7R's to Cloud Nirvana: The Ultimate Playbook for Migration Strategies

The 7 R's of cloud migration strategies are approaches organizations can use to move their applications and workloads to the cloud. Each strategy provides a different way to handle the migration based on the application's requirements, constraints, and the organization's goals. Here are the 7 R's explained:

1. Rehost (Lift and Shift)

• Description: Moving applications as they are from on-premises to the cloud without making any significant changes.

• Use Case: Ideal for organizations looking to move quickly and with minimal upfront costs or changes.

• Benefits: Quick migration, minimal code changes, and easy implementation.
  

2. Replatform (Lift, Tinker, and Shift)

• Description: Making a few cloud optimizations to achieve tangible benefits without changing the core architecture.

• Use Case: Suitable for applications that need to leverage some cloud capabilities but do not require a complete overhaul.

• Benefits: Improved performance, reduced operational costs, and easier maintenance.
  

3. Repurchase (Drop and Shop)

• Description: Moving to a different product, usually a cloud-native or SaaS solution, might involve changing the existing licensing.

• Use Case: Useful for outdated or end-of-life applications with a newer, cloud-based alternative.

• Benefits: Modern features, better support, reduced management burden.
  

4. Refactor (Re-architect)

• Description: Rewrite or re-architect the application to make it cloud-native, often leveraging cloud-native features like microservices and serverless computing.

• Use Case: Ideal for applications that need significant updates to improve scalability, performance, or manageability.

• Benefits: Greater scalability, optimized performance, and future-proof architecture.
  

5. Relocate

• Description: Moving entire data centers to the cloud without significant modification, typically using VMware Cloud on AWS or similar services.

• Use Case: Suitable for organizations looking to move large volumes of workloads with minimal changes quickly.

• Benefits: Rapid migration, minimal disruption, and reduced reliance on physical data centers.
  

6. Retain (Revisit)

• Description: Keeping applications on-premises, usually because they are not ready for migration or other constraints.

• Use Case: Appropriate for applications that have dependencies, are not cloud-ready, or for which the migration cost is too high.

• Benefits: It avoids unnecessary changes, provides time for planning future migrations, and maintains control over specific applications.
  

7. Retire

• Description: Identifying and turning off applications is no longer helpful or needed.

• Use Case: Suitable for outdated applications that no longer add value or are being replaced.

• Benefits: Cost savings, reduced complexity, and improved focus on more critical applications.
  

Each of these strategies has its own set of advantages and is chosen based on the specific needs and goals of the organization, the nature of the applications, and the desired outcomes from the migration.