As enterprises continue their journey to the cloud, they are typically faced with two established migration strategies: Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and Lift-and-Shift. Each method has its strengths — but also its drawbacks. IaC brings the benefits of automation and cloud-native architecture, yet it demands significant time, skills, and upfront investment. On the other hand, Lift-and-Shift enables faster migrations by moving workloads in their existing form, but it often carries technical debt and legacy inefficiencies into the cloud. 

The Challenge: Speed vs. Strategy 

IaC migrations are ideal for building modern, scalable cloud environments. However, the process of rewriting infrastructure configurations and refactoring applications to fit a new architecture can be lengthy and complex. Conversely, Lift-and-Shift migrations are appealing for their speed, requiring little to no modification— but they rarely result in optimized or cost-effective outcomes in the long term. 

What if you didn’t have to choose between speed and strategy? 

Enter RiverMeadow: A Unified Migration Solution 

The RiverMeadow Mobility Platform is purpose-built to bridge the gap between these two approaches. It delivers the rapid execution of Lift-and-Shift while embedding the optimization and modernization benefits commonly associated with IaC — without the heavy refactoring burden. 

RiverMeadow enables organizations to migrate workloads quickly and securely, while also modernizing infrastructure and applications during the process. This “lift and optimize” model empowers teams to accelerate time-to-cloud, reduce operational risk, and avoid the trade-offs typically found in traditional migration strategies. 

Approach Overview

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Migration 

  • Uses tools like Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, Azure Bicep, and Ansible to define infrastructure in code. 
  • Infrastructure is recreated in the cloud using automation platforms and scripts. 
  • Often requires significant application refactoring to align with cloud-native architecture. 
  • Offers automation but demands skilled engineering resources and longer timelines. 

Lift-and-Shift Migration 

  • Moves workloads as-is from on-premises to the cloud. 
  • Minimal changes to applications or infrastructure. 
  • Enables fast migrations but transfers technical debt and inefficiencies. 

RiverMeadow Mobility Platform 

  • Performs agentless, automated workload migrations with minimal disruption. 
  • Optimizes infrastructure and applications during migration, not after. 
  • Eliminates technical debt and complexity through built-in modernization workflows. 
  • Enables “Gold Plating”—enhancing workloads for performance, security, and scalability as part of the migration. 

Comparison: IaC vs. Lift-and-Shift vs. RiverMeadow Mobility Platform 

Aspect 

IaC-based Migration 

Lift-and-Shift Migration 

RiverMeadow Mobility Platform 

Speed & Costs 

Slower; scripting & testing required, costly 

Fast; basic VM replication 

Fast, Fully Automated, Cost-Effective 

Automation 

Medium – requires integration with automation platforms 

Low – mostly manual processes 

High – End-to-End automation without agents 

Cloud Optimization 

Medium – requires well-architected framework knowledge 

Low – workloads operate as-is 

Built-in Optimization – storage and compute efficiency included 

Modernization 

Often requires deep refactoring 

None during migration 

Modernization Included – reduces technical debt and applies enhancements 

Risk 

High – more change increases chance of regression 

Medium – manual steps and drift risks 

Low – Secure, agentless, and consistent migration process 

Cost Efficiency 

Long-term savings via optimized design 

Typically results in higher cloud operating costs 

Optimized Costs – Integrated right-sizing and cost control 

Supported Environments 

Limited to IaC tool compatibility 

Primarily VM-centric environments 

Broad Support – VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, AWS, Azure, GCP, and more 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary

Enterprises no longer need to compromise between control and speed when migrating to the cloud. While IaC offers deep automation and alignment with cloud-native architecture, it’s often time-intensive. Meanwhile, Lift-and-Shift offers fast results but lacks optimization and introduces long-term inefficiencies. 

RiverMeadow Mobility Platform provides the best of both worlds— combining rapid, secure migration with deep modernization capabilities. Whether you're moving legacy systems, modernizing apps, or replatforming to gain cost and performance benefits, RiverMeadow delivers a smarter, more complete migration strategy. 

Recommendation

For organizations seeking a fast, low-risk, and future-proof path to the cloud, RiverMeadow Mobility Platform is the clear choice. It merges the speed of Lift-and-Shift with the strategic value of IaC, helping businesses transition confidently into optimized cloud environments — without delay, debt, or disruption.