A cloud migration strategy is a plan for moving data, applications, and other digital assets from on-premises to a cloud architecture. There are many different strategies to consider. The best one for your organization depends on what you hope to accomplish with your cloud migration project. In this article, we'll share strategies and tips for a successful cloud migration.
What are the 6 R's of cloud migration?
Every cloud migration is different, so each will need a clear strategy. The 6R migration strategy can help you determine clear paths for your migration. Your company likely won't use all of these approaches. Think of them instead as a framework for discussion or a blueprint for defining your cloud migration guidelines.
Re-host
Re-hosting is a basic strategy that involves lifting what you currently host on-premises and shifting it to the cloud. The strategy usually doesn't require extensive reconfiguration or architectural changes.
This strategy is good for companies that are new to cloud migration and are building trust in the cloud, as it requires little investment.
Re-platform
This strategy requires teams to make changes to applications to optimize them and ensure they work better and faster when hosted in the cloud. This requires programming knowledge, so your current environment integrates seamlessly with the cloud environment.
This strategy is also good for companies trying cloud migration for the first time, as they'll see benefits like faster system performance and lower costs.
Repurchase
In repurchasing, you move your environment to a new, cloud-based product. This will require you to either replace your current applications with SaaS solutions or migrate licenses from local to cloud servers.
Repurchasing is cost-effective if you are moving applications from customized legacy environments.
Retain
If migrating to the cloud doesn't make sense for your company at this time, you can retain your current environment and revisit a move to the cloud later. In this case, you may want to consider a hybrid option with some assets on-premises and others in the cloud.
Retire
Some of your applications and services might no longer be useful at all. There's no reason to migrate them to the cloud if they're not valuable to your customers. If this is the case, it's time to retire them altogether.
Re-factor
Re-factoring can be labor-intensive because it involves redesigning and building your existing applications from scratch so they can work in a cloud environment. Re-factoring can be time-consuming and expensive. But by taking time to re-factor applications, they'll be more compatible with future versions, and it can make them more accessible to accommodate future growth.
Cloud migration strategies
Beyond the formal 6 R's framework, you will often hear cloud professionals use broader industry terms to describe migration techniques. Many of these align directly with the R's mentioned above, but they focus on the specific execution style.
Migrate as-is with a “lift and shift”
In this type of migration, your organization moves data and workloads to the cloud as-is with little to no changes, just like re-hosting. Any changes you make are intended to ensure your workloads perform properly in the new cloud environment and aren't part of modernization or efforts to significantly modify or refactor your cloud components.
This approach is best if you're happy with the current state of your workloads and databases you're migrating, and you only want to migrate to a cloud environment. If you have a lot of technical debt you don't want to see carried over into your new cloud-based systems, then your organization would probably be better off choosing a different strategy.
Update with an “improve and move”
For systems that could benefit from some modernization, an “improve and move” migration—sometimes referred to as re-platforming—can empower your organization to take advantage of newer technologies and leverage the potential of cloud-native tools. Some advantages and benefits of cloud migration are only practical for organizations that have current, cloud-based architectures and designs, making it more difficult for legacy systems to reap the benefits that cloud services offer.
Because you'd be refactoring and modernizing your cloud components, this strategy may take longer. Your team may also need different skills, or you may have to recruit new team members with migration expertise.
Redesign with “rip and replace”
If you realize that you’ll need to completely start over before your cloud migration, then a “rip and replace” migration (the ultimate form of re-factoring or repurchasing) may be best for your organization’s needs. Instead of fixing your systems or bringing them into the cloud, as-is, you’ll abandon the old codebase to design and create brand new software without carrying over existing systems.
Aside from the time and expense associated with this type of migration, your organization would also have to make a lot of new decisions about how you’ll use these systems in the cloud.
Cloud database migration checklist
Moving to the cloud isn't a simple process. Between public, private, and hybrid cloud options, navigating the challenges of a cloud migration of any size can be a daunting task. Use the following cloud migration checklist to track the phases of cloud migration and successfully move your operations to the cloud.
1. Prepare for migration
A successful migration relies on solid preparation. Check off the following to-dos to ensure you have a strong foundation to accomplish your cloud initiatives.
Get buy-in
The first of the cloud migration steps is securing buy-in from the top down to ensure your migration is effective. Cloud migration entails both technological transformation and cultural change and can alter your business's functional roles and operations. Employees may need to be trained, reskilled, or reassigned to new roles. Leadership and senior and executive staff need to provide guidance and support throughout the process, including communicating the benefits of migration for employees and customers, addressing concerns, and supporting training programs.
Secure funding
Migrating to the cloud is a big financial commitment with a high upfront investment, which is often cited as an inhibitor to adopting the cloud in the first place. Without proper planning and funding, your cloud migration project could be a non-starter.
Make sure you secure proper funding ahead of time. Factors that affect cost include:
CFOs, CIOs, CTOs, and other executives should work together to create a financial plan for the migration and sign off on funding.
Assign a cloud architect
With executives on board and money in the bank, start digging into your cloud migration project plan. First, you will need a cloud architect. Your cloud architect is your migration leader and project manager. They are responsible for planning and executing each stage of the migration.
Their role includes:
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Defining the re-factoring required for cloud migration success
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Designing the strategies for the migration
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Defining the cloud requirements
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Determining migration priorities
Map out your existing infrastructure
Next, it is vital to understand your existing infrastructure. You have to know where you're starting to get where you want to go. One of the best ways to do this is to visualize your network infrastructure. Lucid offers an extensive shape library to accurately build out your on-premises network. You can even create your own shapes in a custom library so you have exactly what you need to communicate your plans clearly with your team.
2. Plan your migration strategy
Once you've laid the groundwork for a successful migration, start planning cloud migration strategies.
Choose the level of migration
Determine the level of migration you will implement. Not all organizations commit to a full migration.
Shallow vs. deep integration
A shallow integration moves your applications to the cloud as-is, like the “lift and shift” strategy mentioned above. During a deep cloud integration, applications are modified to take advantage of cloud capabilities such as dynamic load balancing and serverless computing.
Single cloud vs. multi-cloud vs. hybrid cloud
Organizations can choose to migrate to a single cloud, multiple cloud providers, or even a hybrid cloud. A single-cloud approach is simpler to implement but limits your service-level agreement terms and options. If your needs are simple or align with one vendor's services, a single cloud integration may work just fine.
A multi-cloud solution gives organizations the flexibility to pick and choose providers based on each vendor's unique strengths and advantages. For example, you may rely on one provider to handle your data store needs and another for serving applications in production.
A hybrid cloud is a combination of private and public cloud infrastructures that allows workloads to move between the two interconnected environments. This mobility between cloud environments gives organizations greater flexibility and agility in their data deployment options.
Brainstorm and prioritize
Bring all stakeholders together to brainstorm which applications or services make the most sense to move to the cloud. This should be a collaborative activity, so you aren't working in a silo.
Lucid is perfect for bringing teams together in a shared virtual space to contribute ideas, respond to each other's thoughts, voice questions and concerns, and reach alignment. Seamlessly switch between brainstorming and diagramming with Lucid's universal canvas. To better prioritize migration activities, you can try out Visual Activities to gather everyone's input and visualize areas of agreement or disagreement.
