What Are the Steps Involved in Cloud Migration?

Cloud migration involves moving applications, data, infrastructure, or workloads from existing environments into cloud platforms. A structured cloud migration process reduces unnecessary disruption and helps teams identify technical, security, and operational risks before workloads are moved.

1. Assess the Existing Environment

Start by creating an inventory of:

• Applications
• Databases
• Servers
• Dependencies
• Network configurations
• Security requirements

The assessment stage should also identify business objectives, technical constraints, costs, and workload priorities. AWS similarly describes assessment as the foundation of the cloud migration journey.

2. Define the Migration Strategy

Next, decide how each workload should move.

Possible approaches include:

Approach	Description
Rehost	Move the workload with limited architectural changes
Replatform	Make selected cloud optimisations
Refactor	Redesign parts of the application for cloud-native architecture
Retain	Keep the workload in its existing environment
Retire	Remove applications that are no longer required

3. Prepare the Cloud Environment

Configure the target environment before migrating workloads.

This usually includes:

• Networking
• Identity and access management
• Security controls
• Storage
• Monitoring
• Backup policies

AWS refers to this preparation stage as mobilisation, which also includes establishing teams, migration plans, tooling, and pilot workloads.

4. Run a Pilot Migration

Migrate a low-risk workload first.

A pilot helps teams validate:

• Application behaviour
• Data transfer
• Security configurations
• Performance
• Migration procedures

5. Migrate Workloads

After validating the process, migrate applications and data according to the planned sequence.

6. Validate and Optimise

Finally, verify application functionality, performance, security, monitoring, backups, and cost configuration.

Cloud migration does not end once data reaches the cloud. Continuous optimisation remains important.

Conclusion

Successful cloud migration planning combines assessment, migration strategy, testing, execution, and post-migration optimisation.

Prismberry Technologies also provides cloud and migration-related services. Organisations looking for support with cloud assessment, migration planning, or implementation can contact the Prismberry team.