Modernizing and Managing Your Digital Assets: A Guide to Outsourcing Application Migration and Managed Application Services

Businesses run on applications. Over time, these applications can become outdated, expensive to maintain, and a barrier to innovation. Application Migration is the process of moving these applications to modern environments, most often the cloud. After migration, Managed Application Services ensure these applications are operated, optimized, and supported effectively. Both migration and management are complex processes that require specialized expertise. As a result, many companies outsource these critical functions to expert partners. This guide provides a complete overview of Application Migration and Managed Application Services. It explains each service, details the business benefits of outsourcing, and provides a clear roadmap for selecting the right partners to modernize your technology and manage it for long-term success.

Part 1: Application Migration Services – Moving to a Modern Foundation

The first step in modernizing a company's technology is often moving its applications from old, on-premise servers to a new environment. Application Migration is the project of relocating an application from one infrastructure to another. Today, this most commonly means migrating an application to a public cloud platform like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

What is Application Migration?

Application migration is a complex technical project. It involves much more than simply copying and pasting code. A successful migration requires careful planning, deep technical knowledge, and thorough testing to ensure the application works correctly and performs better in its new environment. The primary goal is to improve agility, scalability, and security while reducing infrastructure costs.

There are several common strategies for application migration, often called the "6 R's of Migration":

• Rehosting (Lift and Shift): This is the most straightforward approach. The application and its data are moved to the new environment with minimal changes. It is fast but may not take full advantage of cloud-native features.
• Replatforming (Lift and Reshape): This involves making some small optimizations to the application during the migration process to take advantage of cloud capabilities. For example, moving from a self-managed database to a managed cloud database service.
• Repurchasing (Drop and Shop): This involves retiring the old application and moving to a new, cloud-native commercial software product, often a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution.
• Refactoring / Rearchitecting: This is the most complex approach. It involves significantly redesigning or rewriting parts of the application to be fully cloud-native. This approach yields the greatest benefits in terms of performance and scalability but requires the most effort.
• Retiring: This involves identifying applications that are no longer needed by the business and decommissioning them completely. This reduces complexity and cost.
• Retaining: This strategy involves leaving some applications where they are, often because they are difficult to move or are still highly effective in their current environment.

A migration project often involves a mix of these strategies applied to different applications within a company's portfolio.

Why Outsource Application Migration?

Application migration is a high-stakes, one-time project for most companies. It carries significant risks if not executed properly, including data loss, extended downtime, and security vulnerabilities.

1. Access to Certified Cloud Expertise: Migration partners, especially those who are official partners of AWS, Azure, or GCP, have teams of certified cloud architects and engineers. They have deep, proven expertise in designing and executing complex cloud migrations. This level of expertise is very difficult and expensive to build in-house for a one-time project.
2. Reduced Risk of Downtime and Data Loss: Experienced migration partners have well-defined methodologies and use specialized tools to minimize risks. They have performed hundreds of migrations and know how to anticipate and avoid common pitfalls. This ensures a smoother, safer transition with minimal disruption to your business operations.
3. Faster Time to Value: An expert partner can plan and execute a migration much faster than an inexperienced internal team. Their established processes, automation scripts, and project management discipline accelerate the entire project. This means your business can start realizing the benefits of the cloud, such as improved performance and lower costs, much sooner.
4. Strategic Guidance on the Best Approach: A good migration partner does not just move your applications. They act as a strategic advisor. They will help you assess your application portfolio and choose the right migration strategy (from the 6 R's) for each application. This ensures you get the most value from your cloud investment.
5. Cost Optimization: While a migration project is an investment, an expert partner can actually help you save money in the long run. They will design a cloud environment that is optimized for cost and will help you avoid common mistakes that lead to unexpectedly high cloud bills.

