Cloud Migration SOP
Standard Operating Procedure for cloud migration assessment, planning, and execution
Service Pillar: Innovate
Service Category: Digital Transformation
Engagement Type: Project-based
Related Pricing: See Pricing & Positioning
Service Overview
Purpose
Provide comprehensive cloud migration services that enable organizations to successfully move workloads from on-premises infrastructure or between cloud providers, minimizing risk, controlling costs, and ensuring business continuity throughout the transformation.
Target Personas
| Persona |
Primary Pain Point |
Value Case |
| Solo IT Director |
No migration expertise |
Expert-led migration with knowledge transfer |
| CFO/Controller |
CapEx to OpEx transition |
TCO analysis and cost predictability |
| CTO/VP Engineering |
Infrastructure limiting growth |
Modern, scalable cloud foundation |
Business Justification
Pricing Reference
Assessment Phase
| Service |
[INTERNAL] Target |
[EXTERNAL] Sales Language |
Timeline |
| Cloud Readiness Assessment |
$12,000-$20,000 |
Starting at $12,000 |
2-3 weeks |
| Migration Roadmap |
Included in assessment |
— |
— |
| TCO Analysis |
Included in assessment |
— |
— |
Migration Execution
| Complexity |
[INTERNAL] Target |
[EXTERNAL] Sales Language |
Timeline |
| Simple (<10 workloads) |
$35,000-$50,000 |
Starting at $35,000 |
2-3 months |
| Standard (10-25 workloads) |
$50,000-$100,000 |
Starting at $50,000 |
3-4 months |
| Complex (25+ workloads) |
$100,000-$150,000 |
Starting at $100,000 |
4-6 months |
[BENCHMARK] Industry Pricing:
- Cloud migration for SMBs: $25,000-$500,000 depending on complexity (Flexera)
- Assessment phase: $2,000-$5,000/month (small-scale) to $100,000+/month (enterprise) (Appinventiv)
- Migration consulting: $150-$300/hour (Mission Cloud)
See Pricing & Positioning for complete pricing structure.
Migration Approaches
The 7 R's of Migration
| Strategy |
Description |
Best For |
Complexity |
| Rehost (Lift & Shift) |
Move as-is to cloud |
Quick wins, legacy systems |
Low |
| Replatform |
Minor optimizations during move |
Databases, middleware |
Medium |
| Repurchase |
Move to SaaS |
Email, CRM, ERP |
Low |
| Refactor/Re-architect |
Redesign for cloud-native |
Core applications |
High |
| Relocate |
VMware Cloud on AWS/Azure |
VMware shops |
Medium |
| Retain |
Keep on-premises |
Compliance, legacy |
N/A |
| Retire |
Decommission |
Unused applications |
Low |
Cloud Provider Selection
| Provider |
Strengths |
Best For |
| AWS |
Broadest services, maturity |
General purpose, enterprise |
| Azure |
Microsoft integration |
Microsoft-centric shops |
| GCP |
Data/ML, Kubernetes |
Analytics, containers |
Pre-Engagement
Discovery Checklist
Technical Requirements
| Component |
Requirement |
Notes |
| Current Environment Access |
Network diagrams, configs |
Assessment inputs |
| Application Documentation |
Architecture, dependencies |
Migration planning |
| Data Inventory |
Volume, classification, retention |
Data migration |
| Compliance Documentation |
Regulatory requirements |
Target architecture |
| Stakeholder Availability |
Business and technical |
Discovery interviews |
Service Delivery Framework
Migration Lifecycle
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CLOUD MIGRATION LIFECYCLE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ PHASE 1: DISCOVER & ASSESS (2-3 weeks) │
│ ├── Application portfolio discovery │
│ ├── Infrastructure assessment │
│ ├── Dependency mapping │
│ ├── Business criticality analysis │
│ └── Cloud readiness assessment │
│ │
│ PHASE 2: PLAN & DESIGN (2-4 weeks) │
│ ├── Target architecture design │
│ ├── Migration wave planning │
│ ├── TCO analysis and business case │
│ ├── Risk assessment and mitigation │
│ └── Detailed migration runbooks │
│ │
│ PHASE 3: PREPARE (1-2 weeks) │
│ ├── Cloud account/subscription setup │
│ ├── Network connectivity (VPN/Direct Connect) │
│ ├── Security controls implementation │
│ ├── Migration tooling deployment │
│ └── Team training and enablement │
│ │
│ PHASE 4: MIGRATE (4-16 weeks) │
│ ├── Wave-based workload migration │
│ ├── Data migration and sync │
│ ├── Testing and validation │
│ ├── Cutover execution │
│ └── Rollback procedures (if needed) │
│ │
│ PHASE 5: OPTIMIZE (2-4 weeks + ongoing) │
│ ├── Performance tuning │
│ ├── Cost optimization │
│ ├── Security hardening │
│ ├── Operational handoff │
│ └── Documentation finalization │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Migration Wave Strategy
| Wave |
Workloads |
Purpose |
| Wave 0 |
Migration tooling, test environments |
Prove process |
| Wave 1 |
Low-risk, low-complexity |
Quick wins, learn |
| Wave 2 |
Medium complexity |
Build confidence |
| Wave 3 |
High-complexity, business-critical |
Core migration |
| Wave 4 |
