Migrate to Containers Complete Guide (2026)

Migrate to Containers (M2C) is a modernization tool that automatically containerizes apps running on legacy VMs and deploys them to GKE / Cloud Run / Anthos. It delivers a more advanced "app replatform" than VM migration (M2VM), letting you cut operational costs, increase deployment frequency, and become cloud-native all at once.

M2VM vs M2C Comparison

Item	M2VM (VM Migration)	M2C (Containerization)
Conversion	VM → GCE VM	VM → Container + K8s/Cloud Run
Modernization	Lift & Shift	Replatform
Operational burden	Continued VM management	Managed K8s/Run
Migration difficulty	Low	Medium
Long-term impact	Limited	Substantial (Auto Scale / DevOps)

Supported Platforms

Sources

VMware vSphere
Hyper-V
Physical servers (Linux)
AWS EC2
Azure VM
Existing GCE VMs

Targets

GKE Standard / Autopilot
Cloud Run
Anthos GKE on-prem / AWS / Azure

Supported App Stacks

Linux: Java (Tomcat / WildFly / WebSphere / JBoss), Python (Flask / Django), Node.js, .NET Core, Ruby, PHP
Windows: IIS .NET Framework 4.x, ASP.NET, and Windows containerization

Migration Phases

Discovery: Scan source environments and select target apps
Assessment: Use the Fit Assessment Tool to judge containerization feasibility
Extract: Extract app files and dependency libraries
Generate Artifacts: Auto-generate Dockerfile + Kubernetes manifests / Cloud Run YAML
Customize: Apply manual adjustments as needed
Build & Deploy: Cloud Build → Artifact Registry → GKE / Cloud Run
Test & Cutover: Validate behavior, then cut over to production

Fit Assessment Tool

Before migrating, each app's containerization fit is rated on a 5-level scale:

Fit: Containerizes without issues
Minor Issues: Minor adjustments needed
Major Issues: Significant fixes required
Not Fit: Difficult to containerize (e.g. kernel dependencies, physical device requirements)

Typical Success Stories

Case 1: Financial Institution (500 Java Apps)

Migration period: 6 months
Scope: 500 Tomcat / WildFly apps running on VMware
Target: GKE Autopilot
Results: 40% lower operational costs, 10x deployment frequency, 80% lower Mean Time To Recovery (MTTR)

Case 2: SaaS Startup (100 Microservices)

Migration period: 3 months
Scope: Node.js / Python microservices running on AWS EC2
Target: Cloud Run
Results: 50% lower infrastructure costs (cold starts acceptable), 60% lower operational labor costs

Phased Modernization Strategy

Phase 0: Assess — Select targets using Fit Assessment
Phase 1: Quick Wins — Move simple stateless apps to Cloud Run
Phase 2: Standardize — Move mid-size apps to GKE and put CI/CD in place
Phase 3: Cloud Native — Rearchitect into microservices where it makes sense
Phase 4: Optimize — GitOps + Service Mesh + Observability

Post-Migration Optimization

Auto-scale with HPA / VPA
Externalize databases to Cloud SQL / AlloyDB
Externalize state to GCS / Filestore
Harden security with Workload Identity
Cloud Monitoring + SLO design
Canary releases via Cloud Deploy
mTLS via Anthos Service Mesh

What is Migrate to Containers (M2C)?

A tool that automatically containerizes Linux / Windows apps running on VMware, physical servers, AWS, or Azure and deploys them to GKE / Cloud Run (formerly known as Migrate for Anthos).

How does it differ from VM migration (M2VM)?

M2VM moves VMs as-is to GCE, while M2C containerizes apps and deploys them to K8s / Cloud Run. M2C delivers far greater modernization benefits.

Which source apps are supported?

Java / Python / Node.js / .NET Core on Linux, plus IIS .NET Framework apps on Windows. Tomcat / WildFly / WebSphere and other stacks are also supported.

How does the containerize process work?

The M2C agent analyzes the source VM → extracts the required files → generates a Dockerfile + Kubernetes manifests → pushes the image to Artifact Registry.

Can stateful apps be migrated?

Yes. PVCs (Persistent Volume Claims) are generated automatically, and it is recommended to externalize data to GCS / Cloud SQL or similar managed services.

How much does it cost?

M2C itself is free; you only pay for the target GKE / Cloud Run resources.

How does this relate to Anthos migration?

M2C can deploy to GKE / Cloud Run / Anthos. With Anthos, you can even target on-premises Kubernetes.

What are some success stories?

A financial institution containerized 500+ Java apps and migrated them to GKE in 6 months, cutting operational costs by 40% and increasing deployment frequency 10x.

Related Articles: Migration / Modernization

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* Google Cloud is a trademark of Google LLC. For the latest details, check the official M2C docs.

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Migrate to Containers (M2C) Complete Guide: VM → GKE/Cloud Run Modernization