery capabilities could be replatformed to a cloud environment that offers robust backup and failover options.

📚 Related: Cloud Migration Assessment

Benefits of replatforming

Replatforming offers several strategic cloud advantages that can help organizations strike an optimal balance between cost and cloud efficiency:

• Leveraging cloud services: By making moderate adjustments, applications can utilize cloud-specific services like managed databases, which can improve performance and management.
• Enhanced scalability and resilience: Adjusting applications to run on cloud infrastructure can provide better scalability and more robust disaster recovery capabilities.
• Cost savings: Replatforming can be more cost-effective than rearchitecting, offering significant improvements without the need for extensive changes.

A cost-benefit analysis should compare these advantages with the costs associated with rehosting, which may require less effort but also deliver fewer benefits, and rearchitecting, which can maximize cloud benefits but at a higher cost and longer timeline.

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

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Planning your replatforming project

The planning phase of replatforming is a strategic exercise that sets the stage for technical execution. It requires a deep understanding of both the current state of your applications and the capabilities of the target cloud environment.

A meticulous approach to this phase will ensure that the transition is aligned with business objectives, technically feasible, and cost-effective.

• Identifying scope and resources: Determining the extent of changes needed for each application and the resources required for the process. Ask yourself: “What is the scope of modifications required for each application, and do we have the necessary resources in place to carry out these changes?”
• Scheduling and prioritization: Establishing a timeline and deciding the order in which applications will be replatformed based on business needs and readiness. Ask yourself: “How can we sequence the migration to minimize business disruption and capitalize on quick wins?”
• Risk assessment and mitigation strategies: Anticipating potential issues and developing a plan to address them. Ask yourself: “What risks are associated with replatforming our applications, and how can we proactively mitigate them to ensure project success?”

📚 Related: Application Modernization Roadmap

Executing the replatforming process

The execution of replatforming is a delicate phase where the predetermined plans are put into operation.

This stage is where the theoretical benefits of replatforming are tested against the practical realities of application migration, with a focus on precision and adaptability to ensure a smooth transition.

• Technical best practices for replatforming: For instance, a company might use automation tools to migrate databases to a managed cloud service, ensuring a swift and error-free transfer while maintaining data integrity. I.e. For instance, a company might use automation tools to migrate databases to a managed cloud service, ensuring a swift and error-free transfer while maintaining data integrity.
• Common challenges in replatforming and how to overcome them: A typical challenge could be an e-commerce platform experiencing service outages during replatforming. The solution could involve setting up a parallel cloud environment to handle live traffic, thereby mitigating downtime during the transition. I.e. A typical challenge could be an e-commerce platform experiencing service outages during replatforming. The solution could involve setting up a parallel cloud environment to handle live traffic, thereby mitigating downtime during the transition.

📚 Related: Data-driven Cloud Transformation

Post-replatforming optimization

Once applications are replatformed, the focus shifts to refining the new environment to maximize cloud benefits:

• Performance monitoring: Implementing cloud-based monitoring tools can provide real-time insights, allowing for quick adjustments to ensure applications are running at peak efficiency.
• Cost optimization: Regular reviews of service consumption can reveal opportunities to scale resources down or up, optimizing spending.

Conclusion

Replatforming is a strategic evolution in the cloud migration journey, offering a balanced path between quick cloud entry and deeper transformation.

This guide has led you through the nuanced steps of replatforming, from assessment and planning to execution and optimization.

With these insights, organizations are well-prepared to leverage replatforming as a catalyst for innovation, efficiency, and growth within the cloud ecosystem.