Oracle to PostgreSQL

on Azure
The 3-Step Process to the
Modernization Journey
www.hexaware.com
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 03
Why migrate from Oracle to Postgres? 03
Challenges while migrating from Oracle to PostgreSQL 04
3 step migration approach from Oracle to PostgreSQL 04
Execution Steps for Replatforming Oracle to Azure SQL/Postgres 05
Indicative TCO Savings from a holistic approach to Data modernization 05
Benefits of Azure over other Cloud providers 06
Closing Comments 06

02
Executive Summary
A successful application & data modernization strategy is a prereq-
uisite for any enterprise looking to be competitive and wanting to
serve their customers in an agile and cost-effective way. However, Preparing for Migration to Thriving on
the presence of commercial database like Oracle in the application cloud the cloud the cloud
landscape become blockers in the cloud migration journey as
Detailed Migration to the Thriving on the
enterprises spend huge cost on their license and maintenance and
discovery & cloud in an cloud through
are often locked in between license renewals.
assessment of accelerated and optimum
your Oracle cost-effective utilization,
Enterprises can benefit significantly by eliminating commercial
Database for manner enhanced
database cost by re-platforming to open source, cloud native
cloud readiness productivity &
platforms and therefore achieve significant TCO reduction & faster
compliance
time to market solutions.

However, to be successful in the cloud transformation journey, This paper examines the solution to embrace the 3-step modern-
enterprises should take a 3-step detailed approach for a successful ization approach so that enterprises embark on a journey with a
migration: clear path to success.

Why migrate from Oracle to Postgres?

There are many reasons you might choose to migrate from Oracle to Postgres. Here are just a few of the benefits:

Azure cosmos
Cost Flexibility Customizability
DB for Postgres

In addition to Oracle Postgres has open-source Because Postgres is Improves scalability

license costs, using Oracle licensing and is easily open-source, there are significantly on Post-
databases incurs additional available from public cloud countless extensions and greSQL. Moreover,
costs for features like providers, including Azure. add-ons that can improve Multiple deployment
partitioning and high With Postgres, you’re not database performance options are available in
availability, and expenses at risk of vendor lock-in. markedly, and many of Azure for PostgreSQL
can add up quickly. them are free to use. With based on application
Open-source Postgres is Oracle, similar features requirements.
free to use. This helps to quickly add up in cost.
reduce TCO on cloud.

Since the data migration is between two relational database management systems (RDBMS), it can be a challenging and time-consuming
process due to heterogeneous structure/data types. As such, you want to be sure it’s tackled correctly and handled with the right tools and
platforms.

03
Challenges while migrating from Oracle to PostgreSQL
The challenges can be classified into 3 phases

Discovery & Assessment Migration Post Migration

The assessment challenges are the The Migration process includes convert- Once the execution of migration to
challenges that arise due to a lack of ing the source state to the target state PostgreSQL on Azure is complete, some
proper evaluation and understanding of that includes schema conversion for post-deployment challenges need to be
the Oracle Database, its functioning and database , refactoring the code and dealt with to ensure smooth operations
dependencies. The assessment migrating the data. The typical challeng- of the landscape on the cloud as listed
challenges are listed below: es faced with migration includes : below:
• Understanding Oracle • Optimizing the cost of cloud trans- • Monitoring usage and right sizing to
infrastructure, dependencies & formation minimize cloud wastage
Application impacts • Time taken to execute such complex • Compliance, security & perfor-
• Evaluation of database code migrations mance of the migrated resources on
complexity • Data integrity and security the cloud
• Performing compatibility checks • Business continuity and customer
with Target state satisfaction during transformation
• Assessing the migration readiness of
the Oracle data landscape to
migrate to PostgreSQL on Azure

3 step migration approach from Oracle to PostgreSQL

Before embarking on a 3-step approach to cloud transformation the journey begins by generating a business case i.e., identifying the drivers
of migrating to the cloud which involves evaluating the costs of migrating to the cloud versus the cost of staying on-premises and the risks
of migrating to the cloud versus the risks of not migrating to the cloud.

