Why 50% of Cloud Migrations Fail: The Pre-Migration Assessment Framework

Industry data: 50% of cloud migrations fail, 56% hit security/compliance issues. Here is the framework that prevents failure:

## Pre-Migration Assessment (2-3 Weeks)

### Discovery Phase
**Application Inventory** (Week 1)
- List all applications (300+ apps typical for mid-size company)
- Map dependencies (database, APIs, integrations)
- Identify data classification (PII, confidential, public)
- Document compliance requirements (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOX)

**Infrastructure Analysis**
- Current resource utilization (CPU, memory, storage, network)
- Performance baselines
- Disaster recovery and backup requirements
- Network topology and connectivity

### The 6 R's Decision Framework (Week 2)

For each application, choose strategy:

**1. Rehost (Lift & Shift)** - 40% of apps
- Simple migration, minimal changes
- Quick wins, immediate cloud benefits
- Best for: Commodity apps, end-of-life data centers

**2. Replatform (Lift, Tinker & Shift)** - 25%
- Minor optimizations (managed databases, load balancers)
- Moderate effort, good ROI
- Best for: Apps ready for cloud-native services

**3. Repurchase (Move to SaaS)** - 15%
- Replace with cloud alternative
- Highest long-term savings
- Best for: Standard business apps (email, CRM)

**4. Refactor (Re-architect)** - 10%
- Rebuild for cloud-native
- Highest effort, highest benefit
- Best for: Core differentiators, performance-critical

**5. Retire (Decommission)** - 8%
- Not needed in cloud
- Instant cost savings
- Best for: Redundant, unused apps

**6. Retain (Keep On-Prem)** - 2%
- Regulatory or technical constraints
- Hybrid approach
- Best for: Legacy systems, air-gapped environments

### Cost Modeling (Week 3)

**Current State Costs**:
- Hardware (servers, storage, network)
- Data center (power, cooling, space)
- Licensing
- Personnel (ops, maintenance)

**Future State Costs**:
- Cloud compute and storage (right-sized)
- Data transfer and network
- Cloud-native services
- Reserved instances / savings plans
- Personnel (new skills, training)

**Reality check**: First-year cloud costs often match on-prem. Savings appear years 2-3 as you optimize and eliminate data centers.

## Red Flags That Predict Failure

1. **No Executive Sponsor**: IT-driven migration without business buy-in fails 80% of time
2. **No Success Metrics**: If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it
3. **Lift-and-Shift Everything**: Rehosting without optimization wastes cloud potential
4. **No FinOps Plan**: Cloud costs spiral 35%+ annually without governance
5. **Underestimating Networking**: Data transfer costs shock unprepared teams
6. **Ignoring Compliance**: HIPAA/PCI violations discovered post-migration cost millions
7. **No Disaster Recovery Test**: Assumptions about cloud DR fail in production

## Success Pattern: Pilot → Prove → Scale

**Pilot (Month 1-2)**:
- Migrate 5-10 non-critical apps
- Prove technical approach
- Establish operational procedures
- Build team skills

**Prove (Month 3-4)**:
- Measure against success criteria
- Refine cost model with actual data
- Document lessons learned
- Get business stakeholder approval to scale

**Scale (Month 5+)**:
- Migrate in waves (10-15 apps per month)
- Continuous optimization
- Decommission on-prem infrastructure
- Realize cost savings

## Real Case: Manufacturing Company

**Pre-Assessment Findings**:
- 287 applications identified
- 23% can be retired (redundant, unused)
- 18% repurchase with SaaS (email, file storage)
- 44% rehost (straightforward lift-and-shift)
- 12% replatform (minor cloud optimization)
- 3% refactor (custom apps worth re-architecting)

**18-Month Migration Plan**:
- Wave 1: Non-production environments (learn & refine)
- Wave 2: Simple web apps (build confidence)
- Wave 3: Core business apps (measured approach)
- Wave 4: Data and analytics (last, most complex)

**Outcome**:
- $2.8M annual savings (year 3+)
- Zero major security incidents
- 99.95% uptime (better than on-prem)
- 2 data centers decommissioned

The companies succeeding at cloud migration spend 3-4 weeks planning for every 1 week migrating.