Lift and Shift – Your Practical Guide

If you want to move into a new flat, there are several options: you can carefully plan each room, buy new furniture and furnish it optimally – or you can simply pack everything up in your old home and set it up again in the new flat exactly as it was before. Maybe the large dining table no longer fits perfectly in the new living room, and some sockets are in completely different places than before – but for now, everything works. This is precisely the principle behind lift and shift – one of the fastest and easiest methods of migrating applications to the cloud.

Companies looking to modernise their IT infrastructure are often faced with the question: ‘How can we move our existing systems to the cloud – as quickly as possible and without major adjustments?’ Lift-and-shift migration promises a simple solution: applications are transferred from the local data centre to the cloud with virtually no changes.

But is this approach always the best choice? What are the advantages and pitfalls? And what alternatives are there? In this guide, you will learn everything you need to know about the lift and shift method, the opportunities and risks involved, and proven strategies for a successful migration.

Perhaps you are familiar with the following situation: You have been working with the same IT system for years – it is reliable, but not optimised for the modern cloud world. A complete overhaul would be too costly and time-consuming, so for the time being, the only option is to move directly to the cloud without making any major changes. This is exactly what the lift-and-shift method is all about:

Let's look at the example of a medium-sized supplier to the automotive industry: the company uses internal accounting software that has been running reliably for years. However, the application is not optimised for the cloud and would require significant adjustments to utilise cloud-native functions.

Instead of completely redeveloping the software, the IT managers opt for lift and shift. The application is migrated to the cloud with virtually no changes, allowing the company to quickly reap the benefits of the cloud infrastructure without having to make extensive changes.

Lift and shift is one of the most common methods because it enables fast and cost-effective migration. However, this approach also carries many risks. Existing problems and inefficiencies are also transferred to the new environment. In the long term, this leads to higher costs and technical challenges.

In this section, we highlight the most important advantages and disadvantages to help you make your decision. We show you when lift and shift migration makes sense and which aspects you should consider critically.

Without careful planning, even the seemingly simple lift-and-shift method can lead to unexpected problems. Many managers initially assume that moving to the cloud is simply a matter of ‘relocating’: existing applications are transported from one environment to another and put back into operation there.

But if you don't plan carefully, you run the risk of overlooking unexpected challenges – be it high operating costs, security issues or a lack of performance optimisation. That's why thorough preparation and a clear strategy are crucial. So ask yourself the following questions early on:

• Which of your applications are suitable for lift and shift?
• Which cloud platform best meets your requirements?
• How can the migration be tested and validated?
• What are the long-term effects of this strategy on costs and performance?

Be aware that not every application is suitable for lift and shift. This strategy is particularly worthwhile in the following scenarios:

• Time-critical migrations: When on-premises contracts expire or the data centre is closed, rapid migration is often necessary. Lift and shift enables you to quickly move your IT infrastructure to the cloud, avoiding downtime and contractual penalties.
• Legacy applications: Applications that must be retained for regulatory or business reasons can be quickly transferred to the cloud. This allows you to meet compliance requirements while benefiting from the advantages of the cloud.
• Gaining initial experience with the cloud: Try out the cloud before undertaking major transformations. Lift and shift allows you to test the cloud and gain initial experience without having to make major investments.
• Proof of Concept (PoC): Test your applications in the cloud, along with the connections and technologies there. Lift and Shift enables you to create prototypes quickly and cost-effectively and to verify the feasibility of your cloud strategy.
• Test hybrid models: Evaluate and test hybrid cloud architectures. Lift and Shift allows you to move existing applications to the cloud while continuing to use your on-premises infrastructure.

For applications with high performance or scaling requirements, refactoring or complete cloud-native development may be more appropriate. Therefore, you should conduct a thorough analysis of your applications and requirements before deciding on the appropriate migration strategy.

Although lift and shift is a popular method for moving to the cloud, there are approaches that are more advantageous in certain situations. To illustrate the differences between the individual strategies, let's use a clear example: suppose you want to modernise an old factory building. You can approach this project in different ways:

• Lift and shift: You move all the machines unchanged to a new production hall. This enables a quick and cost-effective relocation without the need for major adjustments.
• Refactoring: You modernise the machines so that they work more efficiently. Although this requires more effort and investment, it leads to better utilisation of the new production hall and higher savings in the long term.
• Rebuild: You build a completely new production facility with state-of-the-art technologies. This is the most complex and expensive option, but it offers the greatest advantages in terms of efficiency, scalability and future-proofing.