Legacy, special handling |
Final cleanup |
Risk Assessment Matrix
| Risk Category |
Impact |
Mitigation |
| Data Loss |
Critical |
Validated backups, sync verification |
| Extended Downtime |
High |
Detailed runbooks, rollback plans |
| Application Failure |
High |
Pre-migration testing, UAT |
| Security Exposure |
Critical |
Security review, hardening |
| Cost Overrun |
Medium |
TCO tracking, governance |
| Skill Gaps |
Medium |
Training, documentation |
Operational Procedures
Assessment Phase
| Activity |
Duration |
Deliverable |
| Kickoff Meeting |
Day 1 |
Project charter, stakeholder alignment |
| Discovery Interviews |
Week 1 |
Application and business context |
| Infrastructure Scan |
Week 1-2 |
Asset inventory, dependencies |
| Readiness Analysis |
Week 2-3 |
Cloud readiness report |
| Recommendation Presentation |
Week 3 |
Migration roadmap, business case |
Migration Phase
| Activity |
Frequency |
Description |
| Daily Stand-up |
Daily |
Progress, blockers, next steps |
| Wave Planning |
Per wave |
Detailed cutover plan |
| Testing |
Per workload |
Functional, performance, security |
| Cutover |
Per wave |
Production migration |
| Validation |
Post-cutover |
Business acceptance |
Weekly Reporting
| Component |
Content |
| Progress Summary |
Workloads migrated, remaining |
| Risk Register |
Current risks, mitigations |
| Issue Log |
Open issues, blockers |
| Next Week |
Planned activities |
| Metrics |
Downtime, performance, costs |
Deliverables
Assessment Deliverables
| Deliverable |
Format |
Description |
| Cloud Readiness Report |
Document (15-25 pages) |
Assessment findings, recommendations |
| Application Portfolio |
Spreadsheet |
Inventory with disposition |
| Dependency Map |
Diagram |
Application and infrastructure dependencies |
| TCO Analysis |
Spreadsheet + narrative |
3-5 year cost comparison |
| Migration Roadmap |
Document + timeline |
Phased migration plan |
Migration Deliverables
| Deliverable |
Format |
Description |
| Target Architecture |
Document + diagrams |
Cloud environment design |
| Migration Runbooks |
Document per wave |
Step-by-step procedures |
| Test Plans |
Document |
Validation criteria |
| Cutover Plans |
Document |
Detailed cutover steps |
| Operations Handoff |
Document + training |
Knowledge transfer |
Post-Migration Deliverables
| Deliverable |
Format |
Description |
| As-Built Documentation |
Document + diagrams |
Final architecture |
| Operations Guide |
Document |
Day-to-day procedures |
| Optimization Report |
Document |
Performance and cost recommendations |
| Lessons Learned |
Document |
Project retrospective |
Quality Assurance
Quality Gates
| Gate |
Criteria |
Approval |
| Assessment Complete |
Inventory validated, dependencies mapped |
Project lead |
| Architecture Approved |
Design reviewed, security validated |
Technical + client |
| Ready to Migrate |
Runbooks complete, rollback tested |
Project lead + client |
| Wave Complete |
Testing passed, business validated |
Client stakeholder |
| Migration Complete |
All workloads migrated, optimized |
Executive sponsor |
Testing Requirements
| Test Type |
Coverage |
Timing |
| Functional |
All migrated applications |
Pre-cutover |
| Performance |
Critical applications |
Pre and post-cutover |
| Security |
All workloads |
Pre and post-migration |
| Integration |
Dependent systems |
Pre-cutover |
| UAT |
Business-critical workflows |
Pre-cutover |
Success Criteria
| Metric |
Target |
Measurement |
| Migration on-schedule |
90%+ |
Milestone tracking |
| Downtime during migration |
<4 hours per workload |
Cutover tracking |
| Application performance |
≥ baseline |
Post-migration testing |
| Data integrity |
100% validated |
Data validation |
| Client satisfaction |
4.5+/5.0 |
Project survey |
Integration with Other Services
Internal Service Integration
| Service |
Integration |
Value |
| Cloud Operations |
Post-migration handoff |
Ongoing management |
| Managed SOC |
Security monitoring |
Threat detection |
| vCTO |
Strategic alignment |
Technology roadmap |
| Risk Assessment |
Migration risk analysis |
Risk mitigation |
Evidence Base
Why This Approach Works
| Principle |
Evidence |
Source |
| Phased migration reduces risk |
40% lower failure rate |
Gartner |
| Assessment prevents cost overruns |
2-3x better budget accuracy |
McKinsey |
| Wave-based approach |
50% faster time-to-value |
AWS Migration Hub |
| Testing gates |
60% fewer post-migration issues |
Deloitte Cloud Study |
SBK Success Metrics
| Metric |
Target |
Measurement |
| On-time delivery |
90%+ |
Project tracking |
| Budget adherence |
±10% |
Financial tracking |
| Downtime per workload |
<4 hours |
Cutover tracking |
| Client satisfaction |
4.5+/5.0 |
Project survey |
References
Last Updated: February 2026
Version: 1.0