Database virtualization calls ‘cut’ on cloud-migration drama

Cloud migration is turning software applications into spoiled prima donnas. Before shifting a legacy app to a cloud computing environment, companies must endure a drawn-out, shriek-filled, costly, dress rehearsal. Refactoring and rewriting apps can become a major production. Is there a way to whittle down or eliminate refactoring and still get worthwhile performance in the cloud?Part of application-refactoring and migration hoopla involves the database. Companies transitioning to cloud often find themselves having to rewrite traditional apps for a new database. Tasks like this can cause migrations to spin into two- to three-year projects with unsatisfactory results, according to Mike Waas (pictured), founder and chief executive officer of Datometry Inc., which offers a database virtualization platform “that liberates databases and data from vendor lock-in and reduces re-platforming to weeks, not years,” according to the company. “Migration very quickly has that scope creep and turns into a huge furball of all sorts of unmanageable stuff,” Waas said. “And that is why, I believe, Gartner put it at 60 to 70 percent of migrations fail.” What’s more, these applications have been reliable, value-adding assets for 10 or 20 years in some cases. Many companies aren’t in a rush to deconstruct them.