# Best Cloud Migration Software for Medium-Sized Businesses - Page 4 *By [Rachana Hasyagar](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/rachana-hasyagar)* Products classified in the overall Cloud Migration category are similar in many regards and help companies of all sizes solve their business problems. However, medium-sized business features, pricing, setup, and installation differ from businesses of other sizes, which is why we match buyers to the right Medium-Sized Business Cloud Migration to fit their needs. Compare product ratings based on reviews from enterprise users or connect with one of G2's buying advisors to find the right solutions within the Medium-Sized Business Cloud Migration category. In addition to qualifying for inclusion in the Cloud Migration Software category, to qualify for inclusion in the Medium-Sized Business Cloud Migration Software category, a product must have at least 10 reviews left by a reviewer from a medium-sized business. ## Top Cloud Migration Software at a Glance | # | Product | Rating | Best For | What Users Say | |---|---------|--------|----------|----------------| | 1 | [Agentforce 360 Platform (formerly Salesforce Platform)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-360-platform-formerly-salesforce-platform/reviews) | 4.5/5.0 (3,782 reviews) | Centralized CRM data migration with low-code customization | "[Salesforce Handles Complex Workflows Well But Maintenance Gets Heavy](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/agentforce-360-platform-formerly-salesforce-platform-review-12804488)" | | 2 | [MigrationWiz](https://www.g2.com/products/migrationwiz/reviews) | 4.7/5.0 (275 reviews) | Automated tenant-to-tenant Microsoft 365 migrations | "[Easy to Use, Responsive Support, and Works Great After Setup](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/migrationwiz-review-8407671)" | | 3 | [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) | 4.9/5.0 (219 reviews) | Cross-platform tenant-to-tenant migration with coexistence | "[Smooth Overall Migration, But Requires Proper Initial Setup](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/cloudiway-review-12659465)" | | 4 | [ShareGate](https://www.g2.com/products/sharegate/reviews) | 4.6/5.0 (158 reviews) | SharePoint-to-M365 migration with permissions preservation | "[Never want to live without SharePoint & Teams Migrations, Governance, and Reporting](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/sharegate-review-12628924)" | | 5 | [Cloudways](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudways/reviews) | 4.7/5.0 (1,108 reviews) | — | "[Effortless One-Click Staging for Vanilla PHP/MySQL with Cloudways](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/cloudways-review-12927227)" | | 6 | [IBM webMethods Hybrid Integration](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-webmethods-hybrid-integration-2025-12-05/reviews) | 4.3/5.0 (256 reviews) | Hybrid cloud-to-on-premises integration migration | "[Centralized Integration with Enhanced Visibility](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/ibm-webmethods-hybrid-integration-review-12900198)" | | 7 | [Google BigQuery Data Transfer Service](https://www.g2.com/products/google-bigquery-data-transfer-service/reviews) | 4.6/5.0 (11 reviews) | Serverless cross-platform data pipeline migration | "[Easy and fast way data transfer](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/google-bigquery-data-transfer-service-review-9898070)" | | 8 | [HubSpot Data Hub](https://www.g2.com/products/hubspot-data-hub/reviews) | 4.5/5.0 (560 reviews) | Cross-system data unification with automated deduplication | "[HubSpot Data Hub simplifies and centralizes data with ease](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/hubspot-data-hub-review-12746925)" | | 9 | [AvePoint Confidence Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/avepoint-confidence-platform/reviews) | 4.5/5.0 (115 reviews) | Microsoft 365 tenant-to-tenant migration with governance | "[All-in-One SaaS Data Protection, Governance & Compliance Made Easy](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/avepoint-confidence-platform-review-12348858)" | | 10 | [Boomi Data Integration](https://www.g2.com/products/boomi-data-integration/reviews) | 4.7/5.0 (120 reviews) | Multi-system ERP and CRM cloud migration pipelines | "[Boomi Data Integration: Fast, Reliable Integrations at Scale](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/boomi-data-integration-review-12546768)" | --- ## What Are the Most Common Questions About Cloud Migration Software? *AI-generated · Last updated: May 26, 2026* ### What top platforms for multi-cloud migration? Based on G2 reviews, buyers evaluating cloud migration software for multi-cloud migration most often describe success around moving data between different cloud environments while preserving structure, permissions, and business continuity. According to verified users, [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) is frequently praised for phased tenant migrations, progress tracking, and keeping daily work running during transitions. G2 reviewers mention [CloudM](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudm/reviews) for complex cross-platform migrations involving calendars, permissions, and large user datasets, while [CloudFuze](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudfuze/reviews) is highlighted for handling large Microsoft 365 and file migration projects with delta syncs and detailed monitoring. Review themes also show setup complexity can vary, so onboarding support