Lift and Shift

What Is Lift and Shift?

Lift and shift – also known as rehosting – is a cloud migration strategy where existing applications are moved from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud without significant changes. The application, its dependencies, and configurations are transferred nearly 1:1 to cloud VMs or containers. It is the fastest path to the cloud but doesn't leverage all cloud benefits.

The 6 Rs of Cloud Migration

Lift and shift is one of six common migration strategies known as the "6 Rs":

• Rehosting (Lift and Shift): 1:1 migration without changes
• Replatforming: Minimal adjustments for cloud compatibility (e.g., managed database instead of self-hosted)
• Refactoring: Comprehensive architecture overhaul for cloud-native
• Repurchasing: Switch to a SaaS solution
• Retiring: Decommissioning no longer needed systems
• Retaining: Keeping in the existing environment

When Is Lift and Shift Appropriate?

Advantages

Lift and shift offers the fastest path to the cloud. Migration can happen in weeks instead of months because no application changes are needed. This is particularly valuable with expiring data center contracts, planned site consolidations, or when you want to quickly benefit from cloud fundamentals like backup, disaster recovery, and global networking.

Limitations

A lifted application doesn't use cloud-native features: no auto-scaling, no serverless functions, no managed services. You're essentially running the same architecture – just on rented rather than owned hardware. Costs can even be higher than on-premises if the application isn't optimized for cloud operation.

Best Practices for Lift and Shift

Assessment and Planning

Every migration starts with a thorough application assessment. Identify all dependencies, network requirements, and compliance constraints. Create a migration wave where you start with less critical applications and gain experience before migrating business-critical systems.

Right-Sizing

Use the migration as an opportunity for right-sizing. On-premises servers are often over-provisioned. Cloud VMs can be precisely sized and scaled as needed. Analyze actual resource utilization and choose corresponding instance types.

After Lift and Shift

Lift and shift should not be the end of the cloud journey. Plan incremental modernization from the start. Replace self-managed databases with managed services (RDS, Aurora), use auto-scaling groups, migrate workloads to containers, and evaluate serverless options. This iterative approach – migrate first, then optimize – reduces risk and delivers early cloud benefits.

Lift and Shift for Mid-Market Companies

For mid-market companies, lift and shift is often the pragmatic entry point to the cloud. It requires less expertise than a cloud-native migration and delivers quick results. The key is understanding lift and shift as a first step and planning a modernization roadmap to realize long-term cloud cost benefits.