As we explored in our last blog, Healthcare Data Security, hosting applications on the cloud using cutting-edge technology brings many tangible business benefits. Even so, moving your applications from an on-premise server to the cloud or shifting to a new cloud system altogether can feel like an unnerving process. As the project plan takes shape, the phrase ‘cloud migration’ will have been used many times. However, ‘migration’ is an all-encompassing and rather overused term that needs to be thought of in terms of six fundamental strategies: 6 Strategies for Migrating Applications to the Cloud – the 6 R’s. Every company will have unique circumstances that govern their overall large-scale cloud data migration objectives and end-goals, but as part of any project it’s important to identify which strategy you will invest in:
- Rehosting – moving an application to the cloud with no rebuilding
- Re-platforming – minimal front-end modifications achieving minor benefits
- Repurchasing – reinvesting to move to a different product
- Rearchitecting (or refactoring) – modernizing the core architecture of the application to achieve tangible benefits
- Retiring – decommissioning applications that are no longer of any use
- Retaining – leaving an application where it is for now e.g. on-premise server
The problem may lie in what to do with legacy, or monolithic, applications once they have become outdated or obsolete, and yet still remain an essential part of the core business processes. Significant and ongoing in-house resources will be required to maintain these apps, and future opportunities for improving operational efficiencies, scaling-up, or achieving ROI will be extremely limited. It’s understandable that rehosting or re-platforming an entire application on the cloud could be considered an appealing, less risky option, without having to tinker with the core architecture. However, if the app can no longer be supported, is incompatible with the latest technology, is causing business process logjams, or is hindering the potential for the business to grow, then this is the time for re-architecting, or cloud app modernization.
Why Modernize or Re-architect an Application?
Just because you have legacy applications doesn’t mean retirement or replacing is the only option – why not modernize? Migrating applications to the cloud while at the same time rearchitecting, requires a strategic and collaborative approach, working side-by-side with the cloud-migration services vendor, such as SourceFuse. This approach provides the opportunity of separating out application features based on demand and scaling the level of service support appropriately, which lowers the total cost of ownership. Not all modules need to be treated as equal!
As a leading AWS Advanced Consulting Partner, SourceFuse takes pride in being cloud-certified specialists when it comes to cloud app modernization i.e. re-imagining a business’s entire application architecture. Not only that, SourceFuse is proud to have two passionate AWS APN Ambassadors contributing technical expertise in the AWS Partner Network (APN) community. By taking this approach, customers benefit by having an application that:
- Performs faster
- Increases operational efficiencies
- Is highly scalable
- Lowers operating costs
- Improves data security (see Healthcare Data Security blog)
In addition, SourceFuse’s implementation of AWS Auto Scaling provides continuous and reliable monitoring of each application(s), then automatically adjusts capacity to maintain steady, predictable performance at the lowest possible cost. For example, if fewer servers are required when demand is low, they can be switched off, and when demand goes back up additional servers can be simply reactivated.
Why don’t all cloud-hosting vendors offer modernization?
Depending on which cloud migration services vendor you select, you may be limited to basic ‘lift and shift’ cloud app migration, relying solely on the benefits the cloud brings but with limited ongoing support or opportunities for application modernization. Going beyond a standard large-scale cloud migration offering requires deep technical expertise and industry knowledge, and it’s this, rather than the cost, which restricts other cloud migration services vendors. Without the technical expertise for modernization, the burden of ongoing support, time, and effort falls to the customer and therefore can feel like a high-risk strategy.
For a business to gain the confidence to move forward with re-architecting, with the guarantee that technical support will always be on-hand, SourceFuse offers what most other vendors cannot. We work in close collaboration with the customer’s subject matter experts and technical teams from the get-go, taking time to understand their needs, their ROI objectives, and end-goals, and to guide them through the entire rearchitecting process: SourceFuse brands this approach as Modernization Led Migration.
Conclusion
Your large-scale cloud migration strategy doesn’t need to be a daunting process – let your cloud-migration vendor take the strain. By investing in Modernization Led Migration with confidence it can be an exciting journey towards achieving consistent savings for the next 10-15 years, as a direct result of increased scalability, reliability, and, most importantly, data security. Being a cloud-native organization with over 14 years of deep expertise, SourceFuse has now successfully delivered over 600 AWS implementations with up to 80% efficiency gains, up to 40% cost savings while ensuring 100% compliance with all the present regulatory standards. Talk to our experts today to see how we can help you achieve your cloud app migration goals.