The following overview shows you the differences, advantages and challenges of the various migration strategies:

Once you have decided on the right strategy, it's time to implement it. In this section, we describe the essential steps for a successful lift-and-shift migration. With the right preparation and execution, you can quickly and efficiently reap the benefits of the cloud.

1. Analysis of existing infrastructure

Before you start, you should carefully examine your existing infrastructure. Which applications are suitable for the cloud, and which could cause problems?

• Current status analysis: Examine your current applications to identify suitable candidates for migration. Take into account factors such as the complexity of the applications, their dependencies and their performance requirements.
• Define requirements: Determine the requirements for the cloud infrastructure based on the identified applications. Consider aspects such as scalability, availability, security and compliance.

2. Choosing the right cloud platform

• Public cloud: Providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud offer flexible and scalable solutions. They enable you to access cloud resources quickly and cost-effectively and benefit from the latest technologies.
• Private cloud: Dedicated servers offer maximum control and security. They are particularly suitable if you work with high compliance requirements or sensitive data.
• Hybrid cloud: A combination of on-premises and cloud services enables flexible architectures. You can continue to use existing investments in on-premises infrastructure while benefiting from the advantages of the cloud.

3. Planning and executing the migration

• Create a migration plan: Develop a detailed plan that covers all steps and responsibilities. Take into account aspects such as the order of migration, the resources required and communication with stakeholders.
• Perform a test migration: Perform a test migration to identify potential problems early on. This allows you to make adjustments and ensure that the migration runs smoothly.
• Productive migration: Perform the migration with minimal downtime so as not to disrupt business operations. Ensure that all necessary resources and support teams are available to quickly resolve any issues that may arise.

4. Optimisation after migration

• Performance review: Check the performance of the migrated applications and make any necessary adjustments. Use monitoring tools to continuously monitor and optimise performance.
• Cost control: Use monitoring tools to monitor and optimise costs. Identify areas where savings can be made and adjust the use of cloud resources accordingly.
• Security aspects: Check the security of the applications and improve it if necessary. Ensure that all security policies and procedures are followed and that the applications are protected against potential threats.

Despite all the preparation, mistakes can happen that jeopardize the success of your migration. We would like to briefly discuss some of them and present best practices to avoid them. By recognizing and avoiding these pitfalls, you can ensure that your lift-and-shift migration goes as smoothly as possible. Typical mistakes include:

• No analysis of existing architecture: This can lead to performance issues. Without a thorough analysis of existing applications and their requirements, there is a risk that the migrated applications will not run optimally in the cloud.
• Lack of security measures: increases the attack surface. If security aspects are not adequately considered, the migrated applications are vulnerable to attacks and data loss.
• Inadequate cost control: often leads to higher operating costs than expected. Without continuous monitoring and optimisation of cloud resources, costs can quickly spiral out of control.

• Detailed analysis in advance: Conduct a thorough analysis of the existing infrastructure. Identify the applications that are suitable for migration and determine the requirements for the cloud infrastructure.
• Use automation tools: Use tools to avoid errors and increase efficiency. Automation tools help to speed up the migration process and ensure that all steps are carried out correctly.
• Cost and performance optimisations: Perform continuous optimisations after migration. Monitor application performance and adjust cloud resource usage accordingly to minimise costs and maximise efficiency.

In this guide, we have highlighted the various aspects of the lift-and-shift strategy – from the basic concepts to the advantages and challenges, specific use cases and steps for successful implementation.

Lift and shift offers a fast and cost-effective way to move your existing applications to the cloud. The method is suitable if you need to perform time-critical migrations, want to preserve legacy applications, or want to gain initial experience with the cloud. It allows you to quickly move your IT infrastructure to the cloud without having to make extensive adjustments.

However, we have also highlighted the risks and challenges: technical debt and existing inefficiencies are transferred to the new environment, and the applications may not be optimally designed for the cloud. This can lead to higher costs and technical difficulties in the long term. It is therefore important to conduct a thorough analysis of your applications and requirements before deciding on this strategy.

If you want to take full advantage of the cloud, you should also consider alternative migration strategies such as refactoring or complete redevelopment. Although these approaches require more effort and investment, they offer greater long-term benefits in terms of efficiency, scalability and performance.

In summary, lift and shift is a pragmatic solution for quickly getting started in the cloud world. However, you should consider your company's long-term goals and requirements and, if necessary, make additional optimisations and adjustments to fully leverage the benefits of the cloud.