The “Cloud” is all the rage. Everybody and their brother is talking about how they migrated their systems to the cloud. There are so many methods of migrating to the cloud. In this multi-part series I hope to cover many of the common methods in some plain english and some technical flair.

One of the most common methods of early adopters is called “Rehosting”. In this method that I affectionately refer to as “lift-and-shift” we simply choose our public cloud and move our resources into it server for server.

Rehosting is the practice of taking a server and moving its function into a cloud data center. At 45Squared we do this method by taking over management of web servers in the cloud. The core function of the server that we are migrating is to process website requests. We utilize Linux and web server like Apache or NGINX to deliver your website to your visitors. By simply utilizing the lift and shift method we remove the need for:

• An on premise web server
• The need for someone to manage that web server on premise
• A large Internet connection to provide access to visitors.

This small application can save your company hundreds of dollars in operating costs. If we then take this method and apply it to other services that our business runs in its datacenter you can see where the savings would add up.

So why start with the rehosting method? Lift-and-Shift is the easiest method to get started on the cloud. In future articles we will expand on other methods such as:

• Replatforming
• Repurchasing
• Re-architecting
• Retiring
• Retaining

Each of these methods has their own benefits but some methods have different costs associated with them. In the rehosting model you will save money by migrating to the cloud and you will gain valuable experience in exploring your new cloud provider.

Near the end of 2016 GE Oil & Gas had an initiative to migrate 500 applications into the Amazon Web Services cloud. GE expected to gain some savings by utilizing the rehosting method. They ended up with 30% savings without implementing any cloud optimizations. Once their applications were running in the cloud they began to re-architect applications to utilize cloud features and ended gaining 52% in IT savings!

You can read more about the GE Oil & Gas Migration here.

At 45Squared we exercise the rehosting method nearly every day. By migrating a website to our cloud hosting we can save businesses money and provide them with cloud optimizations for typically less money than what they are paying today. All new websites we host are able to utilize extensive cloud optimizations right at launch. Some of those optimizations include:

• Content Delivery Networks
• Segmented Process Optimization
• Enhanced Security
• Load Balancing
• Auto-Scaling

While not all websites need all these features by simply migrating to the cloud our clients will see an initial page load time decrease of 2 seconds. This means that their website is now loading FASTER than their traditional web host or premise server. They also no longer have to manage the web server or any other infrastructure needed to deliver their web content to their customers.

When looking at migrating to the cloud I highly suggest starting with the rehosting method. This will give you experience into how your new cloud provider functions. It will expose you to their enhanced services and ultimately put you down the path to becoming a cloud expert!

If you or someone you know needs assistance in migrating to the cloud or needs someone to talk to do not hesitate to consult with 45Squared!