A well-executed cloud migration strategy does more than reduce IT costs; it lays the groundwork for better performance, stronger security, and long-term operational agility. But moving systems, applications, and data from on-premise infrastructure to a cloud environment is rarely straightforward.
This guide outlines a practical, step-by-step cloud migration checklist designed to help IT managers assess their current position, avoid unnecessary disruption, and meet both technical and business goals.
Each step reflects real-world challenges and provides guidance on making informed decisions that balance risk, cost, and performance.
Why Migrate to the Cloud?
A strong migration plan starts with understanding why the move is necessary. Cost savings may be a driver, but rarely the only one. IT managers are always asked to solve for scalability, security, and compliance while delivering an improved user experience. Migration projects must address both IT and business priorities from day one.
Key reasons organisations are reviewing or accelerating cloud adoption include:
- Rising infrastructure costs associated with maintaining aging hardware and data center capacity
- Limited scalability in legacy systems that restrict responsiveness to growth or changing demand
- Security vulnerabilities in unmanaged endpoints and fragmented infrastructure
- Compliance pressures requiring more consistent audit and reporting capabilities
- Remote access needs that outpace the performance or reliability of on-premise setups
Risks Without a Migration Plan
Migrating to the cloud without a clearly defined plan is a recipe for disaster. Migration is an extensive process, and without the right plan, can go wrong in many ways.
These risks can include:
- Disruption to critical services during poorly timed transitions
- Unforeseen costs due to over-provisioned cloud resources or inefficient workload placement
- Post migration performance issues caused by architecture misalignment
- Data loss or compliance breaches due to gaps in protection and access control
Cloud Migration
Pre-Migration Phase: Laying the Groundwork
This stage determines how well the migration will perform, how much disruption can be avoided, and whether the new cloud environment will deliver lasting value. Each task in this pre-migration phase is critical to ensuring nothing goes wrong during the actual execution.
Step 1: Run a Cloud Assessment
Before any infrastructure is moved, clarity is needed on what exists and what needs to change. A comprehensive cloud migration assessment checklist helps surface gaps in documentation, security controls, and system dependencies.
Key tasks:
- Catalogue all applications, databases, workloads, and data flows across the on-premise environment
- Identify technical debt, legacy systems, or unsupported platforms
- Map dependencies between systems, APIs, and third-party services
- Confirm compliance requirements that may affect where and how data is stored or moved
This step provides an objective view of the current state. It’s also the baseline for building a realistic migration plan.
Step 2: Define Business and Technical Goals
Cloud computing is rarely adopted in isolation. It often supports broader business outcomes such as regional expansion, improved customer experience, or faster release cycles. These outcomes should drive the migration priorities.
Define:
- Business drivers: cost reduction, flexibility, risk mitigation, performance
- Non-functional requirements: uptime targets, recovery point objectives (RPO), and recovery time objectives (RTO)
- Compliance mandates: industry-specific obligations (PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, GDPR)
- Operational KPIs: user satisfaction, service availability, resource utilisation
Goals should be measurable and agreed upon before the migration method is selected.
Step 3: Choose the Right Cloud Environment
Not every cloud service or platform suits every use case. The right cloud platform will depend on the types of workloads being migrated and the governance model required.
Evaluate:
- Public vs. hybrid vs. private environments
- Regional data center locations for sovereignty and latency
- Compatibility with existing DevOps or monitoring frameworks
- Available support for application migration or refactoring
- Security posture and shared responsibility model
Matching the right cloud service to each workload helps ensure efficiency and performance after transition.
Step 4: Prioritise and Segment Workloads
Workloads vary in complexity and criticality. Trying to move everything at once increases the risk of failure and delays.
Segment workloads into:
- Low-risk, low-dependency systems for pilot testing
- High-value, customer-facing services that require careful handling
- Data sets that need classification before being migrated to the cloud
Create a phased plan that builds confidence and gives time to test assumptions.
Step 5: Develop a Security and Governance Framework
- Establish identity and access management controls
- Define encryption standards for data in transit and at rest
- Review audit requirements and configure logging
- Map user roles, endpoint protection policies, and patching protocols
- Document responsibilities for internal teams and external vendors
This stage should also include a backup plan and a testable disaster recovery procedure for the initial cutover period.
Migration Phase: Executing with Precision
This phase involves the actual transfer of applications, data, and infrastructure components into the new cloud environment. It requires rigorous planning, tested procedures, and minimal disruption to users or business operations.
Step 6: Design the Target Architecture
The cloud is not a replica of the data center. Rebuilding architecture around cloud-native services creates opportunities to improve performance, reduce costs, and increase resilience.
Actions:
- Align architecture with the chosen cloud platform and service model (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)
- Right-size virtual machines and storage volumes to avoid over-provisioning
- Integrate automation for scaling, failover, and deployment pipelines
- Document network design, including VPCs, firewalls, and routing rules
- Build in monitoring and alerting at all layers of the stack
For application migration, this is the moment to review which services can be replatformed or containerised to improve portability and flexibility.
