{"id":12420,"date":"2024-09-27T12:52:40","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T12:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/?p=12420"},"modified":"2026-09-29T08:13:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T08:13:05","slug":"azure-lift-and-shift-migration-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/azure-lift-and-shift-migration-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Azure Lift and Shift Migration: Steps, Tools, and What Comes After"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lift and shift migration means picking up your existing servers, applications, and data and moving them over to Azure virtual machines. No rewriting application code. No overhaul of the core architecture. Everything runs pretty much the exact same way as it did before only the physical infrastructure underneath it changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most teams pick this route when they&#8217;re backed into a corner. Maybe your data \u00a0lease is expiring in a few months, hardware is hitting end-of-life, or vendor license renewals are getting ridiculously expensive. Lift and shift is the quickest path to get out. It won&#8217;t instantly turn your applications into cloud-native powerhouses, but that modernization work can wait until after you&#8217;re safely migrated which is usually where the biggest cost savings hide anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Below is a breakdown of when lift and shift actually makes sense, the steps and tools you&#8217;ll need, how to plan a cutover without breaking things, and what to focus on once you&#8217;re live in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/microsoft-azure\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Microsoft Azure<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> based on real client experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>What is lift and shift migration?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Microsoft&#8217;s Cloud Adoption Framework, lift and shift is officially called <\/span><b>rehosting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You take an entire workload operating system, app code, dependencies, and data and recreate it inside Azure virtual machines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you run a line-of-business app on a Windows Server on-prem, running it on an Azure VM feels identical. Users log in the exact same way, and the codebase stays completely untouched, so there are zero functional surprises.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That stability is great, but it&#8217;s a double-edged sword: you avoid the risk of breaking things during a redesign, but you also end up bringing all your existing tech debt and inefficiencies straight into the cloud.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-13485\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-diagram-300x100.png\" alt=\"azure lift and shift\" width=\"735\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-diagram-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-diagram-1024x341.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-diagram-768x256.png 768w, https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-diagram-1536x512.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-diagram-2048x683.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>When lift and shift makes sense (and when it doesn&#8217;t)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rehosting is usually your best option when:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>You&#8217;re racing against the clock.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If a data centre lease ends in three months, refactoring app code isn&#8217;t realistic.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Legacy systems are untouched and unmaintained.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The app works fine, but the developers who built it left years ago.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>You&#8217;re using off-the-shelf software.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Proprietary, third-party software doesn&#8217;t let you touch the source code anyway.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>It&#8217;s just phase one.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Rehosting gets you into Azure quickly so you can gather real performance data before modernizing individual apps later.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the flip side, avoid rehosting if:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Licensing is tied to hardware.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Some legacy software agreements tie licenses directly to physical CPU sockets or MAC addresses, causing major compliance headaches in the cloud.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Chatty applications hate network latency.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Splitting tightly coupled systems between on-prem and Azure usually causes severe lag.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>A full rewrite is already on the roadmap.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Moving everything twice wastes time and money.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Current infrastructure is cheap to run.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Moving massive, over-provisioned VMs without resizing them first almost always inflates your monthly cloud bill.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Lift and shift vs replatform vs refactor<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lift and shift isn&#8217;t the only option. Here&#8217;s how it compares to the other common approaches:<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Approach<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>What changes<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Speed<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Upfront effort<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Long-term cloud benefit<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Example<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Rehost (lift and shift)<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nothing in the app; only the infrastructure<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fastest<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lowest<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limited<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Windows Server app moved to an Azure VM<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Replatform<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Small changes to use managed services<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moderate<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moderate<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SQL Server on a VM moved to Azure SQL Managed Instance<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Refactor \/ rearchitect<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Code and design<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Slowest<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Highest<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Highest<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A monolithic app rebuilt on containers or PaaS services<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Realistically, most projects use a mix of all three. You lift and shift the bulk of your estate to meet hard deadlines, replatform databases where it&#8217;s easy, and save deep refactoring for the high-value applications that actually warrant the effort.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Azure lift and shift migration steps<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13488 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-process-300x125.png\" alt=\"Azure-Lift-Shift-Process \" width=\"988\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-process-300x125.png 300w, https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-process-1024x427.