CloudBees CEO Anuj Kapur highlights the hidden costs of migration in enterprise organizations. A survey found that 57% of these organizations spent over $1 million on migration projects last year, with an average loss of $315,000 per project due to unexpected overruns. Kapur refers to this trend as “the migration mirage,” where companies pursue modernization through migration, only to find that the promised benefits often remain out of reach. This gap between expectation and reality leads organizations to chase a future that continually slips away from them. Kapur points out that many technical leaders underestimate the longevity and value of their existing systems. He notes that while CIOs may change frequently, applications tend to have a much longer lifespan. This oversight can result in costly decisions to replace functional systems with new platforms, which often delay the realization of actual value. The “DevOps Migration Index” report reveals that modernization and migration are often mistaken for the same process, but migration typically costs more and takes longer, ultimately hindering progress. The impact of migration goes beyond financial strain; it also affects developer morale. Engineers prefer to innovate and engage with customers rather than overhaul existing systems that are already delivering value. Kapur argues for a more flexible approach that empowers developers instead of enforcing rigid tool choices. He compares telling developers what tools to use to dictating fashion choices to teenagers. The conversation also touches on how to set boundaries in development without stifling creativity and the role of new code assistance tools in shaping software development. Kapur suggests that 2026 could mark a significant shift in software development since cloud adoption became mainstream nearly ten years ago.