6 Types of Cloud Migration - Here's How to Adopt the Right Strategy

Cloud computing is now a fundamental element of everyday operations and management for a vast number of businesses all over the world.

Research has indicated that cloud data centers processed more than 90% of all workloads in 2021, and by 2025, the cloud computing market is expected to be worth $832.1 billion.

If your business hasn't yet migrated your key applications, data and other vital assets to the cloud, there are many reasons to consider doing so. Common benefits of cloud computing adoption include:

• Avoiding the costs and capital expenditure required to manage physical IT infrastructure on-site
• Increased operational agility and scalability
• Easier collaboration and information sharing across business departments, regardless of geographical location
• More reliable data backup and recovery solutions

To maximize these advantages, you should be aware of the various cloud migration strategies available, so you can take an approach that makes sense for your business.

1. Lift and shift (rehosting)

A 'lift and shift' strategy - also known as rehosting - is the most simple way of going about a cloud migration. It involves transferring applications, data, virtual machines and operating systems from your current hosting environment to public cloud infrastructure without making significant changes to them.

This is a low-resistance strategy that often works well for companies that are taking a conservative approach to cloud computing and want to keep their business-critical tools intact during the migration.

However, it does have its drawbacks, one of which is that it won't give you access to the widest range of efficiencies and benefits offered by cloud computing. If you're looking to gain advanced cloud-native capabilities such as automated recovery and resilience, for example, lift and shift might not be the best option.