As organizations continue to adopt cloud, the strategies for migrating applications, data and infrastructure have evolved significantly. One approach that was once widely adopted, known as “lift and shift”, is now facing increasing scrutiny as businesses seek more agile and cost-effective cloud migration solutions.
Lift and shift, in its simplest form, involves taking existing on-premises applications, data or infrastructure and moving it to cloud with minimal changes. This approach was often driven by two key factors: opportunism and necessity. In some cases, organizations faced a mandate to close their data centers, prompting a quick and easy migration to cloud. In other instances, companies acquired or divested businesses, leading them to hastily move applications, data and infrastructure to cloud.
However, the limitations of lift and shift have become increasingly apparent. According to Siki Giunta, Executive Vice President, CloudSMART, Offerings Strategy, Industry Cloud Consulting at HCLTech, "The cost savings and business impact anticipated from moving applications in their current form to cloud often failed to materialize. In some cases, these applications cost more to run on cloud. This is because the applications may still be tethered to on-premises infrastructure, requiring expensive network connectivity to access the data. Second, the financial incentive is not cheaper compute – but rather a refactoring of an application to reflect the transformation of the business."
Today, many organizations are pivoting from lifting and shifting workloads to the cloud to strategically reimagining how applications should be architected to best take advantage of the cloud’s scalability. Cloud-native development also offers advantages for developers trying to meet growing demand for applications that support growth and profit objectives for the business.
A modern approach to cloud migration
The more deliberate approach to application migration involves refactoring — restructuring the application using cloud-native development. This approach modifies applications to take full advantage of the speed and economics of the cloud while aligning better with the changing business landscape. It allows organizations to reimagine their applications and build them using modern, cloud-native tools and practices.
This trend is taking off. According to recently released cloud research from HCLTech, 73% of organizations today usually/always refactor apps before cloud migration, up from 57% three years ago.
This trend is likely to continue, with 80% of respondents agreeing that the value of the public cloud can only be fully realized if applications are modernized when they are migrated versus just lifting and shifting them, and the same percentage agreeing that their organization needs to increase its focus on refactoring and rewiring apps for the cloud moving forward.
One of the key enablers of this cloud-native transformation is the emergence of AI-powered code generation tools, such as HCLTech’s AI Force. This set of solutions and tools leverage the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) to expedite the refactoring and replatforming process, making it more efficient and cost-effective. By automating code generation and optimization, these tools can help organizations overcome the skills gap that hindered cloud-native adoption in the past.
The continuing rise of DevOps
The shift toward cloud-native development has also transformed the way applications are built and deployed. The traditional separation between development and operations teams has eroded and given way to a more integrated approach – DevOps and DevSecOps. In this model, security is baked into the application from the outset and the entire lifecycle approach of the application, from development to deployment, is managed within a unified framework.
Security is a particular focus for organizations. The cloud research found that over three-fifths of respondents focused on security/governance, understanding their portfolio of applications and evaluating different CSPs to optimize their multicloud strategies.
Today, organizations respond to changing business requirements more rapidly and securely, with the ability to update and enhance their applications in hours or days, rather than weeks or months. This agility is a key advantage of the cloud-native approach, which 78% of organizations agree drives improvements, as it enables businesses to stay competitive and adapt to evolving market demands.
Is lift and shift dead?
So, is lift and shift dead? "Not entirely. It will likely continue to be used in opportunistic scenarios, including data center closures and consolidations driven by business requirements. But the consensus is that lift and shift is no longer a viable long-term strategy. The focus is shifting toward cloud-native transformation, where organizations leverage the latest tools and practices to reimagine their applications and unlock the full potential of the cloud," says Giunta.
For example, in responding to another question in the HCLTech survey, 87% of respondents revealed that many workloads are on-premises today which they would like to modernize using cloud-native architecture and migrate to cloud.
The cloud migration landscape has undergone a significant transformation. It has moved away from the quick-fix approach of lift and shift toward a more strategic, cloud-native model. By embracing modern tools, like GenAI, DevOps practices and a focus on business agility, organizations can unlock the true value of the cloud and position themselves for success.
