Comprehensive Overview: Moving Applications Explained
Move your physical infrastructure to the cloud for cost savings, improved performance, and scalability? Need to migrate your app to another platform? Tired of hardware maintenance?
No worries, application migration is your solution! From this guide, we'll take you through the ins and outs of application migration, covering:
- Defining application migration
- Benefits of application migration
- Steps for a successful application migration
- Types of application migration
- Application migration checklist
So let's dive in!
What Does an Application Migration Mean?
Simply put, application migration involves moving your existing app from one computing environment (on-premises, cloud provider, datacenter, server, or cloud platform) to another seamlessly.
Some common application migration scenarios include:
- Migrating an on-premises app to the cloud (e.g., Azure, Google Cloud, AWS)
- Switching from one cloud environment to another
- Moving from one datacenter to another
- Transferring from a public cloud to a private or hybrid cloud service
What's the Purpose of Application Migration?
Migrating apps provides technology benefits such as cost savings, speed, scalability, flexibility, and improved security. Here are six key reasons for migrating applications:
- Reduce IT expenses and curb overspending
- Achieve scalability as your business grows
- Improve security to meet compliance and software solution requirements
- Accelerate digital transformation for enhanced collaboration
- Simplify business processes by modernizing apps with SAP, ERP, CRM, and data analytics
- Expand your business faster by leveraging new tools and technologies
Required Steps for an Application Migration
To execute a successful application migration, follow these steps:
- Determine Migration Goals Define the reasons behind the migration to help identify the migration type and plan accordingly.
- Audit Your Existing Apps Evaluate your current systems to determine which ones are worthy of retention, refactoring, or removal. During the evaluation, consider factors such as the app type, existing issues, and eventual need for recoding or rewriting.
- Choose a Suitable Team Partner with an experienced app development consulting company or hire dedicated app developers to guide your migration effort.
- Plan Your Migration Strategy Under the guidance of experts, define the migration phases using the right tools for analytics and monitoring.
- Test Your Strategy Perform a mock migration in a sandbox environment to validate your strategy. Use the insights gained to modify your data migration direction before moving to the actual environment.
- Migrate Your Apps in Phases Activate the migration plan in iterative phases for a smooth transition.
- Conduct Follow-up Tests Test the migrated app in the new environment to ensure performance and functionality. If you operate in regulated industries, conduct compliance monitoring to assess data integrity.
Different Types of Application Migration
- Rehosting (Lift and Shift) Migrate applications directly to a cloud hosting provider for enhanced performance. This approach focuses on cloud environments like IaaS.
- Replatforming (Rip and Replace) Upgrade applications to a better-performing platform, such as moving on-premise apps to the public cloud. You'll identify and address underlying issues, such as outdated configurations and dependencies, during the migration process.
- Repurchasing (Drop and Shop) Replace existing apps with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to eliminate the need for in-house management. This approach reduces infrastructure costs and simplifies system administration.
- Refactoring (Rip and Replace) Redesign applications to take full advantage of cloud services. Refactoring may involve modernizing monolithic apps or breaking them down into microservices.
- Retire Phase out outdated apps with no viable cloud migration prospects. This approach focuses on removing applications that are not suitable for migration or that no longer align with your organization's needs.
- Retain Keep apps that can become cloud-native. Evaluate the worthiness of these apps and their ability to meet new requirements before retaining them.
Now that you know the various types of application migration, you're ready to explore application migration in greater depth. Reach out to experienced app migration consultants or hire dedicated app developers to help you with your cloud migration journey. Have questions about application migration? Connect with us for a complimentary 30-minute consultation to validate your ideas and define the best migration approach for your needs.
Data-and-cloud-computing technologies play a crucial role in application migration, as moving applications from one environment to another often requires the use of cloud platforms like Azure, Google Cloud, or AWS. The purpose of application migration, made possible by these technologies, is to gain benefits such as cost savings, improved performance, scalability, flexibility, and enhanced security.
When executing an application migration, with the assistance of technology and possibly an experienced app development consulting company or dedicated app developers, follow a methodical plan: determine migration goals, audit existing apps, choose a suitable team, plan your migration strategy, test your strategy in a sandbox environment, migrate apps in phases, conduct follow-up tests, and finally, validate the migrated app in the new environment. Understanding the different types of application migration - such as rehosting, replatforming, repurchasing, refactoring, retiring, and retaining - is essential in offering the best approach for a successful cloud migration journey.
