Migration
Definition
Moving applications, data, or infrastructure from one environment to another, such as from on-premises servers to the cloud or between cloud providers.
Use Cases
- Netflix: Migrating a large-scale streaming platform from on-premises data centers to the public cloud to improve scalability and resilience. — Netflix moved major parts of its infrastructure and services to AWS over time, adopting a microservices approach and using cloud-native building blocks for compute, storage, and delivery while redesigning for failure and automation. (Improved ability to scale globally, faster deployment cycles, and increased resilience through distributed, automated operations.)
- Spotify: Migrating backend infrastructure to the cloud to support rapid growth and reduce time spent managing data centers. — Spotify migrated significant portions of its infrastructure to Google Cloud, focusing on managed services and automation to reduce operational overhead and improve developer productivity. (Reduced infrastructure management burden and enabled teams to focus more on product development and data-driven features.)
Provider Equivalents
- AWS: AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) and AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
- Azure: Azure Migrate and Azure Database Migration Service
- GCP: Google Cloud Migration Center and Database Migration Service
- OCI: OCI Cloud Migrations and OCI Database Migration
Frequently Asked Questions
- What's the difference between Migration and modernization?
- Migration is moving an existing application, database, or server to a new environment (like on-prem to cloud) with minimal change. Modernization changes how the system is built or run—such as refactoring into microservices, adopting managed databases, or using containers—to improve scalability, cost, and agility. Many projects migrate first, then modernize in phases.
- When should I use Migration?
- Use migration when you need to exit a data center, reduce hardware refresh costs, improve scalability, meet compliance or disaster recovery goals, or standardize on a cloud provider. It’s also a good fit when an application is stable and you want a faster move (rehost/lift-and-shift) before making bigger architecture changes.
- How much does Migration cost?
- Costs usually include (1) assessment and planning time, (2) migration tooling and data transfer, (3) temporary parallel running (old and new environments at the same time), (4) cloud infrastructure during and after cutover, and (5) testing, security, and downtime mitigation. Pricing varies by data volume, network egress (especially for cross-cloud moves), replication duration, and whether you rehost vs refactor. A common cost driver is running both environments during the transition and paying for data movement out of the source provider.
Category: cloud
Difficulty: intermediate
Related Terms
See Also