So, your public sector organisation has decided to take the next step in its digital transformation process: moving to cloud-based software. That’s great, and we strongly feel that you’re making the best decision for your organisation’s future.
However, now you must consider how you’re going to do that. There are a few different options, and the best decision will vary from organisation to organisation. This article will tell you more about ‘Lift & Shift’ vs Application Rearchitecting, including what they are and who should use them.
We hope you find this information useful.
What is ‘Lift & Shift’?
Also known as ‘re-hosting’, ‘Lift & Shift’ is about keeping everything as similar as possible. It’s basically a direct system migration into the cloud, changing as little as possible to maintain useability and reduce costs. It’s also the quickest way to put everything onto the cloud, meaning you can expect minimal delays under most circumstances.
‘Lift & Shift’ is by far the most common approach to migrating your systems onto the cloud. It’s best when used alongside solutions from Cloud Service Providers. One of the most common tools for moving to Microsoft cloud (Azure) is Azure Migrate. These programs help everything go as smoothly as possible and work for pretty much any local system. Its benefits include:
- Increased agility – Lift & shift gives you the ability to respond quickly to changes in the market or business conditions
- Reduced costs: You pay only for what you use, with no need for expensive hardware or unnecessary software licences
- Enhanced Security: Cloud providers have a vested interest in keeping your data safe and secure
- Scalability: With Lift & Shift, you can scale up or down as needed, depending on your operational demands
- Flexibility and ease of use: Most organisations have a VMware virtualization solution where most of their on-premise servers reside. VMware vSphere can run on cloud-based servers and be integrated into an organisation’s vCenter, making migration as simple as a vMotion exercise
- Increased Productivity: Your employees can continue to access applications and data from any location, at any time
What is Application Rearchitecting?
Application Rearchitecting focuses on rebuilding your system from the ground up, tailoring it to the cloud. It’s also known as ‘re-platforming’, because it shifts the code from running on whatever on-premise platform is hosting it – probably a server – to a cloud-based platform like Azure Kubernetes.
Application Rearchitecting could involve anything up to completely rewriting the entirety of your applications’ codebase. It may also include adding or removing features or implementing functionality changes to better integrate with other cloud services.
Application Rearchitecting isn’t as common as the ‘Lift & Shift’ approach. This is most likely due to the increased upfront costs, which often put it out of reach of many smaller public sector organisations – where funding may be scarce – as well as SMEs and charities. It requires a dedicated team of specialists with a well-thought-out strategy, allowing for cloud migration without interrupting day-to-day operations. You can see why it’s more expensive and takes longer – it’ll probably take large organisations with complex systems years to complete the job. Its benefits include:
- Improved performance: Rearchitecting your applications can lead to a simplified codebase that’s easier to maintain and improves performance.
- Evolve with the times: Technology changes quickly, and your applications need to be able to keep up. Rearchitecting can help you stay current.
- Support new platforms: As new platforms come out, you may need to update your applications to support them. Rearchitecting can help make that process easier.
- Address security concerns: Security is always a concern, and rearchitecting can help address any vulnerabilities in your application.
- Increased efficiency: More time can be spent on the actual development of your application, not on the architecture design. Increased efficiency is a huge benefit that may help you to gain more market share and even win new business.
‘Lift & Shift’ vs Application Rearchitecting – which is better?
As your public sector organisation considers ‘Lift & Shift’ vs Application Rearchitecting, a careful approach is needed. ‘Lift & Shift’ has a considerably cheaper initial cost and can be done very quickly, thus is best for organisations with moderate budgets that can’t afford interruptions. In contrast, Application Rearchitecting costs more and takes longer but ends up being cheaper in the long run, as hosting a server needs the server to be powered continuously, while hosting some code doesn’t. All that’s needed is something to detect a live user attempting to access the ‘service’ and run the code then to service the user’s request.
The main obstacle to application rearchitecting is that it requires access to the code and ideally ownership of it and a team of developers who understand the code. If you don’t have this ownership or access to the code then only other option is to buy a SaaS version of the product which may or may not be cheaper than hosting the serve.
Therefore, the best approach for your public sector organisation depends on its size and budget. Most are likely to get more immediate benefits from the ‘Lift & Shift’ approach. However, all businesses will eventually need to begin thinking along the lines of Application Rearchitecting to reduce costs. That might be several years away, though, and ‘Lift & Shift’ could be a good option for the present.
If your public sector organisation can afford it, Application Rearchitecting is the most future-proof option. Thus, if you can, you should. Nevertheless, it’s likely to be very costly and will be out of reach for most. If Application Rearchitecting is too expensive and specialised, following the ‘Lift & Shift’ approach is much better than doing nothing. It’s the first rung on the ladder, paving the way to future successes.
What AMDH Services can do to help you
AMDH Services Ltd is a Microsoft Partner, Crown Commercial Services Supplier and a VMWare Partner. We’re an independent ICT consultancy with our office in the East Midlands.
We’ve made it our mission to partner with public sector organisations, SMEs, churches and charities to help them make the most out of cloud technology. Our highly experienced team will join your staff and help you create and implement the best cloud service possible, including the transition phase.
Could your public sector organisation use some help? We’re always excited to hear from new potential clients and welcome all new challenges. Use the contact form at the bottom of the page for a commitment-free, friendly chat. Alternatively, drop us an email at info@amdhservicesltd.com or give us a ring. Our phone number is 01332 322 588.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
