Migrating to the cloud is not a one-size-fits-all endeavour. Different workloads have different requirements, and choosing the wrong strategy can lead to higher costs, poor performance, and security gaps. At WeduLabs, we’ve managed dozens of migrations — from 10-seat startups to 300+ seat enterprises — and the single most important factor in success is choosing the right approach for each workload.
The Six Rs of Cloud Migration
The industry-standard “Six Rs” framework, and it remains the most practical way to categorise migration strategies:
1. Rehost (Lift and Shift)
Move applications to the cloud with minimal changes. The server, OS, and application stack are replicated as-is in a cloud environment.
- Best for: Applications with tight timelines, legacy systems that can’t be modified, or as a first step before optimisation
- Pros: Fastest migration path, minimal risk, no code changes required
- Cons: Doesn’t leverage cloud-native features, may result in higher costs than optimised alternatives
- Typical timeline: Days to weeks per workload
2. Replatform (Lift and Optimise)
Move applications with targeted optimisations — for example, migrating from a self-managed database to a managed service like a managed database service, without rewriting application code.
- Best for: Applications that would benefit from managed services without requiring a full rewrite
- Pros: Reduces operational overhead while maintaining the application’s core architecture
- Cons: Requires more planning than rehosting, some application configuration changes needed
- Typical timeline: Weeks per workload
3. Refactor (Re-Architect)
Redesign and rebuild applications to be cloud-native, typically using containers, serverless functions, or microservices architectures.
- Best for: Applications that need to scale significantly, or where the current architecture is a bottleneck
- Pros: Maximum benefit from cloud-native features, best long-term cost and performance
- Cons: Most expensive and time-consuming option, requires development resources
- Typical timeline: Months per workload
4. Repurchase (Replace with SaaS)
Replace an on-premise application with a SaaS equivalent. For example, migrating from an on-premise email server to a cloud-hosted solution, or replacing a legacy CRM with a modern SaaS platform.
- Best for: Commodity applications where a SaaS solution is mature and well-suited
- Pros: Eliminates infrastructure management, automatic updates, usually lower TCO
- Cons: Data migration complexity, potential feature gaps, vendor lock-in
- Typical timeline: Weeks to months depending on data migration
5. Retire
Decommission applications that are no longer needed. During the assessment phase, we typically find that 10–20% of an organisation’s application portfolio can be retired, saving licensing and maintenance costs.
6. Retain
Keep certain workloads on-premise, at least for now. This is appropriate for applications with strict data sovereignty requirements, specialised hardware dependencies, or where the cost of migration outweighs the benefits.
How We Choose the Right Strategy
We evaluate each workload across five dimensions:
- Business criticality: How important is this application to daily operations? Critical applications need low-risk migration strategies.
- Technical complexity: How many dependencies does this application have? Complex dependency chains increase migration risk.
- Compliance requirements: Are there data residency, encryption, or audit requirements that constrain where and how this workload can run?
- Cost profile: What does this workload cost to run today vs. projected cloud costs? Include operational overhead, not just compute.
- Strategic value: Is this application a competitive differentiator, or is it a commodity that could be replaced with SaaS?
Our Migration Process
Every migration we manage follows a structured four-phase process:
- Discovery & Assessment (2–4 weeks): Map all applications, dependencies, and data flows. Identify compliance requirements and risk factors.
- Strategy & Planning (2–3 weeks): Assign a migration strategy to each workload. Define the migration sequence based on dependencies and business priorities.
- Execution (4–16 weeks): Migrate workloads in planned waves, with validation testing at each stage. Zero-downtime cutover for production systems.
- Optimisation (Ongoing): Right-size resources, implement auto-scaling, and optimise costs based on actual usage data.
Common Mistakes We Help You Avoid
- Migrating without an assessment. Skipping discovery leads to surprises mid-migration — unknown dependencies, compliance gaps, or cost overruns.
- Lift-and-shift everything. Rehosting every workload is fast but often results in higher cloud bills than on-premise. Some workloads need optimisation.
- Ignoring egress costs. Cloud providers charge for data leaving their network. Architecture decisions that minimise egress can save thousands per month.
- No rollback plan. Every migration should have a tested rollback procedure. If something goes wrong, you need to get back to a working state quickly.
Ready to Plan Your Migration?
We offer a free cloud readiness assessment that maps your current environment, identifies the right migration strategy for each workload, and provides a realistic timeline and budget estimate. No sales pitch — just an honest engineering assessment.