AWS Cloud Migration from GCP: Strategies and How Microtica Simplifies the Process

As businesses grow and adapt to changing demands, choosing the right cloud platform becomes essential for performance, scalability, and cost management. Many organisations that started with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are now looking towards Amazon Web Services (AWS) to take advantage of its broader range of services, extensive global infrastructure, and strong enterprise support ecosystem.

Migrating from GCP to AWS can unlock new opportunities – from leveraging AWS’s advanced AI and analytics capabilities to reducing latency for global users and optimising operational costs with flexible pricing models. However, such a migration is not without its challenges. Differences in service architectures, compliance requirements, and the technical complexity of moving workloads between two major cloud providers mean careful planning is needed.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the benefits of migrating from GCP to AWS, planning steps before you start, migration strategies, a step-by-step process, and challenges to consider. You’ll also learn how Microtica simplifies GCP to AWS migrations by automating infrastructure, deployment, and monitoring, making your transition faster and more secure.

Understanding AWS Cloud Migration from GCP

Migrating from Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to Amazon Web Services (AWS) involves transferring applications, data, and workloads between two major cloud providers. Companies make this move to gain access to AWS’s wider range of services, larger global infrastructure, and extensive partner ecosystem.

While both platforms offer similar core cloud services, differences in architecture, service names, and configurations mean a GCP to AWS migration requires careful planning, the right strategy, and tools that simplify the process.

Benefits of Migrating from GCP to AWS

Migrating from GCP to AWS offers several practical advantages that can enhance your organisation’s performance, scalability, and cost efficiency.

Broader Service Offerings

AWS offers a wider portfolio of services, particularly in areas like AI, ML, IoT, analytics, and serverless computing. This allows businesses to innovate and deploy advanced solutions without needing complex third-party integrations or custom builds.

Larger Global Infrastructure for Lower Latency

AWS operates in more regions and availability zones than GCP, enabling businesses to deploy workloads closer to their end-users. This helps reduce latency, improves performance, and enhances user experience globally.

Stronger Enterprise Support Ecosystem and Partner Network

With its extensive network of partners, certified professionals, and third-party integrations, AWS simplifies enterprise adoption and management. Companies benefit from better support options, dedicated enterprise programs, and a wider talent pool familiar with AWS services.

Potential Cost Savings

AWS offers flexible pricing models such as reserved instances and savings plans that can lead to lower long-term costs. Businesses can choose payment structures aligned with their workload patterns, optimising spend based on usage and commitments.

Planning Your Migrations: Steps Before You Start

Proper planning is essential before starting your migration journey to ensure a smooth transition and to avoid costly setbacks.

Assess Current GCP Workloads

Begin with a thorough inventory of your existing GCP resources. Identify all applications, databases, VMs, and storage solutions in use. Understanding dependencies and interconnections is essential to avoid surprises during migration.

Map GCP Services to AWS Equivalents

Map each GCP service to its AWS counterpart. For example:

• GCP Cloud SQL → Amazon RDS
• GCP Compute Engine → Amazon EC2
• GCP Cloud Storage → Amazon S3

This mapping ensures compatibility and streamlines the migration process by clarifying which AWS services will replace current GCP functionalities.

Evaluate Compliance and Security Requirements

Review your compliance obligations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or regional data residency requirements. Assess AWS security features and configure IAM roles, encryption, and monitoring to align with your organisational standards.

Define Your Migration Strategy

Choose the migration approach based on your workloads, timelines, and business objectives. Options include rehosting for speed, replatforming for optimisation, or refactoring for long-term scalability (explored below).

Migration Strategies for GCP to AWS

Choosing the right migration strategy is crucial to balance speed, cost, and long-term benefits when moving your workloads from GCP to AWS.

Rehosting (Lift-and-Shift)

This strategy involves moving applications from GCP to AWS without modifying their architecture. It’s the fastest way to migrate workloads and is ideal for businesses looking to relocate quickly to AWS with minimal changes. However, it doesn’t immediately leverage AWS-native features.

Replatforming (Lift-and-Reshape)

Replatforming requires minor adjustments to applications to optimise performance or cost on AWS. For example, migrating from GCP’s Cloud SQL to Amazon RDS with slight configuration changes. It balances migration speed with some modernisation benefits.

Refactoring (Re-architecting)

Refactoring involves redesigning applications to fully utilise AWS-native services. While it demands more time and investment, it enables businesses to achieve better scalability, availability, and long-term cost efficiency through services like AWS Lambda, ECS, or DynamoDB.

Step-By-Step GCP to AWS Cloud Migration Process

Following a clear, structured process helps ensure your migration from GCP to AWS proceeds smoothly and minimizes disruptions.

Assess and Inventory Your GCP Environment

Document all workloads, dependencies, and configurations. This creates a complete picture of your current infrastructure, helping you plan for compatibility, performance, and security requirements in AWS.

Map Services to AWS Equivalents

Confirm how each GCP service translates technically and operationally to AWS. For example, GCP Compute Engine maps to Amazon EC2, and GCP Cloud Storage maps to Amazon S3. This mapping ensures seamless functionality post-migration.

