Replatforming
The process of migrating an application to a new platform with minimal changes to its architecture.
Description
Replatforming is a common strategy in cloud migration where organizations move applications to a new environment, such as AWS, while making necessary adjustments to optimize performance and utilize cloud-native features. Unlike refactoring, which involves significant changes to the application’s codebase, replatforming retains much of the original architecture but may involve modifying the underlying infrastructure or services to take full advantage of cloud capabilities. For instance, a company may shift its on-premises application to AWS, moving from a traditional database to Amazon RDS for improved scalability and management. This approach allows businesses to enhance application performance, reduce operational costs, and accelerate deployment processes without the complexity of a complete rewrite. Replatforming can help organizations achieve quicker time-to-market and leverage AWS services like elasticity, automation, and advanced security features.
Examples
- A retail company moves its e-commerce application from on-premises servers to AWS, adopting Amazon Aurora for database management to enhance performance during peak shopping seasons.
- A healthcare provider replatforms its patient management system to AWS, utilizing Amazon ECS for container orchestration to improve deployment speed and resource utilization.
Additional Information
- Replatforming is often seen as a middle ground between 'lift-and-shift' migrations and full application re-architecting.
- It allows organizations to quickly adopt cloud technologies while minimizing the risk associated with extensive code changes.