7Rs Cloud Migration Strategies

Author

Govardhana M K
January 17, 2025

In partnership with

TechOps Examples

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IN TODAY'S EDITION

🧠 Use Case

  • 7Rs Cloud Migration Strategies

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🧠 USE CASE

7Rs Cloud Migration Strategies

When most cloud engineers think of migration, the term "lift and shift" often dominates the discussion.

But while this approach works in specific scenarios, it’s far from a one size fits all solution.

No wonder in the 2024 State of the Cloud Report by Flexera, 50% of organizations identified ‘assessing technical feasibility’ in cloud migrations as their biggest challenge.

Here, I've made this illustration to simplify the already complicated migration strategies, the so called 7Rs.

Each "R" represents a unique strategy for system handling during migration.

1. Rehost (Lift and Shift)

Quick migration without significant optimization or transformation.

When speed is your top priority - like meeting a hard deadline to close your data center.

Perfect for stable apps that don’t need immediate changes.

Caution: You might miss out on cloud optimization benefits if left as-is for too long.

2. Replatform (Lift, Tinker, and Shift)

Optimize for cloud services without rewriting the entire application.

Use this when you want small optimizations during migration, like moving to Amazon RDS for better scalability and maintenance.

Great for apps needing minor tweaks but not a complete rewrite.

Caution: Over tinkering can delay migration without adding significant value.

3. Repurchase (Drop and Shop)

Replace existing system with commercial off the shelf (COTS) or SaaS solution.

Best for systems that can be replaced by SaaS, like switching an old ERP system to NetSuite or Salesforce.

Ideal when your goal is to modernize with minimal effort.

Caution: Data migration and vendor lock-in can be tricky, so plan ahead.

4. Refactor (Re-architect)

Make significant changes to architecture, design, and code for cloud optimization.

This is a big one - like overhauling your app to be fully cloud-native.

Think breaking a monolith into microservices for better scalability and agility.

Caution: Time and cost can skyrocket, so focus on apps that will truly benefit.

5. Relocate

Move workloads to different cloud regions or providers.

When you need to move workloads across regions or providers, like switching from AWS to Azure for compliance reasons.

A good option if cloud migration isn’t the final goal yet.

Caution: Without optimization, it’s just rehosting on a different platform.

6. Retire (Decommission)

Decommission unnecessary or unsuitable workloads.

Use this to clean up unused or outdated workloads during migration, like decommissioning an old app no one uses anymore.

Great for reducing costs and technical debt.

Caution: Double check dependencies before pulling the plug.

7. Retain (Revisit Later)

Retain workloads on-premise and Revisit for future migration opportunities.

Keep some systems on-prem for now if they’re too sensitive or complex to migrate, like an old financial system.

Revisit later when the time is right.

Caution: Don’t let "retain" turn into permanent on-prem without a plan.

My Pro Tip: Always start with a thorough workload assessment - match the "R" to each system based on business goals, technical feasibility, and ROI.

A mixed approach often delivers the best results.

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