A Practical Cloud Migration Checklist for Startups
Moving to the cloud is easier when you plan the order of operations. Here is the checklist we use with our clients.
Cloud migration succeeds or fails long before the first server is moved. The teams that get it right treat it as a business project with a technical plan, not the other way around.
1. Inventory what you run today
List every application, database, scheduled job and third-party integration. Note owners, traffic patterns and dependencies — surprises hide in the dependencies.
2. Choose a migration strategy per workload
- Rehost: move as-is for speed.
- Replatform: small changes to use managed services.
- Refactor: redesign cloud-native for long-term gains.
- Retire: switch off what nobody uses.
3. Design security and cost guardrails first
Set up identity and access management, encryption, network segmentation, budgets and alerts before workloads arrive. It is far cheaper than retrofitting.
Migrate the boring, low-risk workload first. Confidence is a deliverable too.
4. Rehearse the cut-over
Run a dry migration, measure data sync time, define a rollback trigger and agree a communication plan. A rehearsed cut-over is a calm cut-over.
5. Optimise after go-live
Right-size instances, enable auto-scaling and review spend monthly. The first bill is a starting point, not a verdict.