Key Takeaways
Cloud solutions enable businesses to scale seamlessly, improve performance, and reduce latency through global server networks.
Cloud migration eliminates the need for maintaining expensive on-premise infrastructure, allowing businesses to pay only for the resources they use.
The global cloud migration services market, valued at $16.90 billion in 2024, is set out to a CAGR of 27.8% from 2025 to 2030, driven by increasing demand for agility.
In 2024, 47% of European businesses struggled with technical feasibility, 46% had trouble comparing costs. The biggest issue when transitioning to the cloud was understanding application dependencies.
Today, everyone seems to want their software in the cloud — a safe and trouble-free place where the sun shines brighter and applications run better. And while most of it is true, cloud migration doesn’t happen overnight. It takes careful planning and flawless execution.
Instead of quietly watching your software ascend to the cloud, you’ll need to actively participate in the process. And thanks to Acropolium’s expertise in cloud computing and software modernization, we created this article to serve as your guide.
In the past 13 years, we’ve helped 76 customers and partners complete over 96 successful cloud migrations. Known as one of the leading cloud developers, we did everything from consulting and auditing to building cloud-based solutions from scratch.
In this post, we’ll share our view on the reasons for moving to the cloud and provide you with a to-do checklist for a successful journey.
What is Cloud Migration?
Cloud migration refers to the transition of a business’s digital assets, applications, and workloads to a cloud-based infrastructure. This shift involves moving operations from on-premises servers to modern cloud environments, including containers, serverless computing, and multi-cloud architectures, enabling greater scalability, security, and cost-efficiency.
Cloud adoption is accelerating, driven by the need for business agility, automation, and hybrid cloud adoption. The global cloud migration services market was valued at USD 16.90 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 27.8% from 2025 to 2030, reflecting the increasing reliance on cloud solutions for operational efficiency and long-term scalability.
Benefits of Moving Software to The Cloud
Migration to the cloud is a critical decision, and it should be informed by the advantages that affect your specific business needs.
Scalability
With an on-premise solution, your IT team would need to contribute time and effort to scale your server’s capacity, and you’d still run into limitations.
Instead, imagine an endless net of remote servers your cloud provider can control at the push of a button, connecting or disconnecting them to meet your changing requirements. This may even happen automatically, without the need for human oversight, which is nice to have when at peak seasons.
Also, relying on your local servers would lead to delays — which today’s users, spoiled by ultra-fast broadband internet, wouldn’t appreciate. Major cloud providers like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have server clusters all around the world, allowing you low-latency access to apps and data anywhere.
Cost Efficiency
When you migrate to the cloud, you no longer own the infrastructure. Since there is no need to upgrade servers or run maintenance, you’ll be able to cut these costs. Also, you won’t have to worry about your expensive server hardware depreciating over time. Buying extra CPUs, memory, and storage probably wasn’t the best investment strategy for your core business anyway.
People create traffic. As user activity goes up and down, with the cloud model, you’re only paying for the resources you’ve used. Conversely, you’d have to sustain the maximum capacity of your in-house data center to account for peak loads at all times.
Enhanced Performance
Cloud providers regularly invest in the latest server tech to stay ahead in this highly competitive market. Top-of-the-line hardware, frequent optimizations, and abundant bandwidth ensure that you get the best performance and the fastest access money can buy.
Again, server sites in different geographical zones are excellent for reducing latency, and cloud — notably SaaS migration — is the only way to achieve that.
Access to AI & Emerging Technologies
Modern cloud environments are designed for seamless integration with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), big data analytics, and automation tools. Cloud providers offer AI-powered services, including predictive analytics, natural language processing, and intelligent automation, enabling businesses to enhance decision-making.
Robust Security
Having your apps perform blazingly fast is a major selling point, but what about the safety of your data? Storing files to a local repository was giving you a sense of security and control, but now you’ll be relying on a third party.
Cloud vendors take security very seriously, adhering to higher data security standards. Also, cloud architecture mandates having redundant servers, taking periodic snapshots, and making multiple backups of your apps and data.
Regulatory Compliance
Leading cloud providers support compliance with industry-specific regulations, including GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001. By partnering with established vendors, businesses benefit from pre-configured security measures and legal frameworks that address regulatory requirements, reducing the burden of compliance management.
Remote Work Convenience
Cloud migration facilitates seamless remote work by providing secure, on-demand access to business applications from any location. With cloud-hosted solutions, employees can collaborate in real-time, access company data across devices, and maintain productivity without relying on physical office infrastructure.
