• Login
    • Proximity
    • ClearDB
    • ServiceNow
    • NaviVue
      (Formerly Velocity Zoom)
    • Privo Service Desk
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Login
    • Proximity
    • ClearDB
    • ServiceNow
    • NaviVue
      (Formerly Velocity Zoom)
    • Privo Service Desk
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Industries
    • Cannabis
    • Healthcare
    • Life Sciences
    • Manufacturing
    • ISV/SaaS
  • Services
    • Application Services
      • Oracle
      • SAP
      • Microsoft
      • Infor
      • Salesforce
      • Custom Application Development
    • Cloud Marketplaces
      • AWS
      • Azure
      • Heroku
    • Cloud Services
      • AWS
      • Google Cloud
      • Microsoft Azure
      • Oracle Cloud
      • Cloud Migration
      • Cloud Optimization
      • Cloud DevOps
      • Virtual Desktops
    • Data Intelligence & Automation
      • Business Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • CPM
      • Data Architecture & Design
      • Predictive Analytics & AI
      • Robotic Process Automation
      • SAP Analytics
    • Database Services
      • Managed DBA
      • SAP HANA
      • Database Refactoring
      • Database as a Service
    • Infrastructure Services
      • Managed Hosting
      • IBM i Power Systems (AS/400)
      • Colocation
      • Disaster Recovery
    • Security Services
      • Advisory Services
      • Managed Security Services
      • Virtual CISO
    • Supply Chain
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Resource Center
    • Events
    • Case Studies
  • Partners
    • AWS
    • Google
    • Microsoft
    • Oracle
    • Salesforce
    • SAP
    • ServiceNow
    • Stripe
  • Company
    • About
    • NaviVerse
    • Careers
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Press Releases
    • Awards & Recognition
    • Trust & Transparency
    • #NaviGivesBack
    • Contact

When Database Refactoring Is a Smart Decision

Peter Berry
  • All Posts
  • News
  • Events
  • Tips
  • Insights
  • Spotlight
  • Company

If you’re reading this post, my guess is you’ve made the decision to migrate your on-premises databases to the cloud, and now it’s a matter of choosing the right approach. This is where the conversation inevitably comes down to a “rehost vs. refactor” dilemma.

Quite often, rehosting wins the day. And it’s not hard to see why. Rehosting or “lift and shift” replicates existing databases in the public cloud with minimal to no change to the underlying code. There are several instances where we would recommend this approach and, ostensibly (to many), it’s the least risky, faster option of the two. No brainer, right?

Refactoring, on the other hand, tends to stir up concerns. This is where you move entirely off the on-premise database to an open-source platform in the public cloud. More often than not, companies choose against refactoring not because it’s the wrong approach—but because it’s a skill outside their areas of expertise. They’re simply not comfortable with it. Or, perhaps there is a lingering negative perception that no one takes the time to examine further. Without a full understanding, this option gets ruled out faster than you can say….well, cloud migration.

While refactoring has its challenges, it’s also the only migration method that will allow you to take full advantage of cloud-native features and other cost-savings benefits. So, before settling on a decision, it’s worth taking a moment to assess what you’re hoping to gain in the cloud.

From my perspective, there are three compelling reasons why refactoring may be the smarter choice—one that justifies going the extra mile to make happen:

You eliminate vendor lock-in.

There’s no way around it: Once you have a legacy database running on-premises, particularly if it’s tied to a core business process, there’s no easy way to get off of it. The move can consume significant time, resources and budget. Knowing this, legacy database vendors charge high annual licensing and support fees. Consider Oracle: in addition to exorbitant licensing fees, their annual support costs are, on average, 22% of the spend on licensing costs. And, the older your hardware and software get, the more expensive the support becomes.

But cloud computing is changing this dynamic. By refactoring your on-premises databases for an open-source public cloud alternative, such as MySQL or PostgreSQL, you can move offer your legacy database altogether and eliminate vendor lock-in.

If breaking free from the constraints imposed by your database provider is a goal, then refactoring should definitely be top of mind.

You can significantly lower costs.

Cost is a sticking point—and it should be. But it’s important to take a long view when weighing your options. There’s no doubt that refactoring will far exceed what you’ll initially spend on a “lift and shift” migration, but that’s only one component of the cost equation.

When you consider the savings gained by eliminating costly legacy vendor contracts and getting out of the data center game (hardware, labor, capacity planning, etc.)—it doesn’t take long for your year-over-year legacy infrastructure expenses to surpass the upfront cost of a refactoring project.

