The 7 Rs of Cloud Migration: Key Strategies

Cloud migration becomes critical for businesses with the goals of enhancing scalability and efficiency as well as encouraging innovation. Nonetheless, a careful plan must be executed to ensure a successful transition of workloads into the cloud. The "7 R's" for cloud migration give a defined structure by which to assess and execute this transition successfully.

This blog discusses these key strategies to help you find out which route works best to modernize your IT infrastructure and maximize the benefits of cloud technology.

What is a Cloud Migration Strategy?

A Cloud Migration Strategy is the involvement of the development of a comprehensive strategy by the organization to be carried out to transfer their existing infrastructure data, applications, services, and other resources to the cloud environment. That strategy forms a starting point for providing a smooth process with minimal interferences in their business operations in case of this transition.

Each organization has a unique path to the cloud since no one-size-fits-all strategy can apply. Various IT assets differ in complexity, performance requirements, and cost, and thus individualized migration roadmaps must be devised. This roadmap answers key questions on which components will be migrated, how to migrate them, and in what order to ensure the handling of each workload is as efficient as possible.

A well-defined cloud migration strategy will help businesses address challenges, optimize resources, and achieve their desired outcomes, thus paving the way for long-term success in the cloud.

The Origin of the R Models for Cloud Migration

Gartner's 5 Rs Model

The "R Models" concept was first proposed by Gartner, which initially introduced the 5 Rs framework in the early days of cloud computing. The model emerged when businesses began exploring the advantages of migrating to the cloud while still dealing with the intricacies of moving legacy applications and data. The 5 Rs framework offered a structured way to evaluate different migration strategies and has since become a foundational tool for cloud migration planning.

As cloud computing continued to advance, the strategies regarding migration also were enhanced. The 5 Rs became obsolete, and something much bigger, more decent approaches were required to evolve because of the expanding diversity in workloads and business requirements.

AWS 6 Rs Model

Building on Gartner’s 5 Rs, AWS expanded the framework by introducing the sixth R—Retire. This addition emphasized the need to evaluate the ongoing value of existing applications and highlighted opportunities to decommission outdated or redundant systems. By considering the option to retire certain workloads, organizations could streamline their IT environments and adopt more efficient cloud-based solutions.

The 6 Rs model offered a more holistic approach and flexibility to the overall process of cloud migration, and every application is unique and needs a specific plan tailored to business needs, costs, and considerations of operations.

AWS 7 Rs Model

As cloud technology matured and the strategy of businesses in migrations was getting more sophisticated, the company introduced the 7 Rs model. The seventh addition was Retain, which said that not all applications or data needed to be migrated. Organizations could keep specific workloads on-premises while maintaining control over critical systems or meeting regulatory compliance requirements.

By including Retain, the 7 Rs model provided even more flexibility in planning migrations. This complete framework enables organizations to balance the salutary benefits of cloud computing with the unique operational and compliance needs of any organization, thus solidifying its role as a cornerstone of modern cloud migration strategies.

The 7 R's of Cloud Migration

The "7 R's" of cloud migration are a full framework that helps an organization determine which strategy is the most effective to transition their workload to the cloud. Each "R" presents a different strategy, designed for specific needs, business goals, and technical challenges. Let's see each strategy in detail:

1. Rehost (Lift-and-Shift)

Rehosting is the process of moving applications, along with their associated data and services, from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud with minimal changes. This is often referred to as the "lift-and-shift" approach.

• When to Use: Ideal for organizations seeking a quick migration to the cloud without altering application architecture.
• Benefits: Minimal disruption to operations, faster migration process, and immediate cloud benefits such as scalability.
• Challenges: Not entirely optimized for cloud-native capabilities, and thus, costs might increase over time.

2. Replatform (Lift-Tinker-and-Shift)

Replatforming is a slight optimization of an application before migrating it to the cloud. Although the fundamental architecture is preserved, slight adjustments are made to enhance performance or exploit specific cloud services.

• When to Use: It is appropriate for applications that require simple improvements, such as migrating to managed databases or implementing containerization.
• Benefits: It achieves a more efficient and scalable cloud without the overhead of full transformation.
• Challenges: Requires careful planning and testing to be assured of compatibility with cloud services.

3. Retain

There are cases in which some applications or workloads are retained in their current environment and not moved to the cloud. This may be due to some technical, regulatory, or business reasons.

• When to Use: Suitable for legacy systems with dependencies, sensitive data that need on-premises compliance, or when cloud migration is not cost-effective.
• Benefits: It avoids disruption of critical systems, maintains control, and adheres to compliance standards.
• Challenges: It limits access to the benefits of the cloud and could lead to higher operational costs for maintaining on-premises infrastructure.

4. Refactor/Re-architect

Refactoring or re-architecture is the rewriting of an existing application to exploit cloud-native abilities. This can sometimes mean redesigning the application from scratch to fit microservices or serverless computations, among others.

• When To Use: Should be used where applications are significant to business activity and would leverage the scalability and performance improvements through the cloud.
• Benefits: Seeks to maximally exploit a cloud platform, such as improved agility, reliability, and cost.
• Challenges: Resource-intensive and time-consuming; significant expertise and investment required.

5. Rebuild

Rebuilding is a full redevelopment of an application from scratch. Most rebuilding takes place with the help of cloud-native technologies. It is a strategy taken when applications fail to meet the needs of a business or are outmoded.

• When to Use: The business wishes to modernize or bring new, innovative features into their applications, which cannot be supported by the existing applications.
• Benefits: The greatest possible degree of customization and performance optimization.
• Challenges: Tends to require a lot of time, money, and skills in development.

6. Replace/Repurchase

Replacing or repurchasing is the act of switching to a new solution, usually a SaaS application, to replace the existing one. This is sometimes referred to as "drop-and-shop."

• When to Use: Ideal for non-mission-critical applications where it's more efficient to switch to a modern, off-the-shelf solution than to migrate or rebuild. 
• Benefits: Faster implementation, less maintenance, and availability of modern features.
• Challenges: It can lead to lock-in by the vendor and workflow changes or even retraining of the users.

7. Retire

Retirement is the act of decommissioning applications or systems that are no longer required. This includes finding and eliminating redundant workloads in an effort to eliminate complexity and associated costs.

• When to Use: Suitable for obsolete, unused, or low-value systems determined during the assessment phase of the migration.
• Benefits: Simplifies the IT environment, lowers maintenance costs, and makes the resources available for more critical workloads.
• Challenges: Requires thorough analysis to identify any dependencies prior to decommissioning.

Why partner with Prioxis for your cloud migration needs?

Cloud migration is a complicated process, but with Prioxis, it is made easier. We offer elaborate services to ensure that workloads become the most effective piece in migrating from the traditional computing experience to cloud computing, maximizing all the benefits the migration has to offer. In our efforts, we employ the use of the 7 R's in cloud migration: Rehost, Replatform, Retain, Refactor, Rebuild, Replace, and Retire.

At Prioxis, our qualified team assesses the best possible migration paths for your applications and ensures minimal disruption in your operations. We take a keen interest in security and compliance, ensuring your sensitive data remains protected during migration.

Prioxis brings not only a strategic partner committed to your success but also innovative solutions that drive business forward in the cloud era.