The cloud has become the go-to destination for organizations seeking modernization, cost-efficiency, and scalability. Whether it’s a cloud-first strategy or a targeted approach, migrating to the cloud is a strategic move that promises numerous benefits. However, the path to cloud migration, often paved with on-premise complexities, can be fraught with challenges. In this article, we’ll explore the concept of “lift and shift” as a popular choice for cloud migrations and delve into how automated data lineage can alleviate the stress associated with this transformative journey.

The Cloud’s Irresistible Allure

Today, it’s rare to find an organization without some presence in the cloud. This trend is on the rise, and for good reasons:

1. Access to Modern Infrastructure

• Particularly valuable in skills-starved geographies, the cloud offers access to cutting-edge infrastructure and the expertise to manage it.

2. Flexibility and Agility

• Cloud environments allow for the rapid rollout of new data services, providing organizations with the agility needed in today’s dynamic business landscape.

3. Ease of Access

• Geographically dispersed teams benefit from the cloud’s accessibility, fostering collaboration and efficient resource utilization.

4. Cost Savings

• Proper planning and application selection can lead to significant cost savings by shifting from capital-intensive on-premise solutions to operational expenses in the cloud.

Understanding “Lift and Shift”

“Lift and shift” migration, also known as rehosting, is a compelling approach for organizations looking to move their applications and workloads, including their data stores and operating systems, from on-premises environments to the cloud. This method allows enterprises to transition their IT spending from capital budgets (CapEx) to operational budgets (OpEx) while maintaining their existing application architecture and code.

For our discussion, let’s focus on the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) as an illustrative example. However, keep in mind that the principles discussed here apply to any complex enterprise application.

Benefits of Rehosting

While “lift and shift” doesn’t address underlying application design issues, it offers several compelling advantages:

1. Fast, Cost-Effective Migration

• This approach enables organizations to migrate swiftly with minimal team commitment. The on-premise application can continue running during the migration, ensuring uninterrupted service.

2. Potential for Improved Performance

• Cloud migration provides an opportunity to run applications on better-performing hardware without capital expenses.

3. Expanded Capacity

• Cloud resources can be dynamically scaled, allowing organizations to add compute capacity, storage, and network bandwidth as needed.

4. Scalability on Demand

• Applications can scale up or down automatically to match demand, optimizing resource utilization and costs.

5. Enhanced Security

• Cloud security services, like role-based access control and multifactor authentication, can bolster the security of legacy applications.

6. Reduced On-Premises Costs

• Migrating more applications to the cloud enables organizations to downsize their on-premises infrastructure, reducing operational costs.

7. Hybrid Cloud Possibilities

• “Lift and shift” offers a straightforward way to transition applications to a private or public cloud while managing them as part of a unified infrastructure.

Challenges of “Lift and Shift”

Despite its advantages, a straightforward “lift and shift” approach isn’t without its challenges:

1. Performance Issues

• Highly optimized on-premises data warehouses might not seamlessly transfer to the cloud. The cloud environment can either enhance or degrade performance depending on the application’s original optimization.

2. Compatibility Concerns

• Incompatibility with the cloud environment can lead to data transfer, storage, and access issues.

3. Security Risks

• The cloud may not provide the same level of security as an organization’s on-premises infrastructure, potentially exposing vulnerabilities.

4. Cost Considerations

• Cloud infrastructure costs may exceed on-premises expenses, especially if the application isn’t optimized for the cloud environment.

5. Data Pipeline Complexity

• Enterprise Data Warehouses often involve intricate data pipelines and models. Moving an application without addressing this complexity can lead to performance problems and broken pipelines.

Untangling the EDW

To ensure a successful “lift and shift” migration, it’s crucial to untangle the complexity within an Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW). Here’s how organizations can streamline the process:

1. Assess the Current State

• Before migration, perform a comprehensive assessment of the EDW, identifying sources of complexity, inefficiency, and data quality issues. This assessment should cover data sources, data models, stored procedures, ETL processes, and more.

2. Simplify the Data Architecture

• After assessment, simplify the data architecture by removing redundant data sources, consolidating data models, and optimizing ETL processes. This streamlining reduces complexity, enhances performance, and minimizes security risks.

3. Break It Down

• Consider a phased migration approach, starting with stable components unlikely to change. Automation tools, like MANTA, can provide invaluable assistance in tracking data lineage and dependencies from reports and tables back to source systems.

Harnessing Automated Data Lineage

Automated data lineage tools, such as MANTA, play a pivotal role in untangling complex EDWs before migrating to the cloud. These tools offer:

• Efficient Untangling: By automatically gathering data lineage and tracking dependencies, they streamline the migration process, ensuring a seamless transition.
• Broad Compatibility: With support for over 45 commonly used databases, ETL tools, BI tools, and more, these tools make it easy to convert code into a comprehensible representation of data flow across your landscape.

How does MANTA work?

The recorded MANTA webinar explores how automated data lineage tools can help you to understand and untangle your on-premise architecture, to ensure a seamless and value-adding cloud migration. With scanners for over 45 commonly used databases, ETL tools, BI tools and more, MANTA automatically converts code to an easily understood representation of the end-to-end flow of data across your landscape

In conclusion, a “lift and shift” cloud migration strategy can offer numerous benefits but also presents its fair share of challenges. To succeed, organizations must address performance, compatibility, security, cost, and complexity issues. The process starts with untangling the intricacies of their data warehouses, and automated data lineage tools like MANTA are invaluable allies on this journey. By simplifying and optimizing their data architecture, organizations can unlock the full potential of the cloud while minimizing migration stress.

For organizations considering a move to the cloud, embracing the power of automation and data lineage is not just an option; it’s a necessity to ensure a smooth and successful transition.

Want to learn more? Request a demo of MANTA