What is Rehosting (Lift Shift)?
Rehosting, also known as “Lift Shift”, is a fundamental cloud migration method. It involves moving existing applications and workloads from a local IT environment (on-premises) to the cloud with virtually no changes. Unlike more complex approaches such as refactoring or re-architecting, neither the application code nor the architecture is significantly modified. The goal is a fast, low-risk move to the cloud with minimal effort.
Rehosting Definition: What does "Lift Shift" mean?
Rehosting refers to “lifting and shifting” existing systems into a cloud infrastructure. Applications are technically adopted almost unchanged. This makes this cloud migration strategy particularly attractive for companies that want to benefit from the scalability, flexibility and cost advantages of a cloud in the short term.
When is rehosting used?
The Lift Shift method is mainly used when:
- Legacy systems need to be migrated to the cloud quickly.
- There is time pressure and a new development or extensive adaptation is not possible.
- Companies want to gain initial cloud experience before tackling more complex optimizations such as re-platforming or refactoring.
Advantages of Rehosting (Lift Shift)
- Fast implementation: Applications can be migrated without major delays.
- Cost efficiency: Lower initial investment compared to more complex cloud migration methods.
- Minimal change requirement: Existing systems function in the cloud as before.
- Immediate use of cloud benefits such as flexible scaling and pay-as-you-go pricing models.
Disadvantages and challenges
The simplicity of Lift Shift migrations also has its limitations:
- No cloud optimization: Applications often do not take full advantage of cloud-native services.
- Higher operating costs are possible in the long term because resources are used inefficiently.
- Compatibility issues can occur with systems that are not cloud-enabled without adaptation.
Conclusion
Rehosting (“Lift Shift”) is the fastest and easiest cloud migration method. It is therefore particularly suitable for companies that want to move applications to the cloud at short notice and immediately benefit from cloud advantages. However, for a sustainable cloud strategy, rehosting should only be the first step. Optimizations are then necessary to exploit the full potential of cloud technologies.