Set Up Your AWS Environment

Create your AWS accounts and configure core networking components such as VPCs, subnets, IAM roles, and security groups. A well-prepared environment lays the foundation for a successful migration.

Choose Migration Tools

Select the right tools for different workloads:

• Use AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) for virtual machines.
• Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) for databases.
• Use AWS DataSync for transferring data from GCP Cloud Storage to Amazon S3.

Using the appropriate migration tools tailored to your workloads will help streamline the process and reduce the risk of errors or downtime.

Prepare Workloads for Migration

Install necessary agents, update configurations, and set up network connectivity to ensure your workloads are ready for migration without interruptions.

Migrate Workloads Step by Step

Begin with non-critical workloads as a proof of concept. Validate performance and configurations before migrating business-critical applications to minimise risk.

Test Migrated Workloads

Conduct functional, performance, and security testing to ensure applications and services operate as expected in the new AWS environment. This helps catch issues before going live.

Cut Over and Go Live

Switch production traffic to AWS workloads. Decommission resources on GCP once AWS workloads are stable, ensuring no redundant costs or conflicting services remain.

Optimise Post-Migration

Use tools like AWS Cost Explorer to manage costs effectively and Amazon CloudWatch to monitor performance, resolve bottlenecks, and maintain operational efficiency.

Challenges to Consider

While migrating from GCP to AWS offers many benefits, it’s important to be aware of potential challenges that could impact your migration timeline and success.

Service Compatibility Differences

GCP and AWS services may not have one-to-one feature parity. This often requires architectural adjustments to ensure applications function correctly in the new environment.

Data Transfer Costs and Network Limitations

Large data migrations can incur significant costs, especially when transferring petabyte-scale datasets. In such cases, physical transfer solutions like AWS Snowball can improve efficiency and reduce transfer time.

Downtime Risks

Depending on workload complexity, there may be unavoidable downtime during migration. Careful planning with replication and cutover strategies is necessary to minimise business disruption.

Security and Compliance Alignment

Ensuring that migrated workloads meet your organisation’s security policies and regulatory compliance standards is critical. This includes configuring IAM roles, encryption, and monitoring post-migration.

Skill Gaps

Your team may need training on AWS-native services, architectures, and operational best practices to manage and optimise the new environment effectively after migration.

How Microtica Simplifies GCP to AWS Migration

Microtica’s cloud-native DevOps automation platform streamlines GCP to AWS migration with integrated tools and processes designed for efficiency, security, and speed:

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Microtica allows you to replicate GCP infrastructure as code into AWS configurations. This ensures consistency, reduces manual errors, and speeds up environment setup.
• Automated CI/CD pipelines
  Deploy applications seamlessly on AWS using Microtica’s automated pipelines integrated with your Git repositories. This reduces downtime and accelerates time-to-production post-migration.
• Service mapping templates
  Predefined templates within Microtica simplify mapping GCP services to AWS equivalents, removing guesswork and configuration risks.
• Real-time monitoring and observability
  Monitor applications and infrastructure throughout the migration process to identify performance issues early and maintain operational continuity.
• Built-in security controls
  Microtica enforces security policies within pipelines, ensuring that migrated workloads comply with industry standards and organisational requirements.
• Team collaboration
  Enable developers, DevOps, and security teams to work together in a unified platform, improving efficiency and reducing miscommunication during migration projects.

By automating infrastructure setup, deployment, and monitoring, Microtica reduces complexity and accelerates GCP to AWS migrations, ensuring your workloads are production-ready quickly and securely.

Conclusion

Migrating from Google Cloud Platform to Amazon Web Services provides businesses with broader service options, improved global performance, and potential cost savings. However, successful migration requires detailed planning, choosing the right strategy, and using tools that reduce complexity.

Microtica simplifies each step, from infrastructure as code replication to automated deployments and monitoring. By integrating Microtica into your GCP to AWS migration process, you can reduce risks, minimise downtime, and accelerate time-to-value in your new AWS environment.

Ready to streamline your GCP to AWS migration? Explore how Microtica can help your team today.

FAQ

How long does it take to migrate from GCP to AWS?

Timelines vary based on workload complexity and migration strategy. Lift-and-shift migrations can take a few weeks, while refactoring projects that involve re-architecting applications may require several months.

What is the most cost-effective migration strategy?

Rehosting is generally the fastest and most cost-effective short-term approach. However, replatforming or refactoring can reduce long-term operational costs by optimising workloads for AWS-native features.

Can I migrate databases with minimal downtime?

Yes. Using AWS Database Migration Service (DMS), you can replicate databases continuously from GCP to AWS and cut over with minimal disruption to users.

How does Microtica integrate into my migration process?

Microtica provides infrastructure as code templates, automated CI/CD pipelines, and monitoring tools. This simplifies and accelerates every stage of the migration, ensuring consistency, security, and efficiency.

Is Microtica suitable for enterprises with strict compliance requirements?

Yes. Microtica enforces security policies within its pipelines, supporting compliance with standards like ISO, GDPR, and HIPAA to meet enterprise-grade regulatory requirements.