×
What are the key phases for a successful legacy system cloud migration?Legacy system cloud migration is the process of moving the critical workloads from the outdated hardware to a cloud infrastructure. This helps in preserving the existing applications while allowing you to leverage the benefits of the cloud, like scalability, improved performance, strong security, and compatibility with modern apps.
A successful legacy system cloud migration follows a 5-phase framework. Phase 1 is assessment that includes mapping the existing applications and dependencies. Phase 2 is planning where you need to select the right migration strategy. It includes choosing from Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Repurchase, Retain, or Retire models.
Phase 3 is preparation, where you take a step towards project planning and assembling the team for final migration. Then for phase 4, which is migration. It is the process to move data and applications to the new platform. Phase 5 is the final post-migration where you need to validate the performance of the applications running on the new platform.
ArticleLegacy systems are just dragging your business down? Running your critical applications on outdated infrastructure results in rising maintenance costs, security vulnerabilities, and limited scalability. Legacy system cloud migration offers a proven path forward to unlock potential growth while preserving critical functionalities.
Legacy systems, often referred to as ‘vintage systems ‘, are outdated and inefficient, making them vulnerable to many potential risks. These systems are typically built on older technologies and may not be compatible with modern software or hardware. Therefore, organizations are now looking for legacy system migration to cloud strategies to improve their system’s performance and security.
Legacy workload cloud migration has several benefits, such as improved scalability, enhanced performance, and robust security. McKinsey reports that by 2030, Global 2000 enterprises could raise annual EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) by over $3 trillion through improved IT productivity, new value streams, and innovative business models. While cloud adoption alone increases profitability by 20–30% for an average company.
Legacy system cloud migration requires meticulous planning to achieve a seamless transition with no migration risks and zero downtime. A successful process involves coordination across stakeholders, teams, and technologies. Below are the 5 phases of legacy migration to cloud that is specially designed to guide your IT teams through an efficient process.
Here are five phases for ensuring your legacy workload cloud migration runs efficiently without any operational disruptions:
Migration of legacy systems can be highly challenging for businesses. Jumping straight to migration without evaluating the existing infrastructure can go sideways. This helps in identifying the hidden challenges or issues before they impact business operations. A comprehensive assessment will guide the steps to be taken for a smooth migration process. Here are some measures for assessing the legacy applications:
Taking timely assessment will help your business make more informed decisions for your legacy system migration to cloud and achieve long-term results.
Many factors associated with an effective legacy migration to cloud environments include a detailed modernization plan, selection of the right approach, and proper risk management.
– Rehost (lift-and-shift): Moving critical workloads and apps as-is with minimal change. This lift-and-shift migration is the fastest and lowest risk migration approach.
– Replatform: Make limited optimizations in the applications, for example, managed databases without rewriting core code.
-Refactor / Rearchitect: Redesigning the workloads for cloud-native benefits when long-term agility is crucial for business.
– Repurchase: Replace the entire critical applications with SaaS where it is necessary.
– Retain: Keep certain systems on-premises or hybrid for latency, compliance, or cost reasons. It is mostly seen in regulated industries.
– Retire: Decommission unused applications to reduce scope and cost.
The right call totally depends on the complexity of what workloads and applications you’re moving and how much risk you’re willing to carry.
Proper preparation significantly raises the odds of a successful legacy system cloud migration with minimal disruption. This includes security and compliance checkpoints like identity, encryption, network controls, and audit requirements. They should be designed before any data is migrated. The preparation phase requires three significant steps. They are as follows:
-Develop a Detailed Project Plan: Create a document project scope, assign roles to the team, create timelines, and milestones. Having a clear plan keeps everyone in the team aligned and accountable.
-Forming a Migration Team: Forming a cross-functional team with expertise in legacy systems and cloud technologies is a must. They should be those individuals who are highly organized and have good communication skills.
Eliminate Risk Today! Move Your Legacy Apps to the Cloud for Optimum Efficiency.
Understanding Roles and Responsibilities: Once the migration team is formed, the next step is to guide them and help them understand their role and responsibilities within this project. Each individual should be clear about their work and should ensure proper communication throughout the entire migration process. Proper preparation significantly increases the chances of a successful legacy system migration to cloud with minimal disruptions.
This is the execution phase where data and applications are moved to the cloud. The three core steps of the migration phase are as follows:
Understanding the functionality of each phase helps ensure a smooth transition when you perform cloud migration for legacy systems.
Here are the main steps to be followed for this this post-migration phase.
The success of the aging legacy system migration depends on streamlined planning and preparation before going live with the new system. Also, verifying the output for migration of legacy systems before proceeding to the production mode, providing proper user training and support, as well as allocating the resources required will help the business’s legacy application transition seamlessly.
Orange Business hit a roadblock. Their critical ERP systems depended on legacy hardware and Markview were stuck on OCI with no upgrade path.
They needed more than a workaround. Oracle Consulting stepped in. The answer: Charon-SSP by Stromasys. It’s a SPARC hardware emulator for Linux, requiring zero code changes. Sixteen emulated CPUs delivered full legacy compatibility.
Deployment moved fast. The team handled everything remotely. Within a matter of days, Orange Business operated at full speed without any performance dip or business disruption.
Key outcomes:
Would you like to know their full journey in detail?
Did you know?
Based on the recent Google Cloud reports, customers who transition their infrastructure to Google Cloud can reduce their Total cost of ownership (TCO) by 20-30%. Also, according to the Fortune Business Insights report, global cloud computing market size is expected to grow to $2904.52 billion by 2034 at a CAGR of 15.7% for the forecasting period of 2026-2034.
If you are planning for legacy system cloud migration, then Stromasys is a great option. We offer efficient and precise assistance in selecting the most suitable migration option for your business, ensuring that your data remains secure while transitioning from the older platform to a newer one.
Stromasys Charon solution is available for SPARC, VAX, AlphaServer, and PA-RISC legacy systems for cloud subscription for all the major cloud service providers, such as Oracle Cloud, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and more. With Charon on the Cloud solution, all the original applications, operating systems, and databases remain the same with zero modifications. No re-certification is required, and the original legacy hardware is eliminated while your existing applications seamlessly run on the cloud without any interruptions.
We will help you with your migration at a minimum cost and enhance your business performance.
Based on a recent Gartner report, over 65 percent of enterprise workloads will run in the cloud by 2027, which is up from 45% in 2022.
Legacy system migration to cloud isn’t optional anymore, especially if your businesses are looking for flexibility and agility. With a well-executed legacy system cloud migration plan, businesses can transform their outdated systems into agile, secure, and cost-efficient assets that drive business growth. By following the 5-phase framework, which includes assessment, planning, preparation, migration, and post-migration, organizations can minimize risks, eliminate aging hardware maintenance costs, optimize operational expenses, and unlock modern capabilities like enhanced scalability and performance without changing a single line of code in their existing applications. It is a smart way of modernizing your legacy infrastructure by preserving the existing critical workloads while leveraging the benefits of cloud for better efficiency and performance.
The timeline of the legacy systems cloud migration depends on several factors, such as the complexity of existing aging systems, the availability of resources, and any problems that occur during or after transit.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) promise business growth and market expansion, but their core value derives...
Read More Many businesses still rely on legacy systems. This may be due to an investment in...
Read More
Technology is evolving at a faster pace, making it crucial to maintain critical applications stable...
Read More