On November 7, 2025, AWS will end support for its Application Discovery Service (ADS), a tool many organizations have relied on to assess on-premises workloads before migrating to the cloud.
While AWS recommends transitioning to its newer AWS Application Migration Service and AWS Transform, this change represents a larger shift in the cloud landscape. Cloud migration visibility and optimization are no longer one-time tasks. They are continuous capabilities that sit at the heart of every modern cloud strategy, combining FinOps, AIOps, and performance management into a single, ongoing discipline.
The Strategic Signal Behind the AWS ADS Sunset
The retirement of AWS ADS is more than a routine service update. It marks an evolution in how enterprises manage migration and modernization. Organizations are no longer just moving workloads; they are transforming them, distributing them across multiple clouds, and continuously optimizing them for performance, resilience, and cost.
To succeed in this new environment, IT leaders need visibility that goes beyond static discovery scans. They require real-time, cross-cloud insight into how applications consume resources, how those resources impact performance, and how costs scale with demand.
This moment calls for a strategic shift. The next phase of cloud success will depend on platforms that can connect application performance with infrastructure data, providing continuous optimization instead of periodic assessment.
What This Means for Cloud Strategy
As cloud environments grow in scale and complexity, two disciplines are converging: FinOps and AIOps. Together they help organizations align financial responsibility with operational efficiency.
That convergence relies on three foundational elements:
- Visibility into every cloud workload and application.
- Insights that link performance, cost, and business impact.
- Automation that keeps workloads optimized without manual effort.
The AWS ADS sunset is a reminder that organizations must build sustainable visibility that evolves with the business. Static discovery tools can no longer keep pace with the dynamic nature of cloud operations.
Practical Steps for IT Leaders
Forward-thinking organizations are already taking steps to modernize their approach to discovery and migration planning. Some leading practices include:
- Adopting agentless, API-driven discovery to eliminate maintenance overhead and accelerate deployment.
- Integrating application performance monitoring (APM) data to understand dependencies and performance baselines.
- Modeling migration scenarios that consider both cost and performance before execution.
- Implementing automation to continuously right-size and optimize workloads after migration.
These actions create a foundation for continuous optimization rather than reactive management. They also prepare organizations to respond quickly to evolving business needs and technology changes.
IBM Turbonomic: Powering Continuous Optimization
As IT teams evaluate what comes next beyond AWS ADS, IBM Turbonomic offers a framework for sustained visibility and automation.
Turbonomic connects directly to AWS services including EC2, RDS, EBS, and EKS through agentless API integration. Within 60 minutes of deployment, it provides recommended actions that help improve performance and reduce cost. Its application-aware automation works with leading APM platforms such as Instana, Dynatrace, Datadog, New Relic, and AppDynamics to maintain performance and efficiency as workloads scale.
Turbonomic supports optimization across multiple clouds including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. This allows organizations to build a consistent approach to performance and cost management regardless of where their workloads reside.
Looking Ahead
The end of AWS ADS support offers more than a deadline to meet. It is a chance to modernize discovery, planning, and optimization across the cloud lifecycle. Organizations that take this moment to strengthen visibility, integrate automation, and connect application performance with business goals will be better equipped for long-term success.
Explore how IBM Turbonomic supports cloud migration planning or sign up for our Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Preview today.
This blog is authored by Mohamed El Sharif, Senior IT Automation Technical Specialist, IBM Turbonomic.