This is the next installment in a series of Perficient blogs on the subject of cloud transformation and specifically cloud migration.
We decided to call out this specific cloud lift-and-shift migration strategy because of our clients’ experience with this strategy.
Many of our clients have seen both negative and positive results from this strategy, however, all of them missed many of the items we have called out below.
As a result of missing some of these items, expectations by leadership and others within the organization have been skewed too far in both optimistic and negative ways.
It is fully recognized there are at least four other strategies for cloud migration: refactor, revise, rebuild, and replace.
"Lift and shift" refers to an application migration (rehost) strategy for movement to a cloud-based environment.
Normally, this approach implies a little-to-no change in the application and data architecture.
Speed and cost are usually the focus when choosing this 'lift and shift' strategy.
The items in the “Things to Consider” section above highlight that the lift-and-shift strategy can be more complicated than anticipated.
It is important with any kind of cloud migration to be sure you take the time to properly analyze and evaluate your applications and data.
This planning work upfront will save thousands of wasted hours due to improper migration strategy selection.
As part of any cloud transformation strategy, there must be a plan to evaluate your “complete” application and data portfolio.
This evaluation should be a multi-level review that segments your portfolio into well-defined categories.
Lift and shift (rehost) can be an extremely beneficial strategy for many applications. It also provides a great learning exercise for those first migrations to the cloud.
However, many applications will benefit both in the short term and the long term from the use of an alternative cloud migration strategy.
This is a case where one size DOES NOT fit all.
About the Author
Victor Wolters is an Enterprise Strategist at Perficient.
About Perficient
Perficient is the leading digital transformation consulting firm serving Global 2000® and enterprise customers throughout North America. With unparalleled information technology, management consulting, and creative capabilities, Perficient and it's Perficient Digital agency deliver vision, execution, and value with outstanding digital experience, business optimization, and industry solutions.
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