Ask any entrepreneur how they find handling workloads within their organisation in 2025 and most of them will say, “Complex and expensive.” Sad but true. Traditional workloads actually pose significant challenges in today’s dynamic business environment; often hindering growth and innovation. While numerous solutions exist, a lot of enterprises are opting for migration to Amazon Web Services (AWS).
However, migrating to AWS can be daunting for those who are not familiar with it. In this blog, API Connects will talk about migration of traditional workloads to AWS platform. From core concepts to key benefits to process and expert insights, we are going to cover it all.
The goal here is to give enterprises the knowledge they need to make informed decisions regarding cloud strategy. So, are you ready? Let’s go!
What is AWS Platform?
Also known as Amazon Web Services, AWS is one of the most adopted cloud computing platforms offered by Amazon. It provides on-demand access to a wide array of computing resources including:
– Servers
– Storage
– Databases
– Networking
– Analytics
– Machine learning (and more)
Rather than owning and maintaining physical infrastructure, enterprises rely on AWS to scale their operations up or down as needed. They only have to pay for the resources they consume.
More benefits? Well, let’s discuss them in the next section!
What are the Benefits of Migrating Traditional Workloads to AWS?
Migrating traditional workloads to AWS offers a myriad of benefits to businesses seeking better performance, scalability, and cost-efficacy. Here are some of them:
1 Cost optimization
Literally the BIGGEST benefit! Enterprises can save huge amounts of money by not having to invest in hardware and other maintenance costs for traditional data centres. They can shift to a pay-as-you-go model. Meaning, better budgeting and no wastage of resources on idle infrastructure.
2 Better scalability and elasticity
AWS offers elastic scalability. It is possible to scale up resources depending on the dynamics of your business demand. Yes, you read it right! You can quickly scale up or down computing power to meet increased demands during busy seasons and avoid wasting resources during calm seasons.
3 Improved reliability and availability
Offloading infrastructure management to AWS frees up valuable IT resources for innovation and strategic initiatives. This platform has an extensive suite of services. All these enable faster deployment of new applications and services. Thereby, accelerating time-to-market.
4 Amazing security
One of the strong features of the AWS platform is security. This technology has a robust framework with multiple layers of protection. Starting from the physical security of data centers; moving up to advanced encryption and access control mechanisms. Overall, a safe environment for sensitive data and applications!
5 Global reach and accessibility
Thanks to the global infrastructure of AWS technology, enterprises can easily expand their business to reach new markets and serv customers around the world. Deploying applications close to end-users improves performance and reduces latency even if your system is operating in another corner of the world. Thus, improving customer experience.
6 Simplified management and automation
Another benefit of migrating traditional workloads to AWS is that it is simpler to manage and automate. Credit goes to a set of management tools and automation capabilities provided by this technology. AWS allows IT teams to automate routine tasks, improve efficacy, and focus on more strategic initiatives.
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What is the Process of Migrating Traditional Workloads to AWS?
API Connects has divided the whole migration process into 5 different stages. Here’s a deeper look:
1 Assessment and planning
Nathaniel Branden once said, “A goal without an action plan is a daydream.” It’s true. You can’t migrate your traditional workloads flawlessly unless you have evaluated your existing IT landscape and defined clear migration objectives. First, address these aspects.
Start by thoroughly discovering and inventorying all servers, applications, databases, and interdependencies. You will get a clear idea of of what needs to be migrated. Then conduct a detailed workload analysis. Check the application’s performance, and resource usage such as CPU memory, storage utilisation and compatibility in the AWS environment.
This analysis will help you determine the best migration strategy for each workload: rehosting (lift and shift), re-platforming, refactoring, repurchasing, or retiring. Finally, clear objectives and KPIs must be defined. Set SMART goals and migration and metrics to track progress and measure success.
2 Proof of concept (POC)
Before beginning a full-scale migration, do a proof of concept! How can you do it, you ask? Migrate small, non-critical applications or representative subsets of data into AWS. This will allow you to validate your chosen migration strategy in a real-world environment without impacting your production systems.