Preparing for the cloud Migrating to the cloud Thriving on the cloud
A detailed assessment is very critical to A detailed assessment is generally In the last phase, the focus is shifted to
mitigate any risks associated with the followed by a POC if a customer requires managing database and services on the
migration. It starts with a deep discovery proof of execution or a full-fledged cloud that requires a shift in approach
of the schema, Data objects, Application transformation of the Oracle Database. from an on-premises ecosystem and
impacts, Code compatibility & depen- The process includes attention to issues in terms of perfor-
dencies and assessing the re-platforming • Conversion of Oracle Schema mance management and cost manage-
readiness of the Oracle Database to including data types and objects to ment of the cloud services. Inadequate
PostgreSQL. Indicative ROI on cloud, PostgreSQL on Azure management on the cloud can lead to
timelines, cost of migration that includes • Migration of Data cost overruns and impact IT budget.
the efforts required to reactor code to • Migrating code that applies to the
PostgreSQL & the Database migration stored procedures, packages, and
readiness at this stage are critical in order functions within the database and
to take an informed decision regarding the application code that reads and
Migration. writes to the database
• Handling the code refactor between
Oracle to PostgreSQL

A critical factor to consider during a database migration initiative is to take a holistic approach to cloud migration where it is ideal to not only
consider re-platforming the database layer but also changes to the application & middleware layers so that customers can benefit from full
utilization of cloud computing and attain maximum business benefits. It also helps from a future modernization initiative plans that can be
undertaken once the entire landscape has been modernized to the cloud.

04
 Execution Steps for Replatforming Oracle to Azure SQL/Postgres

Run Amaze® DB Replatforming Azure Postgres DB Ready

Debug & Refactor Errors

SQL Server Refactor DB Scripts to Postgres DB Scripts
Sybase Table & View Sequences
Oracle / DB2 Upload DDL to Azure Postgres
DB2 / Sybase Procedure & Func Triggers
Oracle Keyword
Dictionary
DDL and DML Converted to
Postgres / SQL Server Format
Postgres/
SQL Server Generate Postgres Generate Postgres DB
DB Dictionary DDL SQL script Replatforming Report
Refactor DB Keywords and
Syntaxes from Postgres
Dictionary

Amaze® Consultant Load the SQL Scripts to Azure SQL

Generate AS IS Temp DDL

Assessment Report Reads the DB Structure

highlighting Azure SQL Postgres
the level of
refactoring required in Source
replatforming to Read the DB
Azure Postgres Azure SQL Server DB
Azure SQL Postgres

Indicative TCO Savings from a holistic approach to Data modernization

The below matrix is an example showing the indicative benefits that customers can achieve by migrating their legacy Java application
running on Oracle database to open-source cloud-managed platforms.

Database Target
Application Target

The real business value lies in modernizing legacy monolithic applications and re-platforming commercial databases to fully utilize the
capabilities of cloud computing & achieve maximum benefits. Therefore an holistic approach to data modernization is the key here.

The benefits highlighted also significantly depends on an automated migration solution since manual methods of migration can negate TCO
savings received from eliminating commercial application cost by moving to open source platforms on the cloud.

05
Benefits of Azure over other Cloud providers

Before we embark on the Oracle to PostgreSQL migration journey lets quickly look at the Azure cloud and why it is beneficial over other
could providers

With a presence in over 60 regions around the globe, more

than any other cloud provider and adding more regions,
Azure is expanding its services far and wide to address user
concerns related to availability and latency.

Azure has long been the go-to option for hybrid deploy-
ments amongst the big three with its well-established Azure Stack.
This provides customers with the hardware and software
required to deploy Azure public cloud services
from a local data center with a shared management portal, code,
and APIs for simple interoperability.

Closing Comments
There is no doubt that enterprises today are looking to reduce The challenge is determining the right path to the cloud and
their IT infrastruc- ture cost and the pandemic has augmented the migration process itself. Organizations lack the technical
this trend further. Many organizations have already made know-how and are looking for service providers to provide
their first move to the cloud. expertise and a differentiated solution that saves time and cost in
the migration process. The challenge also arises when it comes to
The cloud provides an excellent option for enterprise to managing the cloud landscape once the infrastructure is migrated
move their on-prem application and database landscape and since inefficient cloud infrastructure manage- ment can lead to
realize substantial benefits in terms of cost, security, and cost overruns and secu- rity failures.
compliance.

About Hexaware
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