Additionally, the cloud enables you to move to an OpEx (operational expenditure) model built on monthly consumption-based pricing. In other words, you’ll only pay for the cloud infrastructure you use, when you use it. This gets you out of the CapEx (capital expenditure) model of paying for more infrastructure than you need because you’re trying to anticipate future capacity requirements.

You can accelerate innovation.

Upgrading on-premises infrastructure is labor-intensive and time-consuming—it can take weeks and months for upgrades to finish. Open-source databases, on the other hand, are designed for innovation—because so many people are adding features to them every day—and development cycles are much faster (typically every month vs. the 18-to-24-month cycle of a proprietary database). Additionally, cloud providers are continually improving their underlying infrastructure, so you’ll always be running on the latest and greatest systems without having to do any of the upgrades yourself.

By refactoring onto an open-source database in the public cloud, you can take full advantage of modern hardware and cloud-native features, such as enhanced performance, scalability, fast provisioning and dynamic disaster recovery. If your goal is to drive innovation, then refactoring is a key strategy for getting there in the cloud.

To learn more, check out our new eBook: 5 Database Refactoring Misconceptions…Busted! – which highlights five of the most common misconceptions about refactoring and the reality behind them, so you can determine whether this option is right for your business.

And, as always, please reach out to us at hello@navisite.com, if you’d like to find out how Navisite can help you with your cloud migration project.

You May Also Like

Cassandra as distributed NoSQL cloud database across multiple data centers

Blog
by Megan Ferringer  

Database High Availability in Azure

Blog
by Megan Ferringer  
About the Author
Peter Berry
Peter Berry

Peter is the CTO of cloud technologies at Navisite, leading the technical vision and development of our managed cloud services portfolio to support the migration and optimization of customer environments in the cloud. His expertise spans infrastructure and cloud technologies, and he brings over 20 years of project and technical leadership experience across industries and in the public sector. Prior to joining Navisite as the director of AWS solutions, he was the co-founder and CTO of clckwrk, a London-based AWS migration specialist and consulting partner that was acquired by Navisite in 2019. As part of the founding team at clckwrk, Peter was instrumental in building a successful business helping global enterprises throughout Europe and North America migrate Oracle and other enterprise applications into the public cloud.

Categories

  • Blog
  • Cloud
  • Events
  • Insights
  • News
  • Spotlight
  • Tips

About Us

Navisite is a trusted IT services partner for mid-market and smaller enterprise companies. We help our customers maximize business value and accelerate digital transformation with a comprehensive portfolio of enterprise application, data management, security and managed cloud services.

Follow Us & Share

Press Releases

  • Navisite SAP Services for Cannabis Wins 2023 BIG Innovation Award
    January 11, 2023
  • Information Services Group (ISG) Names Navisite a Leader in Public Cloud – Solutions & Services 2022 U.S. Report
    December 8, 2022
  • Navisite President and Chief Transformation Officer Wins 2022 Stevie® Award for Women in Business
    November 16, 2022
  • Navisite Wins Gold Globee® in the 12th Annual 2022 Business Excellence Awards
    October 13, 2022
  • Navisite Expands ‘Next Steminist’ Scholarship Program to India
    October 5, 2022
  • Navisite Appoints Jason Zolczynski as Vice President of Oracle Applications
    September 29, 2022
Industry News: Aug. 31-Sept. 4 – Cutting Cloud Costs, IT Budget Priorities and Microsoft Takes on Deepfakes
by Megan Ferringer  
            Previous Post
Weekly Cloud Provider News – AWS Provisioned IOPS, AWS Cost and Usage Reports, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Migrate and Google Cloud API Gateway
by Tom Monk  
Next Post      

Industries

  • Cannabis
  • Healthcare
  • Life Sciences
  • Manufacturing
  • ISV/SaaS

Services

  • Application Services
  • Cloud Marketplaces
  • Cloud Services
  • Data Intelligence & Automation
  • Database Services
  • Infrastructure Services
  • Security Services
  • Supply Chain

Resources

  • Blog
  • Resource Center
  • Events
  • Case Studies

Partners

  • AWS
  • Google
  • Microsoft
  • Oracle
  • Salesforce
  • SAP
  • Service Now
  • Stripe

Company

  • About
  • NaviVerse
  • Careers
  • Leadership
  • News
  • Press Releases
  • Awards & Recognition
  • Trust & Transparency
  • #NaviGivesBack
  • Contact
  • Modern Slavery
We use cookies
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Cookies
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT