Cloud Rehosting vs Replatforming vs Refactoring: What Should You Choose?

Hi there! Transitioning to the cloud is easy until you run into one major question: What method will be used to transition applications? Transitioning needs to be fast and cheap for the sake of efficiency/scalability. In the end, picking the wrong solution can lead to additional costs, problems during the process, and delaying the migration itself. That is why exploring ‘Cloud Rehosting vs Replatforming vs Refactoring’ becomes important for companies when moving to the cloud.

Rehosting is the transition of an application with minor changes. Replatforming implies making some changes to improve the performance of the application within the cloud, while refactoring is the changing of code itself or its architecture.

The proper choice depends on the application's state, business objectives, budget, timeframe, technical requirements, and the company's cloud strategy.

Rehosting, Replatforming, and Refactoring: What are the Differences?

When it comes to picking which approach for migrating to the cloud will work best, first, it is necessary to know the difference between these three.

Just imagine that you have a house that you want to relocate somewhere else. In other words, you have several options: either move everything to a new place as it is, move it but make some improvements, or rebuild something significant in the process of relocation.

The migration to the cloud follows the same principle.

What is Cloud Rehosting?

Rehosting, or the lift-and-shift approach, implies transferring the application to a cloud environment while making only minor modifications to its code or basic functionalities.

For instance, it is possible for a company to transfer the application from its own server to a cloud environment in the form of virtual machines while leaving it unchanged.

The biggest benefit of rehosting is quick implementation. This approach would be used by companies that need to transfer from the current data center, reduce the amount of hardware used, or start migrating to the cloud without any modifications to the application. Nevertheless, testing the application is necessary.

What Is Cloud Replatforming?

Replatforming extends cloud migration further by migrating the application into the cloud, but makes some changes along the way to enhance the application's performance.

The difference between replatforming and refactoring is that the latter does not involve rewriting the entire application. Businesses can upgrade certain elements in order to fully exploit the benefits of cloud computing.

For instance, an organization can substitute a self-managed database with a managed database or change the configuration settings to become more scalable.

Replatforming is a solution in-between rehosting and refactoring, which allows for enjoying more benefits of cloud computing without having to redesign the application.

What Is Cloud Refactoring?

Refactoring consists of deeper modifications of the code and architecture of an application to better adapt it to the cloud.

In contrast to rehosting and replatforming, the main objective of refactoring is not merely the transfer of an application as it is, but the redesigning of its critical components that would help take even more advantage of cloud native capabilities.

For instance, the monolithic application can be decomposed into smaller services, or individual components might be modified to ensure scalability, flexibility, and resiliency.

Despite the fact that refactoring takes significantly more time and effort in planning, developing, testing, and investment, it can bring higher rewards in the case the application cannot satisfy business and technical needs in the future.

When Should You Choose Rehosting?

Rehosting is ideal for scenarios where speed is of utmost importance.

Consider the scenario where an organization plans to decommission a data center or migrate from legacy servers. If there isn’t enough time or money to refactor all applications prior to the migration, rehosting might be the solution.

Rehosting Helps Meet Urgent Deadlines

It is possible to consider rehosting as a reasonable option when it comes to urgent deadlines, such as when a contract related to the existing infrastructure expires soon, the hardware reaches the point of obsolescence, or when there is a necessity to migrate fast.

Rehosting usually implies less modification of applications than other approaches, which means that the migration can be completed rather quickly.

Nevertheless, time will not eliminate the need for careful planning. Your team should check the application for compatibility, performance, security, networking, storage, and other parameters before migration.

Rehosting Is Ideal for Stable Applications

There might be some applications that function fine, and there is no need to implement additional features.

If the application is stable, reliable, and useful for the business operations, there is no need to redesign it at once. By moving the application to the cloud, the business will gain some flexibility in infrastructure while continuing to use the same application.

Nevertheless, there will be no use of cloud-native technologies with rehosting.

When Should You Go for Replatforming?

If an organization does not just want to migrate but also does not need the full redesign of its applications, then replatforming might be a good choice.

In such a case, one can optimize an app in specific aspects while migrating.

Replatforming Is an Optimal Compromise

Many organizations realize that their applications need some adjustments in order to work efficiently in the cloud environment.

