Cloud Migration Methodology - Top 6 Methodologies Explained

Cloud migration methodology is a high-level plan that is constructed in order to transfer data and applications from an existing on-premise server to the cloud server. Since data is what makes a company valuable these days, it is important that we have a good migration plan to move the data. 

In this article, we will be taking a look at the different challenges risks, and approaches of migration in cloud migration. 

Benefits of Cloud Migration

Moving to the cloud systems enables a lot of things that simply weren’t possible before. Some of the major benefits are as follows. 

• Moving to the cloud systems offers users more agility and flexibility. What this means is that users are easily able to scale their applications according to their needs. 
• Moving to cloud alternatives can also reduce the running cost of the organization in the long run. This is because say the company wants to upgrade to accommodate much more users then. They simply have to upgrade to a higher plan instead of buying all the hardware and software and then manually assembling the system. 
• With all the new features the users get with moving to cloud systems, it in turn improves the performance. 
• The data can be better managed in much better ways by the tools offered on the cloud system when compared to 

Cloud Migration Methodology

There are mainly 6 strategies that are commonly used to migrate data to the cloud. It is commonly known as the 6Rs of Cloud Migration.  

Rehost

This method is also known as lift and shift. Basically, this method is done by directly transferring the data from the source server to the destination server. No changes whatsoever are made to the data to take advantage of the features on the new server. It is mainly suited for organizations that are new to the cloud. 

Replatform

Commonly known as lift, tinker, and shift is a modified version of the above method. The difference in this method is that it enables you to make a few changes to the applications to better suit them to the new environment. But this is done in such a way that the core architecture of the application is not changed. It is best suited for organizations that want to take advantage of the additional benefits of the app without changing the whole architecture of the app. 

Refactor

The refactored method involves rewriting the entire application from scratch to make it as much as compatible with the new environment. This cloud migration methodology allows you to take full advantage of the cloud system entirely and allows you to use all the features of the cloud system. 

It is the most expensive among the ones that we have discussed. And also takes the longest time to finish the migration process. But it is the best approach for the long run since it will be compatible with all future technologies. 

Repurchase

Commonly known as the drop and shop method, this strategy is used when an application that runs on the on-premise server is not compatible with the cloud. In this case, we simply drop the application and buy a new application on the cloud with the same functionalities and capabilities. Some of the problems with this approach is that. You might have to train your staff again. It might also lead to vendor lock-in since eventually, your data files will grow too much to easily migrate them to another program. 

Retire

Before the migration process, the entire data is analyzed. After this, the data and applications that are no longer in use are simply turned off and not migrated to the cloud. This is because these applications can take up resources on the cloud system. 

Retain

In this method, we revisit some of the critical applications that need a significant change to their architecture to be compatible with the cloud systems. In some cases, it is better to just have them on-premise rather than spend all the time and resources to migrate them to the cloud. Retaining is usually used in hybrid setups since in some cases it might take even years for the data to be migrated to the cloud. 

Challenges and Risks to Cloud Migration

Initial Setup Cost

Even though in the long run the cost of using cloud services is low, the initial cost required to perform cloud migration is high. Financial concerns are one of the most common aspects that are discussed when thinking about shifting to the cloud. 

Adoption Resistance

People are another barrier to having a successful cloud migration. This is since people don’t like changes and cloud migration does bring a lot of changes to the way they work so they try to resist the migration process. 

Lack of Skills

There are many advantages to migrating your system to the cloud. But it is also a complex process that must be done with care. In many situations, people underestimate how complex the migration process is and try to do it themselves. This may lead to data loss and a whole mess.  

Conclusion

In this article, we have seen a cloud migration methodology known as the 6R approach. We also have looked into different challenges that we might face while migrating data to the cloud. Hence for a smooth and seamless experience, we recommend using the above-mentioned service provider.