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-process-768x320.png 768w, https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-process-1536x640.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/azure-lift-and-shift-process.png 1942w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 988px) 100vw, 988px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>1. Discover and assess<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get an accurate inventory. <\/span><b>Azure Migrate<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> scans servers, uncovers hidden app dependencies, and recommends realistic Azure VM sizes based on real utilization metrics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don&#8217;t skip dependency mapping! If you migrate an application server but forget the random background file share or auth service it relies on, the whole system goes down on day one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use assessment findings to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estimate costs via the Azure pricing calculator (apply <\/span><b>Azure Hybrid Benefit<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> if you have eligible licenses)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Group connected servers into logical <\/span><b>migration waves<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flag workloads that aren&#8217;t good candidates for rehosting<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>2. Prepare the landing zone<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Build out your Azure environment before moving anything:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Subscriptions and resource groups:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Set these up according to your management and billing structure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Networking:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Configure virtual networks, plus ExpressRoute or VPN connections back to on-prem for hybrid operation during cutover.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Identity:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Connect Microsoft Entra ID with your existing Active Directory.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Security baseline:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Implement Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Key Vault, and firewalls\/NSGs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check Microsoft&#8217;s Cloud Adoption Framework landing zone templates for proven starting blueprints.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>3. Replicate and test<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Azure Migrate quietly copies data in the background while production stays online without disrupting users.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Run a <\/span><b>test migration<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in an isolated network before cutover day. Don&#8217;t just verify that the VM boots up have actual users log in, run queries, process transactions, and check third-party integrations.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>4. Cut over<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the official switch from on-premises to Azure (details below on minimizing downtime during this window).<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>5. Optimise and hand over to operations<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once live, focus pivots to right-sizing, cost control, and operational handoff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Azure lift and shift migration tools<\/b><\/h3>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Tool<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Use it for<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Notes<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Azure Migrate<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discovery, assessment, dependency analysis and server migration<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The central hub for most migrations<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Azure Database Migration Service<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moving SQL Server databases to Azure<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supports SQL Server on Azure VMs as well as managed options<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Azure Data Box<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Transferring large volumes of data offline<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Microsoft ships a physical device when network transfer would take too long<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Azure Site Recovery<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Replication and failover, and disaster recovery after migration<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also gives you a failback path during cutover<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Azure pricing calculator<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estimating running costs before you commit<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include Hybrid Benefit and reservations in the estimate<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><b>Planning a minimal-downtime cutover<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most migration risks center on the cutover window. Careful planning keeps downtime brief and manageable:<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Keep replication continuous.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Continuous sync means the final delta transfer during cutover is much smaller and faster..<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Drop DNS TTL settings beforehand.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Lowering TTL values a few days early ensures clients pick up the new Azure IP addresses almost immediately when you switch over.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Schedule around actual usage lows.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Check usage metrics to find quiet windows they don&#8217;t always fall on weekends.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Enforce a change freeze.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Stop all non-essential changes on source systems while cutover is active.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Establish clear rollback triggers.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Decide explicitly what failures warrant a rollback and who has final authority before kicking off cutover.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Validate post-cutover operations.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Confirm app workflows, backups, monitoring alerts, and security tooling before declaring success.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On one of our client projects, leveraging Azure Site Recovery for failover and failback gave the team a tested return path to on-prem had anything failed post-cutover.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Migrating Windows Server and SQL Server workloads<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Windows and SQL Server workloads represent a huge percentage of migration projects. A few key details to keep in mind:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Azure Hybrid Benefit<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> allows reusing existing Windows and SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance, cutting cloud licensing costs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Impending end-of-support dates<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> often drive migrations; moving early gives you room to plan upgrades smoothly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Choose your SQL path.