Cloud Migration Reference Guide

My personal checklist for planning cloud migrations

This isn't a framework or automation tool—it's a reference document I compiled over 3+ years of cloud work. It covers the migration strategies, tools, and decision points I use when planning AWS/Azure/GCP migrations.

What This Is

A 417-line checklist organized by migration phase:

• Pre-Migration Planning - Asset inventory, dependency mapping, compliance checks
• Cloud Strategy - IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS, cost analysis, vendor selection
• Security & Compliance - IAM, encryption, GDPR/HIPAA/SOC 2 considerations
• Architecture Design - Networking, storage, compute, HA/DR planning
• Migration Planning - Rehosting vs refactoring vs rearchitecting

Why I Made This

After my third cloud migration project, I realized I was Googling the same things every time:

• "What's the difference between AWS Snowball and Azure Data Box again?"
• "Which compliance frameworks do I need for healthcare data?"
• "What's the 6 Rs of migration?" (Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Repurchase, Retire, Retain)

So I compiled everything into one document. It's basically the outline I follow when scoping a migration engagement.

What's Inside

Migration Strategy Comparison Table:

• Rehosting (Lift & Shift) - Fast but misses optimizations
• Replatforming - Minor changes (e.g., switch to RDS)
• Refactoring - Full rebuild for cloud-native
• Repurchasing - Replace with SaaS (Salesforce, Office 365)
• Retiring - Decommission legacy systems
• Retaining - Keep on-prem (for now)

Tool Reference Tables:

• Cloud platforms: EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine
• Migration tools: AWS Migration Hub, Azure Migrate, Google Migrate
• Networking: Direct Connect, ExpressRoute, Cloud Interconnect
• Security: IAM services, KMS, DDoS protection
• Monitoring: CloudWatch, Azure Monitor, Stackdriver

Migration Template (The Bulk of the Doc):

• Pre-migration planning checklist
• Business case & ROI analysis
• Current state assessment
• Application suitability matrix
• Compliance requirements
• Network design patterns
• Storage strategies
• HA/DR architecture
• Cutover planning
• Post-migration validation

How I Use This

1. Kickoff meeting - Reference the business case section to align stakeholders
2. Assessment phase - Use the asset inventory checklist
3. Architecture design - Pull relevant design patterns (networking, storage, compute)
4. Migration execution - Follow the cutover checklist
5. Post-migration - Validation and optimization steps

Most of these sections are just organized checklists. I don't follow them linearly—I jump to whichever section is relevant for the current phase.

What This Isn't

Not automation: No Terraform modules, no scripts, no CI/CD pipelines. This is documentation, not code.

Not comprehensive: It covers the common scenarios I encounter (AWS-heavy, some Azure, minimal GCP). There are gaps—no mainframe migrations, no SAP-specific guidance, light on containerization strategies.

Not prescriptive: Every migration is different. This is a starting point, not a playbook. You'll need to adapt it.

Real-World Use

I've referenced this on:

• 3 enterprise cloud migrations (financial services, healthcare, e-commerce)
• 5+ smaller lift-and-shift projects
• Architecture design reviews
• Vendor selection discussions

The most-used sections:

• Migration strategy comparison (helps explain trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders)
• Compliance checklist (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS requirements)
• Tool comparison tables (when evaluating vendors)
• Cutover planning template (night-of-migration coordination)

Contributing

This is a living document. If you spot an error or want to suggest additions, open an issue or PR. Just know that I'm optimizing for "useful reference" over "exhaustive encyclopedia."

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Last updated: 2024
Status: Active reference, updated as I learn new patterns
Best used for: AWS/Azure migrations, compliance-heavy environments, enterprise-scale projects