Moving to the cloud can cut infrastructure costs, improve uptime and make it easier to scale. But a rushed move can do the opposite: surprise bills, slow applications and security gaps. This cloud migration checklist walks through the seven steps we follow with clients, so you can plan a move that delivers what it promised.
Why plan before you migrate?
Most failed migrations share the same causes: nobody knew exactly what was running on-premises, applications were moved without being tested, and costs were estimated from list prices rather than real usage. A short planning phase prevents all three. It also gives the business confidence, because everyone knows what will move, when, and how to roll back if something goes wrong.
The 7-step cloud migration checklist
1. Take inventory
List every server, application, database, licence and integration. Note who owns each one, how critical it is and what depends on it. Discovery tools help, but talk to the teams too: undocumented scripts and file shares are often what break after a move.
2. Define goals and success measures
Be specific. "Reduce hardware refresh costs", "recover from an outage within four hours" or "let staff work securely from anywhere" are goals you can measure. They also help you decide which workloads to move first.
3. Choose a strategy for each workload
Not everything should move the same way. The common options are:
- Rehost: lift and shift the server as-is. Fastest, but saves the least.
- Replatform: make small changes, such as moving a database to a managed service.
- Refactor: rebuild the application to use cloud-native services.
- Repurchase: replace it with a SaaS product, for example moving email to Microsoft 365.
- Retire or retain: switch off what nobody uses, and keep on-premises what must stay.
4. Design security and compliance in
Plan identity and access, network segmentation, encryption, logging and backup before the first workload moves. If you are regulated, confirm where data will be stored. Our cloud security and compliance team builds this landing zone so every workload inherits the same controls.
5. Estimate costs realistically
Size cloud resources on actual usage, not on the specification of old servers, which are often oversized. Include storage, backup, data transfer and support. Then look at reserved capacity or savings plans for steady workloads.
6. Migrate in waves and test
Start with a low-risk application to prove the process, then move in waves. For each wave, test performance and integrations, agree a cut-over window and keep a rollback plan ready. Communicate early with users about any downtime.
7. Optimise after go-live
Migration day is the start, not the finish. Review usage monthly, rightsize resources, switch off what is idle and set budget alerts. Monitor performance and security continuously.
Do you have to move everything?
No. Many businesses settle on a hybrid model: customer-facing applications, email and collaboration move to the cloud, while specialised systems, latency-sensitive workloads or equipment-linked applications stay on-premises. The right mix depends on cost, performance and regulation. A good cloud migration plan states clearly what stays, why, and how the two environments will be secured, monitored and backed up together.
Common cloud migration mistakes
- Moving everything at once instead of in planned waves.
- Forgetting licensing rules, which can change when software runs in the cloud.
- Leaving storage or databases publicly accessible by mistake.
- No backup or disaster recovery plan for cloud workloads. Read our disaster recovery planning guide.
How TM Solutech helps
We handle assessment, planning, migration and ongoing management, so your team can stay focused on the business. Learn more about our cloud migration services or contact us for a free migration readiness review.
Thanks for your feedback!