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Rehosting SQL Server directly on an Azure VM offers max control and minimal change. Stepping up to <\/span><b>Azure SQL Managed Instance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> eliminates OS patching while retaining high SQL Server compatibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Can you lift and shift SSIS packages?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes! The <\/span><b>Azure-SSIS Integration Runtime<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Azure Data Factory runs legacy SSIS packages with little or no modification, storing catalogs on Azure SQL Database or Managed Instance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This lets you move existing ETL pipelines as-is today and refactor them natively inside Data Factory later when convenient.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Post-migration optimisation in Azure<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moving to Azure is step one. Real savings come from post-migration optimisation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In one migration, we helped a client slash running costs by roughly 40% through post-migration right-sizing and pricing optimisations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Right-size using live telemetry.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> On-premises servers are historically over-provisioned. In Azure, you pay for what you allocate, so review CPU and memory usage after a few weeks to shrink oversized VMs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Leverage Azure Advisor.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It continuously identifies underutilized resources and cost reduction opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Commit after stabilizing usage.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Azure Savings Plans and Reserved Instances deliver deep discounts over standard pay-as-you-go rates. Wait until performance baselines settle before locking in 1-year or 3-year commitments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Turn off unused environments.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Automated shutdown schedules for dev\/test VMs yield quick wins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Establish robust monitoring.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Deploy Azure Monitor for operational insight and Defender for Cloud for security compliance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Target workloads for modernization.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> With real operational metrics, pinpoint high-cost or slow applications to replatform or refactor next.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>What we&#8217;ve learned from real Azure migrations<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mid-sized enterprise approached us struggling with high operating costs, slow releases, and scaling limitations on a legacy 3-tier architecture. Security was a growing concern.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We executed a 5-phase migration strategy:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Discover:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Mapped applications and established baseline performance using Azure Migrate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Assess:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Evaluated resource utilization and projected cloud operational costs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Migrate:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Replicated on-prem workloads to target Azure VMs smoothly.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cut over:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Executed failover using Azure Site Recovery with failback ready as a safety net.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Optimise:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Scaled down over-provisioned VM resources post-cutover.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>The result:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 40% cost reduction, enhanced scalability, better performance, and a vastly stronger security posture backed by Azure&#8217;s built-in protections.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Frequently asked questions<\/b><\/h3>\n<div class=\"faq-accordion\">\n<details class=\"faq-item\">\n<summary>Is lift and shift the same as rehosting?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\nYes. &#8220;Lift and shift&#8221; is the informal industry term, while &#8220;rehost&#8221;<br \/>\nis the official classification used in Microsoft&#8217;s Cloud Adoption Framework.<br \/>\nBoth refer to moving workloads to<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/cloud-services\"><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cloud infrastructure<\/span><br \/>\n<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">without modifying application code or architecture.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"faq-item\">\n<summary>How long does an Azure lift and shift migration take?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\nTimeline length varies based on server volume, dependency clarity,<br \/>\nand required application validation.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"faq-item\">\n<summary>Is lift and shift cheaper than staying on-premises?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\nNot automatically. Unsized, continuously running VMs in Azure can<br \/>\nprove more expensive than on-prem hardware. Savings require active<br \/>\nright-sizing, Azure Hybrid Benefit, committed reservations, and<br \/>\nshutting down unused instances.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"faq-item\">\n<summary>What tools does Azure provide for lift and shift?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\nAzure Migrate serves as the primary hub for discovery, assessment,<br \/>\nand server transfers. Database Migration Service migrates databases,<br \/>\nData Box handles physical bulk data transfers, and Azure Site Recovery<br \/>\nmanages replication, cutover failover, and disaster recovery.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"faq-item\">\n<summary>What should you do after a lift and shift migration?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\nRight-size resources based on telemetry, apply long-term reservations<br \/>\nand license benefits once stable, establish monitoring, and prioritize<br \/>\nhigh-value candidates for modernization.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>Planning an Azure migration?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gradient M is a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/blog\/gradient-m-is-now-microsoft-solution-partner\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Microsoft Solutions Partner<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Infrastructure. We&#8217;ll help assess your estate, map dependencies, and build a wave plan so you understand what to lift and shift, what to modernize, and expected costs before moving anything. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gradientm.com\/contact-us\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:services@gradientm.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">services@gradientm.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to get started.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lift and shift migration means picking up your existing servers, applications, and data and moving them over to Azure virtual machines. No rewriting application&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-azure"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Azure Lift and Shift Migration: Complete Strategy Guide 2026 - Gradient M<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Planning an Azure lift and shift migration? 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