Cloud Migration Methods

Often referred to as a "lift-and-shift" migration. This option doesn't require code changes and lets you migrate your existing apps to Azure quickly. Each app is migrated as-is to reap the benefits of the cloud without the risk and cost associated with code changes.

Often referred to as "repackaging“, refactoring requires minimal changes to apps so that they can connect to Azure PaaS and use cloud offerings. For example, you could migrate existing apps to Azure App Service or Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). Or, you could refactor relational and non-relational databases into options such as Azure SQL Database Managed Instance, Azure Database for MySQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Azure Cosmos DB.

Rearchitecting for migration focuses on modifying and extending app functionality and the codebase to optimize the app architecture for cloud scalability. For example, you could break down a monolithic application into a group of microservices that work together and scale easily. Or, you could rearchitect relational and non-relational databases to fully managed DBaaS solutions, such as Azure SQL Database Managed Instance, Azure Database for MySQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Azure Cosmos DB.

Rebuild takes things a step further by rebuilding an app from scratch using Azure cloud technologies. For example, you could build greenfield apps with cloud-native technologies like Azure Functions, Azure Al, Azure SQL Database Managed Instance, and Azure Cosmos DB.