Introduction 

A comprehensive plan for migrating to the cloud outlines the systematic transition of an organization's digital assets, encompassing services, databases, IT resources, and applications, from on-premises or co-located infrastructures to a cloud-based environment. This cloud migration process may involve partial or complete transitions, including shifts between different cloud platforms, commonly known as cloud-to-cloud migration. 

The implementation of a cloud migration solutions strategy typically involves five key stages: preparation, planning, migration, operation, and optimization. This intricate process goes beyond simply transferring data from local data centers to well-known public cloud service providers such as AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure; it may also encompass transitions between different cloud services. 

For businesses embarking on their initial foray into the cloud, various crucial factors need consideration. A well-designed cloud migration services strategy serves as a roadmap, ensuring a seamless transition that maximizes the operational efficiencies provided by cloud platforms. This information is part of our comprehensive series of guides on Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). 

Type 01  

Choose to re-platform, which involves optimizing the operating system, making changes to application APIs, and upgrading middleware during a standard lift-and-shift process. This allows you to harness additional cloud benefits, reshape the sourcing environment to be cloud-compatible, fine-tune application functionality, and minimize post-migration work. Keep in mind that implementing product enhancements will alter the underlying codebase, necessitating thorough retesting of application performance. Once planned adjustments and up-versioning are complete by the cloud consulting service provider, you can migrate the application to the optimized platform and cloud servers. 

 Type 02 

Re-platforming falls between a simple lift-and-shift and a more profound re-architecture of the application. Codebase changes are likely to be minor, preserving the core app functionality. For instance, the cloud migration solutions provider might suggest adding features or replacing application components, enhancing InfoSec posture and gaining feature and tooling improvements. 

 Type 03 

Opt for repurchasing, where you replace the existing proprietary application with a new cloud-based platform or service. This involves dropping the current license agreement and opting for a more suitable platform or service, such as switching from a legacy CRM system to a more fitting SaaS CRM with the help of cloud migration solutions provider. 

Type 04 

Consider refactoring, driven by a desire to enhance your product. This approach involves setting specific business targets, potentially requiring a complete re-engineering of application logic to develop a cloud-native version from scratch. While more resource-intensive, refactoring allows full utilization of cloud-native benefits like disaster recovery and containerization, making it potentially more cost-efficient in the long run. 

 Type 05 

Retain a hybrid model, keeping some components of your IT infrastructure on legacy systems for reasons such as security or regulatory compliance. This approach involves hosting certain workloads in the cloud while retaining others on-premise. 

 Type 06 

Retire components that are no longer necessary for complex applications and environments. Turn off infrastructure components without productivity or value loss by decommissioning or archiving unneeded parts and replacing their functionalities through other services and components. According to cloud consulting service, this reduces infrastructure complexity, making it leaner in terms of computing, architecture, storage, licensing, and backup. 

Conclusion 

When assessing the most suitable among the "6 R’s" for your organization's migration requirements, it's crucial to recognize the uniqueness of each cloud migration. The identified types of cloud migration are not one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, they should be regarded as foundational concepts upon which to build a customized strategy tailored to your specific business needs. For a successful migration strategy, we advise adopting an application-centric perspective rather than focusing solely on infrastructure. You may also seek assistance of a cloud consulting service 

Implementing cloud migration is a significant undertaking, demanding a robust strategy that aligns with key business objectives. This process should unfold in Agile sprints, allowing for the incorporation of ongoing feedback, ensuring flexibility and responsiveness throughout the cloud migration journey.