You can also identify potential technical challenges, refine migration plan, and build confidence in the process. POC will also give enterprises a chance to evaluate the performance and cost-effectiveness of the AWS environment for their specific workloads.
3 Migration execution
Alright, this is the step you all were waiting for! Phase three marks the actual transfer of traditional workloads to the AWS platform. Now what goes into it totally depends on the migration strategy you created during step 1. Usually, migration engineers use rehosting (lift and shift concept) to move applications to AWS with minimal to no modifications.
This is the quickest approach and will likely allow you to make use of tools like AWS server migration services (SMS) and CloudEndure migration. But since you’re re-platforming, do take care of minor adjustments to business apps so that they can take full advantage of AWS services.
4 Testing and validation
Done with migration? Applications are up and running in AWS? Great but hey, there’s still a lot to take care of. You need to conduct multiple tests and validations. This ensures all applications are functional, perform, and maintain the required security posture.
Here are some common forms of testing that should be done among others:
– Functional testing: As the name suggests, it assures that all functionalities and features of your business apps operate as per their expectation once migration is over. Testers confirm that UIs, business logic, and integration into other systems behave perfectly.
– Performance testing: Application performance should meet performance requirements/SLA conditions at different loads. How can you assure this? By determining and simulating actual user traffic of response times, throughput, and resources utilization!
– Security testing: Make certain all security controls are properly applied and effective in the new AWS environment. Conduct penetration tests and vulnerability scanning as well as security audits. This way, you can identify all possible security vulnerabilities.
– User acceptance testing (UAT): Enterprises also need to allow end-users to test their migrated applications in a production-like environment. UAT will give you valuable feedback from the actual users’ point of view. You will be able to identify usability issues and functional gaps.
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5 Optimization and monitoring
The process of migration does not end with deployment and testing. One also needs to continuously optimise and monitor for maximizing performance, controlling costs, and maintaining security in the long run. Here are the steps that you need to consider during this traditional workload migration to AWS phase:
– Performance monitoring: Track CPU utilization, memory usage, network traffic, and application response times at all times. By doing so, you can find performance bottlenecks and improvement areas. AWS platform itself provides a range of monitoring tools such as CloudWatch to facilitate this.
– Cost optimization: Review resource utilization regularly. Identify opportunities to reduce costs. This can include right-sizing instances (choosing appropriate instance type and size), leveraging reserved instances or savings plans for predictable workloads, and optimizing storage usage.
– Security monitoring: Continuously monitor for security threats and vulnerabilities using AWS security services such as AWS Security Hub and Amazon GuardDuty. Make your way through security logs. Check for suspicious activity. Not to mention, prompt response to security incidents!
Need Help With AWS Migration? Contact API Connects Today
Above is everything important about migrating traditional workloads to AWS platform in 2025. We bet most enterprises have found this process very daunting. And we will not lie to you – it certainly is! You need a partner who can take this load off your plate.
*Enters API Connects*
Our Auckland engineers specialise in smooth and secure transitions to AWS platform. Meaning, your business can focus on innovation while we handle complexities of migration. Our team will assess your existing infrastructure and only craft tailored solutions, all while providing end-to-end support for a smooth migration journey.
Using decade spanning experience, API Connects uses industry-best practices and cutting-edge tools to transition workloads to AWS EKS. Here’s a work example:
A leading enterprise was struggling to migrate its traditional workloads to AWS platform. After multiple consulting sessions, we crafted a solution that helped them shift workloads to AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service, unlocking scalability and making it adoptive to containerized deployment.
Result? Its team was able to manage resources and meet modern application service’s needs without performance degradation.
With API Connects, you get a reliable partner committed to empowering your digital transformation. Ready to experience a hassle-free migration? Email us at enquiry@apiconnects.co.nz to discuss your migration goals. Let us make it happen for you!
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