While enterprises are on a rapid digital transformation, cloud is leading this digital revolution in a big way. A recent Gartner report states that in 2022, more than $1.3 trillion in enterprise IT spending is at stake on the shift to cloud, and this is estimated to grow to almost $1.8 trillion in 2025.

But this shift means companies are rushing into migration strategies that are sometimes not the best approach for their businesses. Cloud migration’s complexity is based on what the organization needs, but essentially the migration plan will help ease the complexity during the process.

Often, organizations miss out on considering a few factors during this important change, which negatively skews the opinion on moving to the cloud.

This edition covers the 4 important things you must consider during the ‘lift and shift’ journey. Keep reading to know more on:

The ‘Lift and Shift’ strategy: Setting the record straight

Welcome back! This month we’re evaluating the details you must know when you plan to lift and shift your workload to the cloud. What’s the catch, and why isn’t it as easy as it sounds?

Let’s get right into it…

Sharon: When you lift and shift a lot of the time, applications built for on-premise environments cannot be auto-scaled in the cloud. Isn’t this more expensive since now you must always be max provisioned?

Jyothsna: Yes, that is correct. Older systems that were built for on-prem may not have had the cloud concepts in mind. The concept of auto-scaling would not have been applied to legacy systems. On the other side, some of the tools available in the market that provide a lift and shift migration do not have auto-scaling features as well. As a result, the application has to always be max provisioned. This implies the cost hits the roof when the organization might have been sold by a consumption-based model, but that can’t be put into reality. There are applications related to healthcare and compliance systems that have to be available 24/7, whether it is used or not, which means the cost becomes huge. If auto-scaling is available, this issue can be reduced to a considerable extent. Understand the consumption model as part of your migration strategy, and always plan and decide if you really need to move to the cloud.

Haron: Even after shifting an application to the cloud, is it possible that it may not function to its full extent and would require to be rewritten as a cloud-native application to prevent latency?

Jyothsna: As mentioned earlier, cloud services frequently promote lift and shift because it’s usually the quickest way to migrate applications, which means it’s the fastest way for cloud vendors to get your money.

Lift and shift apps generally consume more cloud resources than their cloud-native counterparts, which are designed from scratch to maximize the cloud’s benefits.

As a result, there may be a possibility to either partially refactor or completely refactor to achieve the best performance as a cloud-native solution. Partial refactoring means rewriting some components of the existing application to take advantage of cloud services’ scalability and efficiency. However, with partial refactoring, you’re keeping a foot on both sides and may decide to move with complete refactoring. Not all migration projects require that kind of commitment of time and resources though.

2 important things can be considered for refactoring

1. Understand the priorities and needs of each user group, create a high-level inventory of features, and understand the areas of most benefit and most risk.
2. Try to release portions of the new app while continuing to support the one it’s replacing.

Sharon: It’s assumed that moving to the cloud is secure, but is there an overlap between the security measures offered by a cloud service provider and what the organization is responsible for?

Jyothsna: The question is not whether the cloud is secure but whether your business is using it securely. Businesses must take responsibility for ensuring that their data is secure. With a cloud vendor, it becomes a shared responsibility.
Cloud providers typically follow a shared responsibility model with businesses on security and compliance.

This means the cloud provider takes responsibility for the security of the cloud environment, while the organization takes responsibility for security in the cloud.

This shared responsibility reduces the day-to-day operational responsibility for the enterprise and ensures holistic compliance.

Sharon: Would you say that cloud sprawl is an indirect consequence of rushing to lift and shift your workload to the cloud?

Jyothsna: When companies use multi-cloud or adopt hybrid cloud without control over visibility and spending, cloud sprawl occurs. So yes, cloud sprawl does become a consequence of organizations simply joining the bandwagon of ‘I’m cloud ready’ and moving their resources to the cloud. This results in inefficiencies in the system and can also result in security and compliance issues. Cloud sprawl can be brought under control by devising a cloud strategy, using automation tools, or collaborating with a service partner.

As you modernize your business, there are several risks that come with it. With the ‘Lift and Shift’ strategy, you might end up moving existing problems and limitations to a new environment. To mitigate this risk, it’s advisable to spend time considering a comprehensive approach to understand if you should re-platform/refactor/retire/repurchase instead and how your people, processes, and tools can and should evolve as you modernize.

A simple lift-and-shift from traditional data centers to cloud, without a well-thought-out vision and strategy, is a recipe for disaster.

With a cloud-led approach, enterprises can accelerate their performance to achieve faster, measurable transformation. It’s time for business leaders to evaluate the scenarios and fast-track their digital journey to take advantage of improved scalability, infrastructure, and agility.

Question for you:

What are your thoughts on deploying cloud solutions for your business and the buzz around it?

Let us know your comments or suggestions below.

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Thank you for reading!

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