matters. **Here are some of the top-rated products on G2:** - [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) – used for phased Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace migrations with progress tracking and preserved permissions - [CloudM](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudm/reviews) – suited for complex cross-platform migrations where calendar data, archives, and permissions need to stay intact - [CloudFuze](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudfuze/reviews) – used for large-scale tenant and file migrations with delta syncs, dashboards, and migration oversight ### Which platform offers AI-driven migration planning? Based on G2 reviews, verified users do not consistently describe AI-driven migration planning as a widely validated capability across this recent review set. G2 reviewers mention AI readiness, automation, or support for AI-related workflows in a few products, but most reviews focus more on migration execution, tracking, permissions, and data continuity than on planning itself. Among products with enough recent review presence, [Agentforce 360 Platform (formerly Salesforce Platform)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-360-platform-formerly-salesforce-platform/reviews) has the highest recent review count and is the closest match because reviewers mention AI-powered capabilities alongside cloud-based data centralization and automation. However, buyers should note that the migration-specific planning evidence in these reviews is limited. ### What best tools for secure application migration to the cloud? Based on G2 reviews, secure application migration buyers often prioritize products that reduce manual work, preserve structure and permissions, and provide enough visibility to validate outcomes. According to verified users, [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) stands out for keeping files, emails, permissions, and collaboration data organized during cloud moves while minimizing disruption. G2 reviewers mention [CloudM](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudm/reviews) for controlled migrations where folder structures, calendar metadata, and permissions need to remain intact, and [ShareGate](https://www.g2.com/products/sharegate/reviews) for SharePoint and Microsoft 365 migrations with reporting, permission mapping, and governance support. Reviewers also note that setup can be technical, so planning and validation remain important. **Here are some of the top-rated products on G2:** - [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) – helps migrate files, emails, and collaboration data while preserving structure and reducing manual work - [CloudM](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudm/reviews) – used for large migrations where permissions, folders, and user productivity need to stay intact - [ShareGate](https://www.g2.com/products/sharegate/reviews) – supports SharePoint and Microsoft 365 migrations with permission mapping, reporting, and admin visibility ### Which is the best cloud migration platform for enterprises? Based on G2 reviews, [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) is the strongest enterprise-oriented fit in this recent review set because verified users repeatedly describe large tenant migrations, phased rollouts, preservation of permissions and folder structures, and reduced downtime during organizational change. According to verified users, enterprise teams value its real-time tracking, batch migration controls, and ability to move shared files, emails, and collaboration data without forcing a disruptive cutover. G2 reviewers mention that Cloudiway works well for both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace scenarios, especially when companies need steady execution across larger environments. Reviews also note that the initial configuration can be technical, so success often depends on careful setup and migration planning. ### Which cloud migration tool offers the fastest transfer speeds? Based on G2 reviews, there is no consistent cross-product benchmark for transfer speed, but verified users most often call out faster execution when automation, delta sync, and reduced manual effort are in place. G2 reviewers mention [CloudFuze](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudfuze/reviews) for reducing cutover windows with delta syncs in large Microsoft 365 migrations, while [MigrationWiz](https://www.g2.com/products/migrationwiz/reviews) is described as helpful for batch-based migrations and reducing downtime once configured. Reviewers also cite [Movebot](https://www.g2.com/products/movebot/reviews) as intuitive and faster than manual approaches for email and bulk data migration. At the same time, some reviews across tools note slowdowns on large projects, so perceived speed often depends on source complexity, data quality, and setup. ### What top-rated cloud migration solutions for large projects? Based on G2 reviews, large cloud migration projects typically favor products that support phased execution, detailed tracking, and reduced post-migration cleanup. According to verified users, [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) is often used for large tenant and collaboration-data migrations because it supports batches, logs, and visibility into progress. G2 reviewers mention [CloudFuze](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudfuze/reviews) for enterprise-scale Microsoft 365 and file migration projects where delta syncs and migration dashboards help manage complexity. Reviewers