Maybe the database should be modernized; maybe the application itself should become more scalable. Possibly your team would like to make the maintenance process easier through the use of managed services.

With replatforming, it is possible to introduce those changes without redesigning the whole application.

Opt for Replatform If Small Changes Can Yield Big Gains

Sometimes, a complete redesign does not yield the best investment.

In cases where several architectural or platform-related changes can lead to performance gains, increased reliability, or better management practices, it is better to consider the option of replatforming.

According to IT Convergence, migration requires thorough analysis on the company’s part, and depending on business and technical needs, companies may need clustering, disaster recovery features, and auto-scaling. Certain features might even require a complete redesign.

And this is a critical point. You should not migrate just because it is modern, but should first determine what problem you need to solve.

When Should You Go for Refactoring?

The choice of refactoring is justified when there is a need for major modernization to enable certain future business plans.

There might be a need to refactor when the current architecture leads to performance issues, scalability problems, updating difficulties, or fails to use certain cloud features properly.

Refactoring Promotes Sustainable Modernization

While a legacy application is capable of running on the cloud as a result of lift-and-shift migration, it doesn't necessarily become cloud-native, scalable, or easy to maintain.

In case of design problems in the existing application, other solutions can bring better results in the long run.

Your development team can modify some elements of the application to make it flexible and scalable.

Refactoring Needs More Time and Effort

Refactoring cannot be performed by moving servers and making configuration changes.

It can require actions such as code analysis, application component redesign, dependency upgrades, integration testing, security improvements, and many more.

These require experts. Moreover, it is quite time-consuming too. 

That's why organizations shouldn't choose refactoring simply due to cloud-native architecture advantages. The benefits of this solution should pay off the effort involved.

A Detailed Comparison

How to Select the Right Migration Strategy?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution in the context of ‘Cloud Rehosting vs Replatforming vs Refactoring’. It would be better to choose a particular strategy depending on the type of your application and the objectives set by the user.

Define Your Priorities and Objectives

Rehosting can be more suitable when there is a great necessity to move from the data center, but replatforming would be more effective. Refactoring can be suitable for those businesses that require scalability and flexibility.

Analyze the Application Thoroughly

The application should be thoroughly analyzed with regard to its age, dependencies, performance issues, architecture, security, and maintainability. While a simple application could just be rehosted, a technically limited system could use replatforming and refactoring.

Consider Your Schedule and Budget

Since refactoring takes more time and effort, as well as requires more investment than other methods, rehosting and replatforming could be the best options for you in case of a strict schedule or tight budget. However, make sure that you take the future into account.

Typical Mistakes You Must Avoid during Migration

Never Consider Just an Infrastructure Move

Moving to the cloud server is there to boost security, performance, and address architectural issues. This is why you are supposed to application and identify the required alterations it needs. 

Do Not Choose Refactoring without a Proper Need

Refactoring often costs resources and time. This is why it is essential for you to have a clear-cut need first; only then should you opt for refactoring.

Consider Other Costs too, Not Just Initial Costs.

You are required to consider the other costs (long-term operational costs) beyond the initial costs. Because sometimes an inexpensive migration might become expensive later on.

Conclusion

Selecting the appropriate cloud migration strategy can influence your application's fate for years to come.

This discussion of ‘Cloud Rehosting vs Replatforming vs Refactoring" is much more than a mere comparison of three terms. That is a question of speed, investments, modernization, and general business value.

Rehosting is a way of migration that will be fast and includes only minor modifications. Replatforming is a migration technique that is a good option for those organizations that are interested in some selective cloud benefits. Refactoring will help to implement deep modernization in case there is a need for drastic changes in the application architecture to meet your future needs.

Assess all your applications, define your business priorities, look through your budget and timeline, and select the most appropriate migration strategy according to your needs. In many cases, it is better to use all three techniques in parallel.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q1. Which is the fastest method of cloud migration?

Rehosting is considered the fastest one because it involves minimal application modifications.

Q2. Is the cost of replatforming lower than that of refactoring?

Replatforming does indeed come with lower costs and less effort for developers than refactoring.

Q3. Do you have to conduct any further research on this matter?

Yes, you do.