Increased Agility
Cloud environments enable businesses to rapidly deploy, scale, and iterate new applications and services. This way, companies reduce dependency on legacy infrastructure, exploring new technologies and responding to market demands faster.
What is a Cloud Migration Strategy?
A cloud migration strategy defines the general approach and the particular steps needed to move your software and data to the cloud. Choosing the best strategy requires thoroughly assessing your current software and hardware situation, finding pain points, and formulating the objectives you intend to achieve.
The effects of a poor cloud migration strategy on your business can vary from not getting any performance improvement to suffering financial losses and reputational damage. For instance, if you move your applications to the cloud but keep the databases running on outdated tech, it will defeat the purpose of the migration.
Addressing these technical nuances is critical for a successful migration, particularly when transitioning legacy software to advanced cloud architectures such as serverless computing, containers, and multi-cloud environments. We’ll explore these challenges in depth, but first, let’s examine the most widely adopted cloud migration strategies.
Top 6 Cloud Migration Strategies
Now, we’ll focus on the three main migration scenarios and give a brief overview of the remaining subtypes at the end of the section.
Rehosting
Often referred to as “lift-and-shift,” this approach requires the least effort and funding out of the three. Your apps and databases are moved from on-premise to cloud servers with minimum changes — just enough to get them working in the new environment.
The rehosting strategy works well for companies that are only starting their cloud migration journey. It’s a great way to dip your toes in cloud computing without going too deep. However, you might not fully experience the benefits of the transition since neither your software nor your data are optimized for cloud services.
Replatforming
This fancy word marks the middle ground in the cloud migration land. Many consider replatforming to have the ideal price/performance ratio since it allows an organization to enjoy many perks of the cloud at a reasonable cost.
Replatformed apps and data repositories do a better job of utilizing cloud services — due to the changes in their code or the way they’re used.
Example: instead of simply moving an app and its database to the cloud untouched, the database is set up as a service and then connected to the app. This results in better performance since the software now natively uses cloud architecture for transferring data.
Refactoring
Migrating legacy software to the cloud can be a real challenge. More often than not, it was never intended for use in the cloud, so it needs to be redesigned internally. Refactoring offers just that: making significant structural changes to the code without altering its behavior. It goes without saying that software development expertise is a prerequisite for this approach.
It may take a little longer to migrate software to the cloud via refactoring, but the result is worth the wait. What you get is a fully functioning solution with no crutches to hold it upright. The software and data components are adapted to the cloud architecture and can take full advantage of the multitude of available services.
It’s essentially a full-fledged software development project. You will need your internal IT team working at full capacity — or outsource to a dedicated team with relevant expertise.
Rebuilding
In some extreme cases, the original legacy software cannot be imported to the cloud as-is, replatformed, or refactored. That’s where a team of engineers steps in and builds a modern copy of the app from the ground up.
Repurchasing
Sometimes it’s cheaper to migrate to another software solution altogether, one that is designed to work in the cloud, than trying to revive the old one. Retiring. This is a sub-strategy that can be part of any cloud migration approach. In essence, it boils down to dropping certain apps or functionality that is no longer relevant to prevent wasting resources.
Retaining
A hybrid strategy, this one involves keeping some of your legacy software on-premise due to its specificity or inadequate costs of adapting it for the cloud.
Cloud to cloud transfer. Another useful approach, cloud-to-cloud migration is a simple change of providers because some crucial features are missing or there are simply better options. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft offer migration tools built into their solutions.
Their features range from identifying potential issues and tracking progress to data migration tools and more. Some of them are included in the subscription, while using most will cost you extra.
Choosing the correct migration strategy is a complex decision influenced by multiple factors. However, it will be one of many steps you’ll take on your way to the cloud.
Key Steps of Cloud Migration
With over a decade of Acropolium’s work with cloud solutions, our clients never have to take this journey on their own. We consult and guide them along the way, helping set the right goals and providing the best tools for achieving them.
That being said, we can guarantee that below is professional advice from a reliable IT partner.
Define Your Objectives
What exactly are you looking to accomplish with the move to cloud computing? What are your priorities?
The answers to these questions will influence your choices and justify your investment. Define critical metrics like latency, load times, conversion rates, etc., so you have a baseline to compare against later.
Choose and Audit Software for Migration
Say you’re running a proprietary marketing automation system that has unique features and performs relatively well. It could be a good idea to let it be and turn to other, more pressing matters.
Some businesses choose to start slow, first migrating software that has a low impact on their workflow. This is a good game plan to get the hang of the process and a taste of the result.