also highlight [ShareGate](https://www.g2.com/products/sharegate/reviews) for large SharePoint and Microsoft 365 migrations that require permission mapping, reporting, and governance support. Across reviews, onboarding effort and documentation quality can influence outcomes for bigger projects. **Here are some of the top-rated products on G2:** - [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) – supports phased large-scale migrations with logs, tracking, and preserved permissions - [CloudFuze](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudfuze/reviews) – suited for enterprise migrations with delta syncs, dashboards, and complex workload handling - [ShareGate](https://www.g2.com/products/sharegate/reviews) – used for large SharePoint and tenant migrations with strong reporting and permission mapping ### What best tools for migrating databases to the cloud? Based on G2 reviews, database-focused cloud migration evidence is more limited than file, email, and collaboration migration feedback in this category. According to verified users, [AWS Database Migration Service](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-database-migration-service/reviews) is the clearest database-specific option in the recent review set, with reviewers saying it makes migration steps easier to follow and removes guesswork. G2 reviewers also mention [Skyvia](https://www.g2.com/products/skyvia/reviews) and [Nexla](https://www.g2.com/products/nexla/reviews) for structured data movement, integration, and pipeline management that can support cloud data transitions. Reviews suggest buyers should validate connector fit, mapping requirements, and monitoring needs carefully since database migration use cases are less extensively reviewed here than tenant or file migration scenarios. **Here are some of the top-rated products on G2:** - [AWS Database Migration Service](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-database-migration-service/reviews) – used for guided database migrations with clear steps and assessment support - [Skyvia](https://www.g2.com/products/skyvia/reviews) – helpful for moving structured data with visual mapping, testing, and scheduled transfers - [Nexla](https://www.g2.com/products/nexla/reviews) – supports data extraction and integration pipelines for cloud data movement across sources ### What best platforms for hybrid cloud migration? Based on G2 reviews, hybrid cloud migration buyers tend to favor tools that connect legacy and modern systems while maintaining visibility during transitions. According to verified users, [IBM webMethods Hybrid Integration](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-webmethods-hybrid-integration-2025-12-05/reviews) is specifically noted for integrating legacy and modern systems in one flow and helping organizations advance cloud migration strategies without replacing core technology. G2 reviewers mention [Faddom](https://www.g2.com/products/faddom/reviews) for dependency mapping and network visibility that supports migration planning across on-premises and cloud environments, while [Azure Migrate](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-migrate/reviews) is described as useful for assessing dependencies and building a clearer migration roadmap. Reviews suggest hybrid success depends heavily on discovery, planning, and troubleshooting support. **Here are some of the top-rated products on G2:** - [IBM webMethods Hybrid Integration](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-webmethods-hybrid-integration-2025-12-05/reviews) – connects legacy and modern systems to keep data flowing during hybrid transitions - [Faddom](https://www.g2.com/products/faddom/reviews) – maps dependencies and network traffic to support hybrid migration planning - [Azure Migrate](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-migrate/reviews) – assesses on-premises environments and dependencies to guide Azure migration planning ### Which cloud migration software offers minimal downtime? Based on G2 reviews, [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) is the strongest fit for minimal downtime in this recent review set. According to verified users, it supports phased migrations, clear progress tracking, and structured batch moves that let teams keep daily work running while files, emails, and collaboration data transfer in the background. G2 reviewers mention that end users experienced very little disruption during tenant-to-tenant and workspace migrations, especially when projects were broken into controlled stages rather than handled all at once. Reviews also cite preserved permissions and reduced cleanup as practical advantages. Buyers should still expect some setup effort up front, but review themes suggest Cloudiway is often chosen when continuity during migration is a top priority. ### What top tools for moving workloads to the cloud? Based on G2 reviews, the most frequently validated tools for moving workloads to the cloud combine migration execution with visibility into dependencies, progress, and post-migration consistency. According to verified users, [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) is commonly used for moving email, files, and collaboration workloads between cloud environments with phased control and clear logs. G2 reviewers mention [ShareGate](https://www.g2.com/products/sharegate/reviews) for SharePoint and Microsoft 365 workloads that require reporting, governance, and permissions handling, while [Faddom](https://www.g2.com/products/faddom/reviews) helps teams understand application and network dependencies