Replatforming applications means transitioning them to the cloud and making essential updates to take advantage of cloud-native features. Unlike simple lift-and-shift migrations, replatforming optimizes applications to align better with cloud infrastructure, improving performance and scalability.
For businesses striving to stay competitive, this approach can prove to be indispensable, as it carefully balances cost-efficiency with the need for greater agility and reliability. In this article, the main steps of replatforming are reviewed to help your organization maximize the benefits of cloud technology.
Assessing the Current State
Assessing the current state of your application is an important step in replatforming. A thorough audit reveals how the application functions within its existing environment, helping to identify any performance bottlenecks and limitations that could hinder future growth.
It can help you find any areas for improvement while also uncovering opportunities for optimization. Gathering user feedback provides valuable insights into how the application meets—or falls short of—user expectations, empowering you to make decisions that align the replatforming effort with business goals and user needs.
Prioritize Features and Desired Improvements
Prioritizing features during replatforming is essential to aligning your efforts with business goals and user expectations. By focusing on features that directly support strategic objectives, you can enhance the application’s overall value and keep your efforts on track.
The three common goals driving replatforming—speed, security, and scalability—should guide your decision-making so that the replatformed application meets the demands of today’s environment while positioning your business for future growth.
Choosing the Right Platform
Choosing the most suitable platform to go with is essential and foundational to the replatforming process. Take the time to carefully evaluate potential platforms by aligning potential candidates with your specific business requirements, focusing on how well they support your operational goals.
Some important factors, such as scalability, cost-effectiveness, and available support services, all play a significant role in this decision. A thorough analysis will help you make an educated choice that meets your organization’s current needs while positioning your organization to adapt and grow going forward.
Planning the Migration
Having a clear migration plan in place is essential for successfully replatforming your application or site. Clearly defining each step of the process in detail helps to minimize risks and keep the project on track. You should establish realistic timelines and milestones to help keep the project on time and on track.
Effectively allocating resources for the migration involves assigning the right tasks to the right people so that you’re leveraging expertise in the most efficient way. With this strategic approach, the migration stays organized, aligned with business goals, and on budget.
Ensuring Data Integrity and Security
You need accurate data preparation to prevent issues during the migration process. Conducting data mapping and cleaning is essential to ensure that your data aligns with the new platform’s requirements. You should implement secure data migration strategies to keep sensitive information secure during the process.
Maintaining compliance with security and regulatory standards isn’t optional; it’s a necessary step to protect your organization from potential risks and liabilities. If you don’t properly prioritize these elements, it can result in several significant consequences to your business’s reputation.
Developing and Testing the New Platform
Now that you’ve established data integrity and security strategies, you should set up your new application environment to fully leverage the cloud’s capabilities. Thorough testing—covering functional, performance, and security aspects—is a key step to confirm the platform meets your business needs.
As you review the test results, you can make iterative adjustments to refine the platform so that it operates smoothly and efficiently.
Training and Change Management
Creating clear and thorough documentation is essential to guide your team through the new platform’s features and processes. Providing effective training sessions will be instrumental in helping both users and stakeholders adapt to your new system swiftly and confidently.
To manage change and maintain a smooth transition, try to focus on clear communication and support, addressing concerns and feedback throughout the process.
Executing the Migration
When it’s time to perform the actual migration, try to focus on managing the process with minimal disruption to your operations.
Through careful planning and coordination, you can accomplish this goal with minimal disruption to your business. You should also engage in real-time monitoring during the migration so you can handle any problems as they arise.
After the migration, validate its success by thoroughly checking that everything functions as expected to help maintain a smooth transition to the new platform.
Post-Migration Activities
After the migration, post-migration testing and validation are essential to confirm that everything is functioning as intended. Gathering feedback from users will provide valuable insights into how the new platform is performing and where adjustments might be needed.
Ongoing performance monitoring should be a priority, allowing you to optimize the platform continuously so that it continues to meet your business objectives and supports long-term growth.
Consulting With The Experts in Replatforming
In replatforming, the steps you take—from assessing your current application to post-migration activities—are all important to the broader success of the process. Careful planning and execution at every stage help you maximize the benefits that come with moving to the cloud.
As you consider replatforming, take a proactive approach to help keep your business competitive and agile in the face of new technologies and strong competition.
If you’re looking into replatforming solutions for your business, Orases offers expert consultation to help make even the most challenging replatforming project a seamless experience. Set up your online consultation or contact us at 1.301.756.5527 to get started today.
