Cloud Migration for Application Portfolio Optimisation

Learn how cloud migration fits into your application portfolio strategy. Evaluate which applications to move to the cloud, which to keep on-premises, and how to execute a successful transition.

Cloud as a Portfolio Optimisation Lever

Why Cloud Matters for APR

Cloud migration isn't just about infrastructure—it's a portfolio optimisation opportunity. Moving applications to the cloud can reduce costs, improve scalability, enhance security, and enable integrations that weren't possible with on-premises deployments.

Portfolio Benefits of Cloud Migration:

Convert capital expenditure to operational expenditure
Eliminate infrastructure maintenance for migrated applications
Access built-in high availability and disaster recovery
Enable modern integrations through cloud APIs
Scale resources dynamically with business demand
Improve security posture through cloud provider investments

Cloud Migration and the TIME Framework

Invest: Migrate strategic applications to cloud for scalability and innovation
Tolerate: Consider rehosting to reduce infrastructure burden
Migrate: Cloud SaaS alternatives often exist for legacy applications
Eliminate: Cloud migration analysis may reveal applications worth retiring

Assessing Cloud Readiness

Application Suitability Factors

Good Candidates for Cloud Migration:

Web-based applications with standard architectures
Applications with variable workloads (peak/off-peak)
Collaboration tools benefiting from anywhere access
Applications with heavy integration requirements
Data-intensive applications needing scalable storage

Challenging Candidates:

Applications with strict data residency requirements
Real-time processing with ultra-low latency needs
Applications with legacy dependencies (specific OS, hardware)
Highly regulated applications requiring on-premises control
Applications with large data volumes and expensive egress

Cloud Deployment Models

Public Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP):

Lowest cost for most SME workloads
Broadest set of managed services
Best for SaaS adoption and modern applications
Concerns: data sovereignty, vendor lock-in

Private Cloud (On-Premises or Hosted):

Maximum control and customisation
Best for highly regulated industries
Higher cost but dedicated resources
Concerns: capital expense, maintenance burden

Hybrid Cloud:

Best of both worlds for mixed portfolios
Keep sensitive workloads on-premises, migrate the rest
Flexible approach for phased migration
Concerns: complexity, integration overhead

Cloud Migration Strategies (The 6 Rs)

Rehost (Lift and Shift)

Move applications as-is to cloud infrastructure.

Speed: Fast (weeks)
Cost savings: 10-20% infrastructure reduction
Best for: Quick wins, buying time

Replatform (Lift and Reshape)

Make targeted optimisations during migration.

Speed: Moderate (weeks-months)
Cost savings: 20-35% infrastructure reduction
Best for: Databases, middleware upgrades

Repurchase (Drop and Shop)

Replace with cloud-native SaaS alternatives.

Speed: Moderate (depends on data migration)
Cost savings: Variable, often significant
Best for: CRM, HR, ERP, collaboration tools

Refactor (Re-architect)

Rebuild applications for cloud-native architecture.

Speed: Slow (months)
Cost savings: 30-50% long-term
Best for: Strategic applications needing scalability

Retain

Keep on-premises for now.

When: Compliance, latency, or migration risk too high
Plan: Reassess quarterly as cloud services evolve

Retire

Decommission instead of migrating.

When: Application no longer needed or redundant
Savings: Immediate infrastructure cost elimination

Cost Analysis for Cloud Migration

True Cloud Cost Calculation

Monthly Cloud Costs:

Compute instances (VMs, containers, serverless)
Storage (block, object, archival)
Networking (data transfer, load balancing, VPN)
Database services (managed vs. self-managed)
Monitoring and management tools
Security services and compliance tools

Often Overlooked Costs:

Data egress charges for large data transfers
Reserved instance commitment requirements
Staff training and certification
Migration project costs (one-time)
Potential remediation for cloud compatibility

Cost Comparison Framework

| Cost Category | On-Premises | Cloud | |--------------|-------------|-------| | Infrastructure hardware | ₹/year | ₹0 | | Cloud compute and storage | ₹0 | ₹/year | | IT staff for maintenance | ₹/year | ₹/year (reduced) | | Software licensing | ₹/year | ₹/year | | Disaster recovery | ₹/year | ₹/year (included) | | Total | ₹___ | ₹___ |

Migration Execution Plan

Phase 1: Assessment and Planning (Weeks 1-4)

Categorise all applications by migration strategy
Calculate cost projections for each approach
Prioritise migration order (quick wins first)
Design target cloud architecture
Plan data migration approach

Phase 2: Pilot Migration (Weeks 5-8)

Migrate 2-3 low-risk applications first
Validate performance and functionality
Refine migration playbook
Train IT team on cloud operations
Establish monitoring and alerting

Phase 3: Bulk Migration (Months 3-6)

Execute migrations in prioritised batches
Run parallel environments during transition
Validate each migration before decommissioning
Train users on any changes
Optimise cloud resource allocation

Phase 4: Optimisation (Ongoing)

Right-size cloud resources based on actual usage
Implement cost management and alerting
Leverage reserved instances for stable workloads
Adopt cloud-native services for better efficiency
Continuous improvement of cloud operations

Cloud migration is one of the most impactful actions you can take in an application portfolio rationalisation programme. By strategically moving the right applications to the right cloud model, you unlock cost savings, improved capabilities, and a more agile technology foundation.