How to Choose an Application Migration Partner

• Check for Cloud Partner Status: Look for a partner that has an official, high-level partnership with the cloud provider you plan to use (e.g., AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner, Microsoft Azure Expert MSP). This is a strong signal of verified expertise.
• Evaluate Their Migration Methodology: Ask them to explain their migration process in detail. They should have a structured methodology that includes phases for discovery, assessment, planning, migration, and validation.
• Review Their Case Studies and References: Look for case studies that detail successful migration projects for companies of a similar size and industry to yours. Speak directly with their references about their experience.
• Assess Their Security and Compliance Expertise: Your partner must have deep knowledge of cloud security best practices and experience with any compliance regulations (like HIPAA or PCI DSS) that apply to your business.
• Understand Their Project Management Approach: They should provide a dedicated project manager and a clear plan for communication and reporting throughout the project.

Leading Companies for Application Migration Services

1. Rackspace Technology: A leading multi-cloud solutions expert. Rackspace specializes in planning, executing, and managing complex cloud migrations for businesses of all sizes. They are a top-tier partner with AWS, Azure, and GCP.
2. Deloitte: As a major global consulting firm, Deloitte's Cloud Engineering practice handles large-scale cloud migration and modernization projects for enterprise clients, combining technical execution with high-level business strategy.
3. ScienceSoft: An IT consulting and software development company with a strong practice in cloud migration. They offer end-to-end migration services and are a good option for mid-sized companies looking to modernize their custom applications.
4. Bespin Global: A born-in-the-cloud Managed Service Provider with a global presence. They are highly specialized in cloud migration and management, holding top-tier partner status with AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Part 2: Managed Application Services – Operating with Excellence in the Cloud

After an application has been migrated to the cloud, the work shifts from a one-time project to ongoing operations. Managed Application Services provide the day-to-day management, support, and optimization needed to run applications effectively in their new environment. This service is often provided by a Managed Service Provider (MSP).

What are Managed Application Services?

Managed Application Services is a comprehensive outsourcing model where a business entrusts the ongoing operation of its applications to a third-party provider. The MSP takes on the full responsibility for ensuring the applications are available, secure, and performing optimally. This is a proactive service that goes far beyond simple, reactive support.

The scope of Managed Application Services typically includes:

• 24/7/365 Infrastructure and Application Monitoring: Using advanced tools to constantly monitor the health of the cloud infrastructure and the performance of the applications running on it.
• Proactive Incident Management and Resolution: Identifying and fixing problems, often before users are even aware of them.
• Cloud Cost Management and Optimization: Continuously analyzing a company's cloud spending and making adjustments to eliminate waste and reduce costs.
• Security and Compliance Management: Managing firewalls, identity and access management, security patching, and ensuring the environment remains compliant with industry regulations.
• Backup and Disaster Recovery: Managing data backups and having a clear plan to recover the application and its data in the event of a major outage.
• Performance Tuning: Optimizing the configuration of the cloud services and the application to ensure fast and reliable performance.
• Technical Support: Providing different levels of technical support to the business and its users.

Why Outsource to a Managed Service Provider?

The cloud offers immense power and flexibility, but it is also complex to manage effectively. An MSP provides the expertise needed to operate successfully in the cloud.

1. Access to Certified Cloud Operations Experts: A reputable MSP has a large team of certified engineers who are experts in managing cloud environments. They have deep knowledge of the specific services and best practices of platforms like AWS and Azure. This expertise is critical for running a secure and efficient cloud operation.
2. Significant Cost Savings: An MSP can manage your cloud environment more efficiently than an in-house team. They use automation and have economies of scale that reduce operational costs. More importantly, their expertise in cost optimization can significantly reduce your monthly cloud bill by eliminating wasted resources.
3. Improved Security and Compliance: MSPs have dedicated security teams and use advanced security tools to protect your applications. They have deep experience in configuring cloud environments to meet strict security and compliance standards like HIPAA, PCI DSS, and SOC 2.
4. Increased Uptime and Reliability: With proactive 24/7 monitoring and expert incident response, an MSP can dramatically improve the uptime and reliability of your applications. This ensures business continuity and a better experience for your customers.
5. Frees Up Your Team to Innovate: This is a key business benefit. When an MSP handles the day-to-day operational burden of managing the cloud environment, your internal technology team can focus on building new products and using technology to drive business innovation, rather than "keeping the lights on."

