Lift-and-shift

Definition

Lift-and-shift is a cloud migration strategy that involves moving applications and workloads from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud without making significant changes to the architecture or design of those applications. This approach allows organizations to quickly take advantage of cloud resources while minimizing the initial effort and cost of migration, essentially replicating the existing environment in the cloud.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Lift-and-shift is often seen as a quick and cost-effective way to begin cloud adoption, allowing organizations to maintain existing functionalities while leveraging cloud benefits.
2. This strategy typically requires minimal refactoring, meaning applications run as they did on-premises with little to no optimization for cloud environments.
3. While lift-and-shift is advantageous for speeding up migration, it may not take full advantage of cloud-native features such as auto-scaling and serverless computing.
4. Organizations using lift-and-shift often find that operational costs can be higher if they do not optimize their applications post-migration for cloud efficiency.
5. Many companies initially choose lift-and-shift as a first step toward a more comprehensive digital transformation strategy that may include re-architecting or re-platforming applications later.

Review Questions

• How does the lift-and-shift strategy compare to other cloud migration approaches in terms of effort and time?
  • Lift-and-shift requires less effort and time compared to other migration strategies like replatforming or refactoring because it focuses on moving applications as-is without significant changes. This makes it an appealing choice for organizations looking for a quick transition to the cloud. However, while it offers speed, it may lead to higher operational costs if the applications are not later optimized for cloud use.
• Discuss the potential risks and downsides associated with implementing a lift-and-shift migration strategy.
  • One major risk of lift-and-shift is that it does not leverage the full capabilities of cloud environments, such as scalability and flexibility, leading to inefficient resource usage. Additionally, applications may suffer from performance issues since they weren't designed with the cloud in mind. Over time, failing to optimize these applications can result in increased operational costs and limit the benefits of migrating to the cloud.
• Evaluate how lift-and-shift might serve as a foundation for future cloud initiatives within an organization.
  • Lift-and-shift can be an initial step that lays the groundwork for further cloud initiatives by allowing organizations to quickly migrate existing workloads and gain experience with cloud environments. Once the initial migration is complete, businesses can assess their application performance and identify areas for improvement. This experience can lead to strategic decisions about re-platforming or refactoring applications to better utilize cloud-native features, ultimately enhancing their digital transformation journey.

Related terms

Cloud Migration: The process of moving data, applications, and workloads from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-based environment.

Replatforming: A migration strategy that involves making some optimizations and changes to applications before moving them to the cloud, in contrast to the lift-and-shift approach.

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): A cloud computing model that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, allowing businesses to rent IT infrastructure rather than investing in physical hardware.