Why Most Cloud Migrations Go Sideways
Cloud migration failure isn't usually a technology problem — it's a planning problem. Businesses jump in because a vendor promised savings, then discover that lift-and-shift without a real strategy just moves the mess to somebody else's data center at 2x the cost.
Here is the checklist we actually run with clients.
Phase 1: Assess Before You Move
Phase 2: Choose the Right Model
Not every workload belongs in the public cloud. A common mistake is picking one provider for everything.
Phase 3: Migrate in Waves
Never migrate everything at once. We run migrations in three waves:
Each wave gets tested, validated, and rolled back if needed before the next one starts.
Phase 4: Control the Bill
Cloud bills spiral because nobody owns them. Assign one person to review monthly, set up budget alerts, right-size instances quarterly, and delete orphaned resources.
Phase 5: Secure What You Just Moved
The cloud is a shared responsibility. The provider secures the infrastructure — you secure the data, identities, and configurations. Enable MFA, encrypt at rest, log everything, and run a quarterly access review.
The Bottom Line
A good cloud migration reduces cost by 20–40% and cuts downtime dramatically. A bad one does the opposite. The difference is the checklist.
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