How to Choose a Managed Application Services Provider

• Evaluate Their Certifications and Partner Status: Look for an MSP with top-tier certifications from your chosen cloud provider, such as the AWS Premier Tier Services Partner or Microsoft Azure Expert MSP designation. These are difficult to achieve and are a strong signal of quality.
• Scrutinize Their Service Level Agreement (SLA): The SLA is the core of your contract. It should provide clear, financially-backed guarantees for key metrics like application uptime, incident response time, and issue resolution time.
• Assess Their Security and Compliance Capabilities: Ask for details about their security operations center (SOC), their security tools, and their experience with your specific industry's compliance requirements.
• Understand Their Cost Optimization Strategy: Ask them to explain their process for monitoring and optimizing your cloud spend. They should be able to provide case studies showing how they have saved other clients money.
• Check Their Customer References: Speak with their long-term managed services clients. Ask them about the provider's proactivity, communication, technical expertise, and the overall value they provide.

Leading Companies for Managed Application Services

1. Rackspace Technology: A global leader in managed cloud services. They are known for their deep expertise across all major clouds and their "Fanatical Experience" customer support model. They are an excellent choice for businesses that need a high-touch, expert partner.
2. Bespin Global: A leading cloud-native MSP with a strong global presence. They are highly specialized in managing large-scale cloud environments and have a strong focus on automation and cost optimization.
3. Accenture: For large enterprises, Accenture offers comprehensive managed services that cover applications, infrastructure, and security. They are capable of managing the most complex global technology environments.
4. Cprime: A large technology consulting firm with a strong managed services practice. They are a good option for businesses that need a partner who can provide both strategic consulting and ongoing operational management.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is application migration? Application migration is the process of moving a software application from one computing environment to another. Most commonly, this means moving an application from an on-premise data center to a public cloud platform like AWS or Azure.

2. What are the "6 R's" of migration? The 6 R's are a framework for migration strategies: Rehosting (lift and shift), Replatforming, Repurchasing, Refactoring/Rearchitecting, Retiring, and Retaining. The right strategy is chosen for each application based on its business value and technical state.

3. Why migrate applications to the cloud? Businesses migrate to the cloud to gain benefits like lower IT infrastructure costs, improved scalability and flexibility, better application performance, and enhanced security.

4. What are Managed Application Services? Managed Application Services is an outsourcing model where a business hires a third-party Managed Service Provider (MSP) to take on the full responsibility for the ongoing management, support, and optimization of its software applications.

5. What is a Managed Service Provider (MSP)? An MSP is a company that remotely manages a customer's IT infrastructure and/or end-user systems, typically on a proactive basis and under a subscription model.

6. What is the difference between Application Management and Managed Services? The terms are often used interchangeably. However, "Managed Services" typically implies a more comprehensive and proactive service model that includes management of the underlying infrastructure (like the cloud environment) in addition to the application itself.

7. What is a Service Level Agreement (SLA)? An SLA is a contract that defines the specific, measurable level of service a provider will deliver. For managed services, it includes guarantees for metrics like uptime, performance, and support response times.

Modernizing your business requires moving your critical applications to modern infrastructure. Managing that modern infrastructure requires specialized expertise. For many businesses, the most effective path forward is to partner with experts. Outsourcing application migration to a certified partner ensures a low-risk, efficient transition to the cloud. Outsourcing the ongoing operations to a qualified Managed Service Provider ensures your applications are secure, reliable, and cost-effective for the long term. Together, these services allow your business to fully leverage the power of modern technology while focusing on its core mission.