4 ways to move your custom legacy apps to the cloud

Change is available in all styles and sizes. Some adjustments we welcome, and others we shrink back from. The pandemic has positioned an enormous emphasis on the want to change enterprise operations and lots of organizations have been put in “do or die” conditions when it comes to going distant, virtualizing desktops, and — maybe extra considerably — deciding whether or not on-premises functions ought to keep, move to the cloud, or get changed totally.

Such selections have been a very long time coming. On-premises IT footprint has shrunk over the previous 10 years with the emergence of the cloud, SaaS functions which might be extremely customizable, and composable enterprise rules. We not dwell in an workplace with a server room, and our ft are not tangled in massive spools of wire beneath our desks. (*4*). We’re cell. And we’re ushering in a brand new period of IT.

So it’s no longer a question of when you’ll move to cloud but how. Here are 4 totally different approaches to contemplate:

Approach 1: Lift and shift

The quickest and best of all 4 approaches, elevate and shift requires no code or structure adjustments and entails merely placing an utility into the cloud utilizing its present deployment structure on new “{hardware}.” This well-liked possibility is offered to enterprises following the emergence of infrastructure-as-a-service in each private and non-private clouds.

For these trying to move rapidly, effectively, and cheaply, it doesn’t get a lot better than this. This could not at all times be the most optimum migration technique, and there are actually some downsides to contemplate.

The largest disadvantage of this strategy is managing the long-term scalability and manageability of the utility. Born in an on-premises setting, a legacy utility is accustomed to (and at instances constructed for) a sure workload. Therefore, earlier than you elevate and shift it into the cloud, it’s best to first completely check efficiency and scalability, particularly when separating the customers from the utility or the information by a WAN. Without correct testing, you’ll by no means know which straw will break the camel’s again, and you may discover that an inflow of shoppers, customers, and even employees, ideas an utility over the edge and causes it to carry out poorly. If this occurs to simply be an e mail server utility, or a time entry system, the harm might not be too dangerous, however when you’ve unsuccessfully lifted and shifted your gross sales platform into the cloud, your backside line may take a giant hit.

Approach 2: Rebuild/refactor

On the different finish of the spectrum, we’ve the possibility to rebuild or refactor your legacy functions. Refactoring is the technique of shifting the utility to a public cloud and rearchitecting it to benefit from native cloud applied sciences, similar to platform-as-a-service. This requires vital code adjustments and is a long-term funding. Knowing that many custom legacy functions have ties throughout the enterprise, dependencies on different apps, and workflows to adhere to, it’s very important that each relationship is up to date in order that there aren’t any interruptions as soon as it’s in the cloud. This is the most sustainable strategy to migrate an utility; it will likely be scalable for any enhance in demand or utilization, will probably be obtainable remotely, and can proceed to meet all the wants of the enterprise. By adhering to trendy, cloud-native structure finest practices you possibly can guarantee your utility will probably be scalable and supportable in the long-term.

The most important draw back right here is the value related to refactoring. This is a time-intensive course of and entails basically rebuilding the whole utility in a brand new setting, with new applied sciences and new code. This could imply outsourcing the job to migration specialists if your group isn’t outfitted with the proper abilities. This is usually a huge mission, however it should convey the utility right into a supportable, comparatively future-proof mannequin.

Approach 3: Re-platform

Re-platforming functions is the middle-ground strategy between lift-and-shift and refactoring and usually entails making “straightforward” adjustments to the utility structure — similar to altering the manner the app interacts with its database to benefit from serverless database cloud companies. Assuming the utility isn’t overly “chatty” and performs properly when separated from its database through a WAN, shifting the database tier throughout a re-platforming mission might be the finest place to begin.

​When re-platforming functions, you usually don’t change the client-side, however the manner it interacts with the information could also be totally different. To guarantee nothing is left drifting in the cloud, it’s necessary to carefully monitor the utility as soon as it’s been re-platformed. The key distinction between this strategy and refactoring/rebuilding is that it’s faster and so is commonly the first step in the app modernization journey. You could not catch every thing in the re-platforming course of, and points may come up on the fly. As lengthy as you recognize this moving into, and you’ve got backup plans in place, this strategy may be very beneficial and offers a robust start line when you resolve to refactor at a later time.

Approach 4: Get rid of the app and purchase a brand new one

The last strategy is to do away with your legacy utility and purchase a SaaS one off the shelf that you would be able to customise. This is a difficult strategy to prescribe and is just viable in sure conditions. If you’re nonetheless internet hosting your e mail server, then by all means, do away with it and get Office 365 of Google Workspace. In the same vein, any utility that may be thought-about frequent in the office, similar to CRM, HR administration, or an accounting answer, can be very doubtless to be replaceable by a brand new SaaS product made for the cloud. The instances you’d keep away from this strategy is when you have got an utility that’s been closely custom-made and isn’t replicable with present market choices.

If you might be deciding to transition from a legacy utility to a extra trendy SaaS utility by exporting/importing information, the legacy utility is sort of at all times retained in read-only archive mode. This can present employees with the data they want throughout the migration course of, however they won’t have the performance of the legacy app to modify this data. This strategy may be helpful when you’re trying to overhaul your enterprise, scale back technical debt, and benefit from technological upgrades, however customers could require coaching on the new utility, and it’s best to issue that into the migration course of.

Finding the migration technique that works for you

It’s necessary to perceive that each occasion is exclusive and that, whereas one strategy may match properly for one utility, there isn’t a universally “appropriate” manner to go about the migration course of. You could refactor one or two of your most business-critical functions, re-platform a secondary one, and elevate and shift a number of minor ones.

However, one consideration it’s best to implement in your decision-making course of is how these strikes, or shifts, will affect worker productiveness. Making selections like these in a C-suite vacuum can lead to frustration on the entrance line when employees have to implement the adjustments, be taught a brand new know-how, or make do with a glitchy utility that isn’t fairly scaling proper. As lengthy as you contemplate your enterprise wants, the urgency of the move, and the enterprise and operational affect it should have, you possibly can’t go mistaken shifting to the cloud.

Vadim Vladimirskiy is Co-Founder and CEO of Nerdio.