How to Choose the Best-Suited Cloud Migration Pattern

Choosing the right cloud migration pattern depends on factors like business goals, application complexity, technical feasibility, and cost. The most common cloud migration patterns include:

• Rehost (Lift & Shift): Move workloads with minimal changes.
• Replatform: Optimize some aspects of the application (e.g., DB migration).
• Refactor (Re-architect): Redesign applications for cloud-native benefits.
• Repurchase: Replace the current system with a SaaS or COTS solution.
• Retire: Decommission unused or redundant applications.
• Retain: Keep certain workloads on-premises.

Here's a migration criteria matrix that can help determine the appropriate R migration pattern (Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Repurchase and Retire) for cloud migration programs.

?Some of the common steps that we choose the right migration pattern includes,

1. Assess the Existing Workload Identify application dependencies, technology stack, and business criticality.
2. Define Migration Goals Performance improvements, cost savings, operational efficiency, or innovation?
3. Evaluate Cloud Readiness Does the application support cloud-native models? If not, is modification feasible?
4. Align with Business and IT Strategy Consider long-term scalability and agility in the cloud.
5. Balance Cost, Effort, and Risk

1. Low effort, low cost → Rehost
2. Medium effort, some optimization → Replatform
3. High effort, best cloud benefits → Refactor
4. Outdated software → Repurchase
5. Unused applications → Retire

Guidelines to use each migration pattern

• Rehost: Quick migration when cloud adoption is urgent.
• Replatform: When minor optimizations (e.g., managed databases) improve efficiency.
• Refactor: When you need microservices, scalability, and cloud-native benefits.
• Repurchase: When switching to a modern SaaS solution is more cost-effective.
• Retire: When applications are redundant or no longer needed

?Here's a sample and methodical Wave Plan and Decision Matrix for selecting the right migration pattern and tracking progress across different workloads.

A wave plan organizes applications into logical groups for phased migration. This ensures minimal disruption and allows iterative learning.

Example:

• A critical legacy application with significant dependencies might be best suited for Replatform to reduce risk and enhance performance.
• A non-critical app with scalability issues might be a candidate for Repurchase by adopting a SaaS solution.