Rehost vs. Refactor vs. Replatform: Which One to Choose?

Rehosting? Refactor? Replatform? What are the cloud migration strategies and how do you pick the best one? Transitioning to the cloud often feels like charting unknown territory in a vast digital landscape. While the horizon promises numerous rewards, the terrain is filled with intricate challenges. 

In this article, we explore Rehost vs. Refactor vs. Replatform, what each of these is, how each one works, and how to begin the process of cloud migration. Plus, we review the benefits and how cloud migration can work for you.

To travel this landscape with precision, many organizations seek the guidance of seasoned cloud migration specialists. These professionals serve as invaluable beacons, illuminating the path to success. 

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What is Cloud Migration?

Imagine packing up your digital treasures and setting sail to the cloud. Cloud migration is just that – an exciting journey where you shift your data, apps, and more, from your on-site computers to the expansive cloud.

Cloud migration is the process of moving data, applications, or other business elements from an organization's computers to the cloud. Or, perhaps, an organization is looking at moving them from one cloud environment to a different one. In simple terms, it's like relocating your digital assets from a local storage or another cloud provider to a new cloud environment.

If you're already floating on one cloud and spy a cooler one on the horizon? No problem! Just like a digital nomad, you can relocate from one cloud playground to another. Think of it as the ultimate move for your digital belongings, trading in the old neighborhood for a swanky cloud condo.

There are loads of benefits to cloud migration. Cloud platforms often operate on a pay-as-you-go model, which can lead to cost savings compared to maintaining on-premises infrastructure. It’s a cost-wise move. Additionally, cloud environments can scale resources up or down based on demand, ensuring optimal performance without over-provisioning. Plus, many cloud providers offer robust backup and disaster recovery solutions. This can safeguard data and ensure business continuity. With the cloud, businesses can deploy their applications globally, ensuring lower latency and a better user experience for global users.

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Refactor

Refactoring is like cleaning and organizing a messy room. The main goal is to improve the non-functional attributes of the software, making it easier to comprehend, reducing its complexity, and increasing its maintainability. Refactoring is typically done in small, incremental changes so that the system's functionality remains unchanged.

Refactoring can make code more understandable for developers, which is beneficial when teams are collaborating on a project or when new developers join a project. Another benefit is that over time, code can become convoluted. Refactoring can simplify complex code structures, making it easier to work with. While the primary goal of refactoring is to improve code quality and readability, in some cases, refactoring can also lead to performance improvements.

Sometimes, the existing applications might not be suitable for the cloud without major modifications. In such cases, they are redesigned to become cloud-native. This usually takes more effort but results in an application that can fully exploit the capabilities of the cloud environment.

One would want to use this when the codebase becomes too complex or hard to maintain or when you want to exploit cloud-native capabilities, like microservices, serverless computing, or managed services.

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Replatforming

Re-platforming in cloud migration is sometimes colloquially referred to as the "lift, tinker, and shift" approach. It's one of the strategies organizations adopt when they're moving their applications or systems to the cloud.

Re-platforming can lead to more efficient resource utilization in the cloud, translating to cost savings. By optimizing certain components of an application for the cloud, organizations can achieve better performance without a complete overhaul. Plus, organizations can gain some of the cloud's benefits faster than a complete re-architecting process.

When you want to gain some of the cloud's advantages without investing in a complete re-architecture this is a great option.

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Rehosting

Rehosting, commonly known as the "lift-and-shift" approach, is one of the primary strategies adopted by organizations when migrating their applications or systems to the cloud.

This is perhaps the most straightforward type of migration. In a lift-and-shift migration, applications or data are moved to the cloud without any modifications. Think of it as picking up your software or data and "dropping" it into a cloud environment. While this can be the simplest approach, it might not fully leverage cloud-native features. The main goal here is to tap into the benefits of the cloud with minimal changes.

One of the defining characteristics of rehosting is that the application's code remains untouched during the migration process. Since there's no need to change the application or its architecture, rehosting can often be the fastest route to get an application into the cloud. For organizations that want to rapidly exit their data centers or reduce on-premises infrastructure costs, rehosting provides a fast path to achieve that objective.

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Rehost vs Refactor vs Replatform - What’s the difference?

Here's all you need to know in a nutshell:

Refactoring is about restructuring the code or re-architecting for cloud-native features.

Re-platforming involves making moderate changes to optimize for the cloud without a full transformation.

Rehosting is moving the application "as-is" to the cloud without modifications.

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Which One is the Best?

Refactoring is about achieving deep integration with cloud-native features. It can lead to significant performance boosts, and scalability enhancements, and offers a chance to address technical debt and improve software design. However, it's typically the most time-consuming and expensive option due to the extensive development and testing involved. For organizations aiming for a long-term, optimized cloud presence and those willing to invest in a more flexible and scalable architecture, refactoring is a worthy choice.

Re-platforming is a middle-ground approach. It allows organizations to tap into some cloud benefits without a full architectural overhaul. The application might be moved to a new runtime, or certain components might get replaced with cloud services. This approach provides moderate improvements in scalability, resilience, and performance. It’s more cost-effective than refactoring but might still require some development effort. It's ideal for applications that need some optimization but not a complete transformation.

Rehosting is the quickest route to the cloud. It involves moving the application as is without any modifications. While it doesn’t leverage the full potential of cloud-native features, it's the fastest and often the least expensive migration method. This approach is ideal for organizations looking for a quick cloud transition, possibly due to data center contract expirations or other pressing timelines. It can also serve as a stepping stone for future optimizations.

The best approach depends on your organization's specific needs, current application state, budget, timeline, and future plans. Often, a hybrid approach is taken, where some applications are simply rehosted, while others undergo re-platforming or refactoring based on their strategic importance and requirements.

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What Do I Need to Know?

Before embarking on a journey of cloud migration, whether it's refactoring, re-platforming, or rehosting, organizations should consider several key factors to ensure a successful transition. Here are the questions one should be asking.

Before anything else, understand why you are migrating to the cloud. Is it for cost savings? Scalability? Business agility? Having clear objectives is vital.

Next, catalog all applications and workloads. Assess which applications are critical, which can be retired, and which need modernization. This phase will help determine which migration strategy is best for each application.

Also, understand the dependencies between applications, data, and external systems. Overlooking a critical dependency can lead to service disruptions during migration.

Additionally, consider both immediate and long-term costs. While the cloud can offer cost savings, it's not guaranteed. Factor in migration costs, new service costs, and potential cost optimizations post-migration.

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Final Thoughts

Working with a team of experts can significantly streamline the cloud migration process and provide numerous advantages. A team of experts brings experience from past migrations, providing insights into best practices, pitfalls to avoid, and strategies that work. They can devise a migration strategy tailored to the organization's specific needs, infrastructure, and business objectives.

Experts can help organizations sidestep common errors that can lead to service disruptions, data loss, or security vulnerabilities. They can provide a comprehensive rollback or recovery plan in case of unexpected issues during migration. Plus, with their expertise, migrations can be executed more quickly and efficiently, minimizing downtime and disruptions.

Security matters and that’s why expert teams, such as Velo IT Group, are well-versed in the security best practices of cloud platforms, ensuring configurations are secure and vulnerabilities are minimized. We can guide the organization in meeting regulatory and industry-specific compliance requirements in the new cloud environment. We are here to help. If your business needs a helping hand, reach out to us today and let’s see how we can help.