before migration. Reviews show that successful workload moves depend not just on transfer features, but also on discovery, validation, and issue resolution support. **Here are some of the top-rated products on G2:** - [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) – moves email, file, and collaboration workloads with phased execution and progress visibility - [ShareGate](https://www.g2.com/products/sharegate/reviews) – supports SharePoint and Microsoft 365 workload migration with reporting and permissions controls - [Faddom](https://www.g2.com/products/faddom/reviews) – helps teams map workload dependencies and network communication before migration ## How Many Cloud Migration Software Products Does G2 Track? **Total Products under this Category:** 249 ### Category Stats (Jun 2026) - **Average Rating**: 4.44/5 The average rating of products in this category, based on all submitted ratings - **Top Trending Product**: CloudFuze (+3.23%) - Among all products in this category, CloudFuze recorded the largest rating increase compared to last month *Last updated: June 26, 2026* ## How Does G2 Rank Cloud Migration Software Products? **Why You Can Trust G2's Software Rankings:** - 30 Analysts and Data Experts - 9,000+ Authentic Reviews - 249+ Products - Unbiased Rankings G2's software rankings are built on verified user reviews, rigorous moderation, and a consistent research methodology maintained by a team of analysts and data experts. Each product is measured using the same transparent criteria, with no paid placement or vendor influence. While reviews reflect real user experiences, which can be subjective, they offer valuable insight into how software performs in the hands of professionals. Together, these inputs power the G2 Score, a standardized way to compare tools within every category. ## Which Cloud Migration Software Is Best for Your Use Case? - **Best for Small Businesses:** [Cloudways](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudways/reviews) - **Best for Mid-Market:** [Agentforce 360 Platform (formerly Salesforce Platform)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-360-platform-formerly-salesforce-platform/reviews) - **Best for Enterprise:** [Agentforce 360 Platform (formerly Salesforce Platform)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-360-platform-formerly-salesforce-platform/reviews) - **Highest User Satisfaction:** [Cloudiway](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudiway/reviews) - **Best Free Software:** [Cloudways](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudways/reviews) --- **Sponsored** ### ShareGate ShareGate is a Microsoft 365 migration and governance software platform that helps IT professionals move business data to Microsoft 365 and maintain control of their environments after migration. Trusted by over 100,000 IT pros, ShareGate addresses two distinct operational challenges for IT teams managing Microsoft 365 at scale: executing complex tenant-to-tenant and cross-platform migrations accurately, and maintaining ongoing visibility and governance across collaboration environments. ShareGate Migrate supports organizations moving content between Microsoft 365 tenants and from third-party platforms. Key capabilities include: • Tenant-to-tenant migration for SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and Exchange Online • Cross-platform migration from Google Workspace, Box, and on-premises file shares • Pre-migration environment analysis covering permissions, ownership, and content structure • Post-migration verification and reporting • Concurrent migration support with workload coverage scaled by plan tier ShareGate Protect supports IT teams managing Microsoft 365 governance on an ongoing basis. Key capabilities include: • Tenant-wide visibility into access, workspace health, guest permissions, and license utilization • Identification of oversharing, inactive workspaces, ownership gaps, and external access drift • Guided remediation tools for fixing access and governance issues without custom scripting • AI and Microsoft Copilot access exposure indicators to support readiness assessments • Cost and license visibility with dollar-value indicators for operational decision-making ShareGate is used by IT professionals and managed service providers across organizations of varying sizes, with particular adoption among teams managing Microsoft 365 environments through mergers, acquisitions, and organizational restructuring. The platform is designed to reduce manual effort and administrative overhead across both migration projects and ongoing governance operations. [Visit website](https://www.g2.com/external_clickthroughs/record?secure%5Bad_program%5D=ppc&secure%5Bad_slot%5D=category_product_list&secure%5Bcategory_id%5D=1190&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_id%5D=1190&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bmedium%5D=sponsored&secure%5Bplacement_reason%5D=page_category&secure%5Bplacement_resource_ids%5D%5B%5D=1190&secure%5Bprioritized%5D=false&secure%5Bproduct_id%5D=40307&secure%5Bresource_id%5D=1190&secure%5Bresource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bsource_type%5D=category_page&secure%5Bsource_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g2.com%2Fcategories%2Fcloud-migration%2Fmid-market%3Fpage%3D4&secure%5Btoken%5D=137e0411ebab110c4aca09784148b7ef01c86c13a9eafe1d2f9a69ed86e9affb&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fsharegate.com%2Fdemo%2F%3Futm_source%3Dg2%26utm_medium%3Dppc%26utm_campaign%3Dg2_advertising%26utm_content%3Dsponsored_listing&secure%5Burl_type%5D=book_demo) --- ## What