The Lift and Shift Model has been much appreciated in the cloud migration process for enterprise applications. It’s 10x cheaper than the traditional methods. While migrating to the cloud, there are some rules that need to be followed in the Lift and Shift model :
- Kill and Move ahead: When a server instance goes berzerk, and functions improperly – don’t waste time fixing it – just kill it and redeploy. The solid opinion is to terminate old instances and deploy new ones. This may not be the case if you have an application that was solidly built on data center architecture.
- Move the essentials only: We all know the messed up cable patches in our servers. One wrong color code and all goes wrong. Cloud migration is a chance to throw away the jumbled patch panel and re-authenticate security and access management. While you will need to move some of your infrastructure services along with the application, make use of the situation to organize your application strategy.
- Unique Identity: Running multiple identities is risky and inefficient. IdAM (Identity Access and Management) needs to be centrally monitored and used at all locations. Adding controls that identify a user’s location and devices, combined with options for two-factor authentication and one-time passwords, can provide defense against social engineering.
- Continuous & Close Monitoring: Although Cloud takes away many layers of direct architecture from our attention, giving us more time to be focused on the necessary – we would need to continuously monitor the cloud to plan for troubleshooting scenarios. This would also keep us updated on the security and performance of the app.
- Always have a Plan B: Keep a Plan B always ready – disaster recovery and/or business continuity should always be something in your short-term goal. A foolproof architecture design and efficient data center should help this to an extent. This might turn out to be costly but will surely help your organization in the long run.
