Cloud Migration Strategies: The 6 Rs

Short summary

This article explains the 6 Rs framework for cloud migration: rehost (lift-and-shift), replatform (minor optimizations), repurchase (switch to SaaS), refactor (re-architect for cloud), retire (decommission), and retain (keep on-prem). Each strategy is evaluated by effort versus payoff, with practical guidance on assigning the right R per workload. The author recommends running a discovery pass first to identify retire/retain candidates, noting 10-20% of apps are typically unused.

• •6 Rs framework: rehost, replatform, repurchase, refactor, retire, retain — each trading effort against cloud-native payoff
• •Core insight: migration is per-application, not portfolio-wide; 10-20% of apps can be retired before migrating
• •Practical guidance on matching strategy to workload characteristics and constraints

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