Is Cloud Migration Software? [Cloud Data Integration Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/cloud-data-integration) ## What Software Categories Are Similar to Cloud Migration Software? - [File Migration Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/file-migration) - [ETL Tools](https://www.g2.com/categories/etl-tools) - [Data Replication Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/data-replication) --- ## How Do You Choose the Right Cloud Migration Software? ### What You Should Know About Cloud Migration Software ### What is Cloud Migration Software? Cloud migration is defined as the transfer of a company’s digital operations from legacy systems to the cloud. It also includes the movement of data from one cloud type to another. Although the concept of migration remains the same, there is no actual physical movement of the operations; here data, applications, and IT processes are moved or migrated into the cloud.  To understand the need for cloud migration software, understanding legacy infrastructure is key. A legacy product is an outdated hardware or software system that is still used by companies. Although these products are supported by their vendors in terms of upgrades, software additions, and other features, they are not very efficient. These systems could potentially slow down the business operations, and cause data breaches since security is not stellar. Such issues cause a company to lag behind rather than move forward.  Legacy software can become unreliable and lose support from vendors (also known as end-of-life) who may not issue any more updates for the product. For example, In May 2021, Microsoft announced that they have decided to retire Internet Explorer in 2022 after more than 25 years of it being operational. The move was made due to two reasons—the statistics which show very few users on IE search engine, and in favor of their new product Microsoft Edge. In this situation, IE is a legacy software in which the vendor has decided to stop support. Businesses that have older, legacy websites are being moved onto the newer browser. Legacy infrastructure such as servers, storage, networking equipment, and others form the hardware portion of IT infrastructure. These are usually situated on premises, which is normally located at the company’s own premises or building. By having all IT infrastructure on premises, companies are losing out on the numerous benefits that cloud computing has to offer.  To experience cloud computing, firms are moving smaller workloads and applications to understand the benefits first. Migration tools assists firms on their cloud computing journey to begin the migration of their workloads to the cloud.  These are some basic steps that organizations need to understand in order to move to the cloud: **Define goals:** A firm should ideally outline and define the goals that they expect to achieve from migrating to the cloud. They should have answers to concerns such as what benefits they will achieve from databases or applications migrating to the cloud, and if these are small workloads or the most critical ones? By asking these questions, a firm can easily design a roadmap for cloud migration plans. **Invest in cybersecurity:** Keeping data secure is the need of the hour. When moving to the cloud, the firm needs to ensure a strong security plan in place, to prevent hacks, data breaches. This is because on-premises security differs significantly from cloud security. Deploying a web application firewall or a cloud firewall is a necessary practice. **Copying database:** This is also known as replicating databases and applications. The replication process needs to be performed throughout the database migration process so that the data is up to date till its last version. **Production switch:** Firms should move any final processes to the cloud, and then the cloud goes live. This marks the end of the migration process. #### What Types of Cloud Migration Software Exist? The following types of cloud migration are also known as the “6 R’s” of cloud migration: **Lift and shift or rehost** This is one of the fastest cloud migration types. In this type, the software being used remains the same but not in the cloud (applications are “lifted” from legacy infrastructure, and “shifted” to the cloud). This method has the lowest upfront costs. This type of cloud migration software allows firms to move out of their data centers and stop managing hardware. **Lift and optimize or replatform** This type of cloud migration is an extension of the rehost type. In this, OS and APIs are optimized during lifting and shifting. Alterations to the code base are minimal and are primarily meant for enhancing the cloud benefits and reshaping the source environment. **Shifting to SaaS or drop and shop or repurchase** In shifting to SaaS, companies identify workloads and applications that are outsourced to SaaS vendors that specialize in these applications. This type is dependent on the application and therefore runs on a case-by-case basis. A good example of applications that can be shifted to SaaS are email applications or moving CRM applications to Salesforce. **Refactoring** Refactoring is also known as rearchitecting. Under this type, legacy applications can be entirely designed again to be supported in a cloud environment. The applications are replicated and moved into the cloud. This is the most low-risk option since companies can still use the legacy application till the replication and movement to the cloud are done. Although refactoring