The Hidden Cost of “Lift and Shift” in Healthcare IT
Moving to the cloud is often framed as modernization.
But simply moving existing systems from on-premises to the cloud — “lift and shift” — rarely delivers the transformation organizations expect.
In many healthcare environments, it introduces a new set of costs, risks, and constraints that don’t appear in the original business case.
Why Lift and Shift Is So Appealing
Lift and shift feels safe.
- Minimal redesign
- Faster timelines
- Lower upfront disruption
- Familiar workflows
It promises cloud benefits without organizational change.
That promise is usually false.
What Actually Happens After Migration
Once systems are running in the cloud, several issues surface quickly.
Costs increase instead of decreasing
Compute, storage, and data egress costs scale continuously.
Legacy inefficiencies become recurring operating expenses.
Performance issues persist
Applications designed for on-premises infrastructure don’t automatically perform better in the cloud.
In some cases, latency and reliability worsen.
Operational complexity grows
Hybrid architectures introduce new dependencies.
Responsibility boundaries among vendors, cloud providers, and internal teams are blurring.
Governance debt accumulates
Consumption-based pricing requires discipline.
Without strong governance, usage expands faster than value.
Why Cloud Doesn’t Equal Modernization
Modernization requires more than a new hosting environment.
Lift and shift:
- Preserves outdated workflows
- Retains inefficient architectures
- Avoids hard decisions about redesign
The cloud exposes these issues faster — and bills for them monthly.
What Real Modernization Looks Like
Organizations that realize the value of the cloud take a different approach.
They:
- Redesign applications and workflows for cloud-native operation
- Retire systems that no longer deliver value
- Align architecture decisions with clinical and operational priorities
- Establish cost governance before migration, not after
Cloud becomes an enabler of change — not a new place to run old problems.
The InsightBridge Perspective
At InsightBridge, we often see lift-and-shift used as a transitional step—not a destination.
When modernization becomes the strategy, organizations pay for it without realizing its benefits.
Leadership Takeaway
If your cloud strategy doesn’t include redesign, governance, and accountability,
You haven’t modernized — you’ve relocated complexity.