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What is an application migration?
What are the 4 types of migration?
What are the 6 R's of application migration?
This article provides a clear roadmap for organizations looking to move their applications to the cloud smoothly and efficiently. It covers key migration strategies, best practices, and essential tools to reduce risks and control costs. Following this guide, businesses can align their cloud migration with long-term goals and gain a competitive advantage.
Is your organization ready to leave old systems behind and tap into the full potential of the cloud?
But where do you start?
Over 70% of enterprises are moving key apps to the cloud, but many face challenges like poor planning, rising costs, and performance issues. Application migration can become expensive, slow, and risky without a clear plan.
This blog takes a straightforward approach to application migration. You’ll learn about different methods like lift and shift, re-platforming, and refactoring. We’ll also cover useful tools and ways to reduce disruptions while keeping your business goals in focus.
Application migration involves moving software applications from one computing environment to another. Typically, this involves transitioning from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud environment, such as a public, private, or hybrid cloud setup.
While the migration process may sound straightforward, it often involves:
Transferring large volumes of data
Modifying configurations for the new environment
Ensuring application performance post-migration
Optimize costs and reduce dependency on aging infrastructure
Improve disaster recovery and compliance
Leverage modern cloud technologies for agility and innovation
Enhance business scalability and user experience
Organizations often adopt the 7 Rs framework to streamline the application migration planning process. Each offers a unique app migration strategy aligned with business goals and technical requirements.
| Strategy | Use When | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Retire | App has no business value | Helps reduce costs and clean up application portfolio |
| Retain | Compliance needs prevent migration | Delay migration but monitor usage |
| Rehost (Lift and Shift) | Fast, as-is migration needed | Low risk; migrate first, optimize later |
| Relocate | Move to a different cloud provider's environment | Minimal change, faster deployment |
| Repurchase | Replace with SaaS | Ideal for outdated or unsupported legacy applications |
| Replatform | Minor tweaks for cloud optimization | E.g., move to managed DBs or containers |
| Refactor | Need full application modernization | Most complex; transforms apps for cloud-native benefits |
These migration strategies should be chosen based on technical requirements, existing infrastructure, and business needs.
Before migrating applications, evaluate your application portfolio to understand:
Dependencies
Security and compliance needs
Current vs. future application performance
Total cost of ownership across environments
Example: Use Device42 to discover server and virtual machines usage, traffic, and dependency mapping.
A successful migration project requires proper planning:
Set priorities (mission-critical apps first)
Adopt a phased cloud migration approach
Allocate resources for rollback and support
Utilize application migration tools like:
AWS Migration Hub
Azure Migrate
Google Velostrata
These tools support mock migration, inventory checks, and real-time progress tracking.
Ensure:
Data integrity remains intact
Apps work well in the new environment
Security protocols align with the cloud provider's environment
Thorough testing reduces surprises and aligns outcomes with business goals.
Engage skilled DevOps teams, architects, and partners. Their insights ensure the migration process addresses performance, compliance, and integration concerns.
| Tool | Use Case |
|---|---|
| AWS Migration Hub | Manage migrations in AWS |
| Azure Migrate | Discover and assess on premises workloads |
| Google Velostrata | Migrate VMware to Google Cloud |
| Device42 | Automated discovery and dependency tracking |
| Whatfix | Drive user adoption post-migration |
These tools assist throughout the application migration process, from planning to testing and adoption.
Backups are essential. Research shows 32% of businesses lose data during migration.
Unplanned scope changes can lead to overspending. A structured migration plan prevents budget overruns.
New tools often face user resistance. Use digital adoption platforms to guide onboarding and feature usage.
If you’re retaining some on-premises servers, ensure your architecture supports hybrid cloud communication and security.
| Challenge | How to Mitigate |
|---|---|
| Data Loss | Perform full backups and integrity checks |
| Budget Overruns | Plan using real workload assessments |
| Poor Performance | Run benchmark tests pre- and post-migration |
| Integration Failures | Test app dependencies and APIs thoroughly |
Migrating from one data center to a cloud environment isn't just about speed but precision, governance, and ongoing performance.
Each phase reduces complexity and risk, which is especially useful when migrating apps with sensitive data or in regulated industries.
Choosing the right application migration strategy isn't just a technical decision; it's a business-critical move that can reduce costs, improve agility, and future-proof your organization. By following proven application migration best practices, assessing your application portfolio, and leveraging powerful migration tools, you can avoid costly missteps like downtime, data loss, and underperformance in your new environment.
Now is the time to act as more businesses shift from on-premises servers to scalable cloud environments. With the right approach, your migration project can deliver significant savings, enhanced application performance, and long-term alignment with evolving business needs.