is the most expensive option, it's most suited for future usage. **Retain or hybrid model** In this type, a firm identifies that it does not need to move all applications to the cloud at that point in time, or only needs to move a few of them. Firms can choose to retain their components on IT infrastructure. This could happen for a variety of reasons, sometimes the company may not be ready to move to the cloud, or there can be security reasons, governmental regulations, and several others. **Retire** This involves identifying and shutting down those applications that will not cause any impact on efficiency and productivity. Parts of IT infrastructure can be decommissioned or archived as per importance, and replaced by other services or software. ### What are the Common Features of Cloud Migration Software? The following are some core features within cloud migration software that can help users in several ways: **Cloud services support:** This is the key feature of using cloud migration services. A cloud migration tool should support several common cloud services such as OneDrive, Google Drive, and other functionalities. Supporting several cloud services will give a company more leeway to choose a cloud provider for its business needs. **Migrate among different environments:** A good feature for cloud migration tools to have is complete support between physical, cloud-based, or virtual environments. This indicates that a cloud migration tool can migrate software not only from on-premises to the cloud but also between different cloud environments as per business requirements. **Smart features:** A cloud migration software that can identify and solve blockades without the need for any human intervention is a good feature. For example, when transferring data between two cloud environments, file transfer and speed are of the essence, which is controlled by the service provider. A good cloud migration tool should be set up to allow or disallow special characters, file types, file sizes, and others based on requirements. **Built-in testing:** Some cloud migration software provide in-built testing. From this feature, a buyer can validate all the data and confirm, and only then decide to move the data. Data or software can be diagnosed before migration, to ensure no issues are found during the migration process or after. **Continuous data replication:** Cloud migration tools should be able to support and perform continuous data replication of a company’s data. This is to ensure that only the latest and most valid data is being migrated to the cloud, and there are no gaps or patches in the data. **Live transfer:** This feature is an extension of continuous data replication. In this, live transfer of data indicates the migration of active servers without any need to take them offline. **Visual tools:** Cloud migration software provides a single-pane-of-view software for its user. The user obtains complete visibility into the migration process and workflows. Application, services, workloads, and others can all be tracked and monitored. Data center information is tracked to ensure migration is useful and beneficial for the company. Some cloud migration services also support the creation of reports and dashboard analytics for effective IT infrastructure management. ### What are the Benefits of Cloud Migration Software? **Assist in cloud migration:** Cloud migration software is developed and used to take care of a business’s cloud computing needs and functionalities. Whether shifting from on premises to public, private, or hybrid cloud, or between cloud to cloud environments, using migration software will help to move the data and workloads seamlessly and ensure optimization. The numerous benefits of moving to cloud computing, such as low infrastructure costs, faster deployment times, reduced data footprint, automatic backup support, enhanced computing, scalability, and several other reasons are compelling firms to move to cloud environments, and cloud migration tools can help support this movement. **Speed up application deployment:** Cloud migration is taken up by various organizations in order to speed up application deployment. Since there is no need for on-premises infrastructure, businesses can skip steps such as purchasing the right servers, installing OS, uptime or downtime of data centers, and others. The company has the freedom to immediately migrate into the cloud via the software, and begin working without being concerned about additional tasks and costs. **Combination and deployment:** Most cloud migration software has dual benefits—they can combine data from various sources within the enterprise and move this data to the cloud data center selected. A firm does not need to invest in other additional software to combine data. **Security support:** Cloud migration solutions offer several security restrictions. These have been put in place to ensure that data, processes, systems, and other applications being migrated are safeguarded during the migration process. **Develop a migration hub:** Cloud migration tools also support the creation of a hub **.