Moving to the cloud is a significant undertaking. A well-planned migration minimizes disruption and sets you up for long-term success. Here's our proven approach.
Phase 1: Assessment and Discovery
Before moving anything, understand what you have.
Inventory Your Environment
- -Servers (physical and virtual)
- -Applications and their dependencies
- -Databases and data stores
- -Network configurations
- -User access patterns
- -Integration points
Identify Stakeholders
- -IT staff
- -Application owners
- -Department heads
- -Finance (budgeting)
- -Compliance/Legal
- -End users (for testing)
Assess Each Workload
For each application/workload, determine:
Business Criticality:
- -Mission critical (cannot be down)
- -Important (limited downtime acceptable)
- -Standard (flexible timing)
Cloud Readiness:
- -Already cloud-native
- -Needs minor modifications
- -Requires significant rework
- -Cannot move (legacy/licensing)
Migration Strategy (The 6 Rs):
- -**Rehost:** Lift and shift as-is
- -**Replatform:** Minor optimizations during move
- -**Repurchase:** Move to SaaS alternative
- -**Refactor:** Rebuild for cloud-native
- -**Retire:** Decommission entirely
- -**Retain:** Keep on-premises (for now)
Phase 2: Planning
With assessment complete, build your plan.
Choose Your Cloud Model
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):
- -Virtual machines in the cloud
- -Maximum control, more management overhead
- -Good for: Custom applications, specific OS requirements
Platform as a Service (PaaS):
- -Managed platforms (databases, app services)
- -Less control, reduced management
- -Good for: Modern applications, development teams
Software as a Service (SaaS):
- -Complete applications (Microsoft 365, Salesforce)
- -Minimal management, limited customization
- -Good for: Standard business applications
Design Your Cloud Architecture
- -**Networking:** VPNs, ExpressRoute, virtual networks
- -**Security:** Firewalls, identity, encryption
- -**Availability:** Regions, redundancy, backup
- -**Compliance:** Data residency, industry requirements
Build Your Migration Timeline
Prioritize migrations by: 1. Low complexity, high value (quick wins) 2. High complexity, high value (invest the time) 3. Low complexity, low value (if time permits) 4. High complexity, low value (reconsider need)
Typical Timeline:
- -Assessment: 2-4 weeks
- -Planning: 2-4 weeks
- -Pilot migration: 2-4 weeks
- -Production migrations: 4-12 weeks
- -Optimization: Ongoing
Phase 3: Preparation
Set up your cloud environment before migrating workloads.
Establish Cloud Foundation
- -Create accounts/subscriptions
- -Configure identity (Azure AD, SSO)
- -Set up networking (VPN, virtual networks)
- -Implement security baseline
- -Configure monitoring and alerts
- -Establish backup policies
Prepare for Migration
- -Set up migration tools
- -Create runbooks for each workload
- -Plan communication to users
- -Schedule change windows
- -Prepare rollback procedures
Pilot Migration
- -Migration process works
- -Performance meets expectations
- -Security controls function
- -Monitoring captures what you need
- -Team understands the process
Phase 4: Migration Execution
Time to move workloads.
For Each Workload
Pre-Migration:
- -Notify stakeholders
- -Verify backups are current
- -Document current configuration
- -Confirm rollback plan
During Migration:
- -Follow runbook exactly
- -Document any deviations
- -Test immediately after migration
- -Monitor for issues
Post-Migration:
- -Validate all functionality
- -Update documentation
- -Decommission source (after validation period)
- -Gather feedback
Migration Methods
Lift and Shift (Rehost): Azure Migrate, AWS Migration Hub, or third-party tools can move VMs with minimal changes. Quick but may not optimize for cloud.
Data Migration: Azure Database Migration Service, AWS DMS, or native tools for database moves. Plan for schema changes if needed.
Application Migration: May require code changes, container packaging, or rebuild. Often done in parallel with existing system.
Phase 5: Optimization
Migration isn't the end—it's the beginning.
Immediate Optimization
Right-Sizing: Cloud resources are elastic. Start conservative and scale based on actual usage.
Reserved Capacity: Once usage patterns are clear, commit to reserved instances for predictable workloads.
Storage Tiering: Move infrequently accessed data to cheaper storage tiers.
Ongoing Optimization
Monitor Continuously:
- -Resource utilization
- -Application performance
- -Security events
- -Cost trends
Review Regularly:
- -Monthly cost reviews
- -Quarterly architecture reviews
- -Annual strategy assessment
Common Migration Mistakes
Learn from others' errors:
- **Underestimating dependencies** - Applications have hidden connections
- **Insufficient testing** - Users find problems you didn't test for
- **Ignoring training** - Staff need to learn new tools
- **Skipping documentation** - Critical during incidents
- **Not planning for cost** - Cloud can be more expensive if not managed
- **Big bang approach** - Migrate incrementally, not all at once
Cloud Migration Checklist
Pre-Migration:
- -[ ] Complete inventory and assessment
- -[ ] Stakeholders identified and engaged
- -[ ] Migration strategy per workload defined
- -[ ] Timeline and budget approved
- -[ ] Cloud foundation established
- -[ ] Security controls implemented
- -[ ] Pilot migration successful
During Migration:
- -[ ] Runbooks prepared and tested
- -[ ] Communication plan executed
- -[ ] Change windows scheduled
- -[ ] Rollback procedures documented
- -[ ] Testing plans ready
Post-Migration:
- -[ ] All functionality validated
- -[ ] Documentation updated
- -[ ] Users trained on changes
- -[ ] Monitoring and alerting active
- -[ ] Optimization plan in place
Need Help With Your Migration?
Cloud migration is complex, but you don't have to do it alone. Our team has migrated dozens of businesses to Azure and Microsoft 365. We can help with assessment, planning, execution, or all three. Contact us to discuss your project.