MigrateForce Glossary
Your comprehensive guide to migration terminology
Cloud Migration
Lift and Shift
A migration strategy where applications are moved to the cloud with minimal or no modifications to their architecture.
Cloud-Native
Applications designed and built to take full advantage of cloud computing capabilities and services.
Hybrid Cloud
An infrastructure environment that combines both public and private cloud resources, allowing data and applications to be shared between them.
Cloud Computing
Delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software—over the internet ("the cloud") to offer faster innovation and flexible resources.
Cloud Migration
The process of moving data, applications, or other business elements from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud computing environment.
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
A comprehensive cloud services platform offering computing power, database storage, content delivery, and other functionalities to help businesses scale and grow.
Multi-Cloud Strategy
Utilizing multiple cloud computing services from different providers to enhance flexibility, performance, and cost efficiency.
Private Cloud
Cloud computing resources used exclusively by a single organization, offering greater control and security.
Public Cloud
Cloud services offered over the public internet and available to anyone who wants to purchase them.
Serverless Computing
A cloud computing execution model where the cloud provider dynamically manages the allocation of machine resources.
Development & Operations
Agile Migration
An iterative approach to migration that emphasizes flexibility, customer collaboration, and rapid delivery of functional components.
DevOps
A set of practices that combine software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten the system development life cycle.
Containerization
Packaging software code with all its necessary components so it can run uniformly and consistently on any infrastructure.
Integration Testing
Testing in which individual software modules are combined and tested as a group to identify interface defects between modules.
Data Management
Data Center Migration
Moving data center assets to a new physical location or into a cloud or hybrid environment.
Data Integration
Combining data from different sources to provide a unified view, essential in migration projects to ensure consistency.
Big Data
Extremely large data sets that require specialized tools to store, analyze, and visualize for insights and decision-making.
Backup
The process of creating copies of data to safeguard against accidental loss or corruption.
SaaS Migration
Data Mapping
The process of matching fields between the source and target SaaS applications to ensure proper data transfer.
API Integration
The connection between two or more SaaS applications using their application programming interfaces to share data and functionality.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
An authentication process that allows users to access multiple SaaS applications with one set of credentials.
Data Migration
ETL
Extract, Transform, Load - A three-step process for data integration that extracts data from sources, transforms it to fit operational needs, and loads it into the target system.
Data Cleansing
The process of detecting and correcting corrupt, inaccurate, or irrelevant records from a dataset before migration.
Delta Migration
A migration approach that only transfers data that has changed since the last migration, reducing transfer time and resources.
Infrastructure & Systems
Legacy Systems
Outdated computer systems or applications that are still in use, often requiring special considerations during migration.
On-Premises
Computing infrastructure that is physically located within the confines of an organization and managed internally.
PaaS (Platform as a Service)
A cloud computing model that provides hardware and software tools over the internet, allowing developers to build applications without worrying about underlying infrastructure.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
A software licensing model where software is accessed online via a subscription rather than installed on individual computers.
Scalability
The ability of a system to handle increased load by adding resources, essential in cloud environments to manage varying workloads.
Virtual Machine (VM)
An emulation of a computer system that provides the functionality of a physical computer, useful in creating isolated environments during migration.
Virtualization
The creation of a virtual version of something, such as a server, storage device, or network resources.
Testing Environment
A controlled setting where applications and systems are tested to identify issues before full-scale deployment or migration.
Workload Migration
Moving the processing of data or applications from one environment to another, such as from on-premises servers to the cloud.
Migration Strategy
Migration Plan
A detailed document outlining the steps, resources, timelines, and strategies for moving systems or data from one environment to another.
Refactoring
Rewriting or restructuring existing code without changing its external behavior to improve performance and maintainability during migration.
Replatforming
Modifying an application to run on a new platform or operating system during migration, often with minimal code changes.
Replication
Copying data from one location to another to ensure consistency and availability during migration processes.
Security Compliance
Adhering to industry regulations and standards to protect data integrity and privacy during and after migration.
Technical Concepts
YAML (YAML Aint Markup Language)
A human-readable data serialization language often used for configuration files and in applications where data is being stored or transmitted.
Vendor Lock-In
A situation where a customer becomes dependent on a single cloud provider's services and cannot easily switch to another vendor without substantial costs or inconvenience.
Cloud Service Models
Understanding the differences between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS is crucial for selecting the right services during migration.
Governance & Compliance
Data Governance
Policies and procedures that ensure high data quality and security during and after migration.
Compliance and Regulations
Awareness of legal requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, or other industry-specific regulations that affect data handling during migration.
Migration Strategies
Different approaches to migration, including rehosting, replatforming, refactoring, repurchasing, retiring, and retaining.