** This hub acts as a central point for different stakeholders to start, execute, and track the migration activity. The hub also ensures that compliance is maintained with migrations. **Planning and analysis:** Several cloud migration tools can now analyze business data, and suggest best practices to deploy and organize it. The tool can be used to plan, analyze, and derive cloud cost models, which supports the organization’s team to make data-driven and well-informed business decisions. ### Who Uses Cloud Migration Software? **Migration architect:** A migration architect is the main persona who will lead the cloud migration project. At the system level, the migration architect will be responsible for planning the migration and oversee the entire process till project completion. The architect will need to define necessary refactoring required, design migration plans and strategies, and migration priorities. **Database architects:** As data is being migrated into the cloud, database architects can use the software to ensure that the right databases are being migrated and that there are no issues and gaps in the data migration process. Database architects will closely work with cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure to develop and design resilient plans for database migration. They act as a support team for the implementation project. **IT teams:** The IT team of the organization will primarily oversee the cloud migration project, hence will be on hands with the software. This team will need to ensure business requirements (such as budgets, SLAs, KPIs are being met), devise long-term IT strategy plans, and identify operational requirements. **Cloud service providers:** Cloud service providers can offer cloud migration options. The cloud being migrated too needs to be reliable, scalable, consistent, and available as required. Some of the biggest names in cloud platforms include AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, IBM Cloud, and several others. **Business owners:** Migrating from on-premises infrastructure to cloud or even between clouds is an investment decision. Business owners need to ensure that there is a significant return on investment (ROI) in the long run, and hence are deeply involved with the cloud migration process. Business owners need to observe the total cost of ownership (TCO) in order to support a business case for migration. ### Challenges with Cloud Migration Software Cloud migration software services can come with their own set of challenges.  **Migration of large databases:** One of the main challenges that the software faces is the huge task of moving large workloads and databases to the cloud. In order to function in the cloud, several times databases need to be moved to another platform to ensure optimized and efficient cloud computing capabilities. Moving large data sets into or between clouds is a time-consuming task since massive databases take a long time to move via the internet. Cloud migration, therefore, is a time-consuming activity for large databases. **Ensuring business continuity in real time:** A downtime for any organization can cost billions of dollars if not brought back to working capacity well in time. Sectors like banking, healthcare, stock markets, and others cannot afford downtime, which could cause drastic negative impacts. In such a situation, cloud migration services need to be able to support migrating applications into the cloud platforms in real time, without impacting business continuity. The migration service should be able to work in the background supporting data transfer to the cloud, as employees continue working on their daily functions. **Costs for migration:** Although moving to cloud computing will help in reducing costs, the costs associated with using migration software are significant. Some of the main costs include rewriting legacy application architecture to suit the cloud, investment costs associated with people and tools to ensure migration happens smoothly, bandwidth costs, training costs, licensing costs, and several others. **Cloud sprawl:** One of the biggest challenges that companies face is that in the excitement of moving to the cloud, they end up moving entire databases and applications without having a plan in place. This leads to cloud sprawl, wherein an organization does not have a complete view of all the cloud infrastructure during migration. This happens because the organization is migrating several cloud instances, providers, services, and therefore is unable to view or maintain accountability for all cloud components.  ### How to Buy Cloud Migration Software Choosing a cloud migration software is an extremely important task when embarking on a cloud transformation journey. The best cloud migration tool will ensure that all the requirements of migrating to the cloud are met, the data has been safely moved, processes have been streamlined and the firm can continue business processes without any halts or negative impacts. However, there are a few important steps that need to be taken before choosing a cloud migration software: **Develop a plan of action:** This is the key step before embarking on a cloud migration plan. Having an understanding of the present position and what is to be achieved from this migration will help the buyer in defining KPIs such as response time, compute usage, memory usage, and others. This plan outlines what are the goals of the migration to be accomplished. KPIs that were developed for application in legacy infrastructure might not apply once the migration is completed, hence illuminating the best KPIs is important in this step. In addition, the plan needs to be holistic—account for several factors such as timelines, priorities, funding, resource availability, and others. **Identify applications to be moved:** A company needs to do a deep dive into all their applications, workloads, software, and services to identify which of them need to be migrated. It is not necessary that all the applications need to be moved in one shot or