Cloud Lift and Shift
What Is Cloud Lift and Shift?
Cloud lift and shift, also known as rehosting, is a cloud migration approach in which existing applications and workloads are moved from on-premises infrastructure to cloud environments with minimal or no modification to the application architecture, code, or configuration. The application is lifted from its current hosting environment and shifted to a cloud equivalent, typically a virtual machine that mirrors the original on-premises server.
Lift and shift are the fastest migration path to the cloud and requires the least upfront investment in application to redesign. For organizations with large legacy estates and urgent pressure to exit physical data centers, it provides the quickest route to cloud hosting while deferring modernization decisions.
When Lift and Shift Is the Right Choice
Lift and shift is appropriate when the primary objective is data center exit within a specific timeline, when applications are stable and not scheduled for replacement, when limited engineering capacity is available for application refactoring, or when the organization needs to reduce dependency on expiring hardware without redesigning the application immediately.
It is also a sensible first step for applications that will ultimately be modernized; moving to the cloud first establishes the hosting foundation from which modernization can proceed at a controlled pace.
The Limitations of Lift and Shift
Applications migrated via lift and shift do not automatically benefit from cloud-native capabilities such as auto-scaling, managed services, serverless architecture, or pay-per-use computer models. A virtual machine that mirrors an on-premises server on a cloud platform still carries the licensing, patching, and management overhead of the original server. Cloud cost savings from lift and shift alone are often modest; the larger efficiency gains come from subsequent modernization.
Lift and Shift as Part of a Migration Roadmap
Most mature cloud migration strategies use lift and shift selectively as part of a broader roadmap that also includes replat forming (minor optimization for cloud), refactoring (redesigning applications to be cloud-native), and replacing (substituting legacy applications with SaaS alternatives). Lift and shift start the journey; modernization realizes full value.
Key Takeaways
- Lift and shift migrate applications to cloud virtual machines with minimal changes to architecture or code.
- It is the fastest migration path and suits organizations prioritizing data center exit over immediate application modernization.
- Migrated applications do not automatically benefit from cloud-native capabilities such as auto-scaling or managed services.
- Cost savings from lift and shift alone are typically modest; modernization unlocks the larger efficiency gains.
- Lift and shift are most effective as the first phase of a broader migration roadmap that includes replatforming and refactoring.