However, this scenario is unlikely to play out well for a larger enterprise, where cloud migration must tackle issues head-on. Under professional supervision, of course.
Prioritize Data
Healthy practices of moving data to the cloud are just as important as reformatting your apps. What good is a cloud-based solution if it still manages data internally instead of relying on advanced cloud data services?
Identify Integration Strategy
The selection of your cloud migration strategy starts here. Whether you want shallow or deep integration with the cloud environment, make sure you’re playing the long game. You don’t want to go through a complete makeover a few years from now.
Select a Cloud Environment
You have three cloud deployment models to choose from:
Public. A third-party vendor owns this type of public cloud ecosystem. Its services are available to anyone willing to pay the subscription fees. Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform are the three largest players in the public cloud arena.
Private. A cloud is owned by an organization and is not accessible to the wide public. It’s a standard choice for banks and government entities due to security concerns and customization possibilities. Oracle, IBM, and Dell provide such cloud services.
Hybrid or multi-cloud. A combination of the two options listed above, this alternative model adds extra privacy and security to the benefits of public cloud solutions.
Allocate Resources
Planning the budget and securing funds in advance will ensure a smooth and hassle-free transition.
While migrating software products to the cloud takes the load off your local infrastructure, you’ll likely need a better connection to accommodate the increase in traffic. Make sure to get the requirements ahead, so you have ample time to upgrade your network equipment and/or make arrangements with your internet provider.
Migrate, Test & Monitor
Replicate your data, migrate your applications, set up the necessary cloud services, and run the software in the new environment. Then, measure against your baseline KPIs, identify possible bottlenecks, and plan corrective actions.
Pull the Plug
Now that you have a stable cloud-based system, it’s time to stop using your old servers and redirect traffic to your new cloud solution. And last but not least, a short overview of the typical pitfalls you may encounter on the road to the cloud.
Cloud Migration Challenges & How to Avoid Them
Building a holistic cloud migration strategy is impossible without accounting for possible failures. In 2024, European businesses identified three major roadblocks: 47% struggled with assessing technical feasibility, 46% faced difficulties in comparing on-premises vs. cloud costs, and the biggest challenge was understanding application dependencies.
Here are some of the main cloud migration challenges we’ve come across so far:
Legacy software. Written in prehistoric code, sluggish and generally obsolete, such software isn’t worth the effort needed to refactor or rebuild it. The best option here is to finally switch to a modern solution that’s more compatible with cloud services.
Dependencies and compatibility. Today’s applications have multiple dependencies that need to be mapped onto the cloud services during migration. When this isn’t done correctly, lags or even crashes may occur. Hiring the right talent to do the job.
Data losses or leaks. The only way to prevent such incidents is by adopting healthy data management practices. Using a VPN and data encryption during the initial transfer to the cloud is a good place to start.
Team’s lack of expertise. It’s not uncommon for in-house IT talent to lack the skills needed for a task as complex as cloud migration. Hiring an outside consultant experienced in multi/single tenant architectures or bringing in dedicated developers can be the way out.
How Acropolium Ensures Seamless Cloud Migrations
With a solid background in cloud solutions, Acropolium has successfully guided businesses across industries through seamless cloud transformations. Our expertise extends beyond simply executing migrations — we take a strategic, business-first approach, ensuring that every transition aligns with our clients’ long-term goals.
We proactively assess business needs, identify key migration objectives, and craft tailored cloud strategies that balance scalability, security, and cost efficiency.
Whether it’s rehosting legacy systems, replatforming applications for improved cloud performance, or fully refactoring software for cloud-native capabilities, our team is equipped to handle projects of any complexity. And real-life cases from our extensive portfolio are living proof:
Enterprise construction management tool that increased client loyalty by 42%, with client base growing by 22% annually.
Bespoke emergency software development that can easily integrate with ERPs and other essential instruments.
Email migration solution with IT costs reduced by 46% and reporting times reduced by 86%.
Final thoughts
Migrating to the cloud is a transformative decision that requires a well-structured strategy to maximize efficiency, security, and cost savings. Expert guidance is irreplaceable to navigate complexities, mitigate risks, and optimize the migration process. And the same goes for choosing the right strategy for long-term scalability and resilience.
Partnering with Amazon AWS since 2009, working with Microsoft Azure since 2011, and deploying DigitalOcean since 2013 has given us a deep understanding and vast knowledge of cloud technologies. We’re ready to apply our competence, helping you achieve your goals within tight timelines.
Get in touch today, and let’s start migrating your business to the cloud tomorrow.
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