need to be moved at all. Some applications might perform better on a public cloud than a private cloud or even on legacy infrastructure—identifying such differences is key. It is good to ask questions such as—is a redesign of applications required and if yes, what is the level of complexity required, which is the best cloud environment for different applications, does the cloud service provider also provide cloud migration capabilities, and so on. Answering these questions will help determine what should or shouldn't be migrated. **Identify the cloud service provider:** Choosing the right cloud provider is a necessary step since these providers will help to guide during the migration process. The provider should support cloud migration at a global scale if required at a later point in time. In addition, the buyer needs to choose a single cloud provider or if they plan to go multi or hybrid cloud. **Ensuring data security:** As the data transfer process happens, it could be a potential point of security and data breaches, causing a company’s data to be accessed by unknown parties. Managing this risk is crucial. **Execute cloud migration:** Once the above steps are completed, the migration process can begin. Migration will depend on the complexity of the architecture of applications, data, workloads, and others. Once the above steps have been completed, firms can opt for a cloud migration software that will help them achieve their cloud computing requirements. #### Compare Cloud Migration Software Products **Create a long list** This step involves creating a long list of cloud migration software providers that assist buyers on their cloud migration journey. Some key factors to consider include system automation, tracking server volumes, efficiently managing a company’s database, striving to minimize downtime, security support, data privacy, and others. Some other features include monitoring capabilities and alert systems. The best cloud migration tools help to move and synchronize files during the entire migration process. Some tools may also have disaster recovery and error and bug tracing as a feature; some are complex while others offer very basic services. **Create a short list** Once the long list of cloud monitoring tools has been identified, it is time to remove software that does not meet all the business criteria. For this, it is important to fall back on the assessment made earlier on what is to be done before choosing a migration service. Based on the assessment, buyers can further shorten their list and only choose those software vendors that meet all the business requirements. **Conduct demos** Once the list has been reduced to a couple of vendors, buyers may begin to request a demo. The demo will give them an idea of how the cloud migration software will work once the actual process begins, and the time required to move applications to the cloud. Having a demo on resources and applications is a good way to ensure the best fit. At this step, the buyer should ask several questions to the vendor as to the benefits, after-service support, staff training, and other additional features that can be provided.  #### Selection of Cloud Migration Software **Choose a selection team** Choosing the right team to work together on choosing cloud migration software is a critical part of the process. This team will be in charge of identifying pain points to finally overseeing the entire implementation and migration process. The team should include a mix of different personas who have the required skills, interest, and time. Some roles include project manager, system owner, decision makers, and others. From the technical team, there should be an IT admin, a cloud admin or engineer, and a technical lead. **Negotiation** When choosing cloud migration software, bringing in negotiation factors is very important especially on pricing and licensing. When migrating to the cloud, some software publishers allow buyers to move licenses from on premises to the cloud or between cloud environments. But this might not always be the case, which could put the buyers at a non compliance risk for the remainder of the contract and would require purchasing a cloud license for specific software. Hence, it is important to negotiate to include possible additional costs that might come in for the remainder of the contract. Other ways to negotiate include opting for multi-year contracts. **Final decision** Once all the steps are complete, the final decision is made weighing all factors and scenarios. Cloud migration providers can try to move smaller applications first for a small set of sample users. Based on this feedback, it can be used for enterprise-wide cloud migration. ### Cloud Migration Software Trends **Cloud plans are being expedited or extended—no slow down in investments** Companies are investing significantly in their cloud migration plans in order to differentiate from competitors and support cost-effective practices. IT leaders are expediting their cloud adoption plans to enable a remote workforce but also secure data value.  **From migration to modernization** Earlier, migration and modernization were viewed as two separate strategies. The conversation now is not just around how to migrate to the cloud, but also on how to modernize applications once migrated. Using an end-to-end method to accelerate modernization activities is a growing trend observed. Several vendors are now looking at identifying software providers and partners that are focused on migrating workloads in addition to modernizing legacy applications to the cloud.