Step 7: Finalise the Migration Plan
At this point, the migration plan becomes highly specific. This is not a high-level schedule, but a detailed, step-by-step breakdown of who does what, when, and how.
Include:
- Defined timeline with phased workload groups
- Cutover plans with clear rollback criteria
- Stakeholder responsibilities and escalation paths
- Change control checkpoints to review risks and approve go/no-go decisions
- Communications protocols across IT, business units, and end-users
A detailed plan is the foundation of any successful cloud migration project.
Step 8: Conduct a Pilot Migration
Before scaling up, a pilot run validates the process and highlights issues early. Choose a non-critical workload or dataset that mirrors the complexity of what will follow.
Key outcomes to test:
- Data integrity post-migration
- Network latency and system performance
- Access control and user authentication
- Integration with external APIs or legacy systems
- Backup and recovery procedures
Lessons from this stage should be used to refine tools, timelines, and processes for the broader rollout.
Step 9: Execute a Phased Rollout
Rather than migrating all systems at once, staged execution reduces the risk of downtime and preserves service continuity.
Approach:
- Move lower-priority workloads first
- Monitor performance and resolve configuration issues before scaling
- Involve business units early for user acceptance testing
- Keep rollback options available until validation is complete
- Document each wave of migration in detail to support post-migration audits
Each phase informs the next, reducing errors and increasing the predictability of the transition.
Step 10: Maintain Operational Oversight Throughout
A smooth rollout depends on clear visibility into system health, user access, and resource consumption.
Use:
- Real-time monitoring tools to track service uptime
- Log aggregation to identify anomalies
- Alerts for failed jobs or performance degradation
- Resource tagging for cost tracking and optimisation
- Security dashboards to confirm compliance status
Consistent oversight avoids surprises, especially in hybrid environments that include legacy infrastructure during the transition.
Post-Migration Phase: Stabilise, Optimise, Secure
This final phase ensures that systems operate as expected, costs stay under control, and your business sees value from the transition. It’s also where long-term governance, optimisation, and compliance measures are fully implemented.
Step 11: Validate Functionality and Performance
All systems should be tested against pre-defined success criteria. This ensures the migration has met its objectives and that the cloud environment is ready for steady-state operations.
Checklist:
- Confirm application availability and correct operation under normal and peak load
- Review error logs, latency, and connectivity between services
- Validate that users can access systems based on role and policy
- Recheck data integrity, especially for migrated databases and storage
- Document all test results and flag any unresolved issues for follow-up
This stage also provides evidence for audit and stakeholder sign-off, which is especially important in regulated industries.
Step 12: Monitor Usage and Optimise Resources
Migration often reveals inefficiencies in how workloads consume infrastructure. Without active optimisation, cloud spend can exceed budget quickly.
Tasks:
- Analyse billing data to identify idle or underused instances
- Evaluate performance metrics against original sizing assumptions
- Implement autoscaling where appropriate
- Convert eligible workloads to Reserved Instances or savings plans
- Set up monthly reviews to track cost trends and usage anomalies
Step 13: Confirm Security and Compliance Alignment
Migration introduces new risks, especially around access controls, encryption policies, and regulatory compliance. Review and reinforce your security and compliance posture as part of the post migration checklist.
Steps to take:
- Audit all IAM configurations for principle of least privilege
- Revalidate encryption of data at rest and in transit
- Review firewall rules, NSGs, and security group settings
- Run vulnerability assessments and remediate findings
- Confirm logging is active for compliance-sensitive systems
- Document your alignment with applicable standards (e.g. ISO 27001, Essential 8, PCI-DSS)
Security must be dynamic, responsive to change, and embedded into daily operations. It’s not a one-time review after go-live.
Step 14: Provide Training and Transition Support
User adoption is a key factor in the success of any digital transformation. Technical success alone does not equal a successful cloud migration unless teams can confidently manage and use the new environment.
Best practices:
- Deliver role-based onboarding sessions for IT admins and support staff
- Provide documentation covering workflows, monitoring, and recovery procedures
- Enable self-service portals or dashboards where appropriate
- Capture early feedback and resolve usability issues quickly
- Establish clear support channels for issue escalation and guidance
Get Your Cloud Migration Right the First Time
Cloud migration shouldn’t be a leap of faith. With the right plan, it becomes a controlled, low-risk transition that strengthens your security posture, simplifies operations, and sets your business up for long-term success.
No matter whether you’re performing cloud-to-cloud migration, or on-premise to cloud migration, a checklist like this one isn’t about ticking boxes. It gives IT leaders the clarity and structure they need to move with purpose, avoid disruption, and deliver real outcomes.
If you’re looking at shifting from your current cloud platform or moving away from an on-premises environment, we can help. Our team has experience supporting businesses like yours with their cloud migrations, from the initial planning stage to post-migration optimisation and support.
Get a clear view of your options with a no-obligation chat. Let’s plan a path forward that actually works.
