Before starting the migration, it is essential to conduct a detailed audit of existing infrastructures. This stage includes mapping data, applications, and processing flows to identify dependencies and potential friction points.

Performance and scalability requirements must also be anticipated to adopt an architecture aligned with the company’s growth objectives.

Identifying critical data and defining priorities alongside business and IT teams helps ensure a secure and seamless transfer while minimizing interruptions and operational risks.

Several migration strategies can be adapted to business needs and constraints.

Re-host (Lift & Shift)

This approach involves moving applications and data to the cloud without major modifications. It is ideal for companies seeking a rapid migration without impacting existing processes. Although quick to implement, it does not always fully leverage cloud capabilities.

Re-platform

This strategy partially adapts applications to take advantage of native cloud services such as autoscaling or managed databases.

Autoscaling automatically adjusts and resizes resources based on usage, ensuring both performance and cost optimization. Managed databases are services where the cloud provider handles infrastructure, backups, and maintenance, allowing businesses to focus on data usage rather than infrastructure management.

Re-factor

This strategy involves redesigning applications so they are specifically built for the cloud. This may include transitioning to a microservices architecture or using containers.

Microservices break applications down into independent services, each dedicated to a specific function. This improves scalability, agility, and maintainability. Containers enable applications to run in isolated and portable environments across infrastructures. Technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes simplify container orchestration, improve portability, and strengthen security through isolation.

Adopting microservices should address concrete business needs. This architecture demonstrates its full potential when applications require autonomous components capable of evolving independently. However, it demands strong technical expertise to properly design, orchestrate, and monitor the ecosystem.

Repurchase / Replace

In some cases, replacing an existing application with a SaaS solution may be more beneficial. This enables organizations to immediately benefit from features and updates without internal maintenance requirements.

Hybrid Approach

Some companies choose a combination of strategies depending on the complexity and criticality of migrated applications. For example, they may adopt Lift & Shift for some applications while completely redesigning others to optimize costs and performance.

When migrating your data to the cloud, you’ll have a choice of several leading cloud providers: AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform; and platforms such as Snowflake and Databricks. Check out the guide our experts have put together to help you choose the right cloud solution and technology tools.

Once the strategy and cloud environment have been defined, migration should be planned in several phases:

• Drafting detailed specifications
• Selecting the migration planning method
• Defining failover testing procedures
• Defining a synchronization strategy
• Adopting an appropriate methodology
• Post-migration monitoring and optimization

The absence of detailed planning is one of the most common mistakes in cloud migration projects.

Without a clear roadmap, teams may encounter unexpected obstacles such as technical incompatibilities, deployment delays, or unforeseen costs. Defining migration stages, priorities, and required resources is essential.

Cloud migration often involves underestimating required resources, whether in terms of technical expertise, storage capacity, or computing power.

Many organizations initially believe the cloud will reduce costs and complexity immediately, only to realize that migration requires substantial investments in technology, team training, and change management.

To fully benefit from cloud savings, organizations must complete the migration process. Long-running projects may force companies to maintain both on-premises and cloud environments simultaneously a phenomenon known as double run, which temporarily increases costs and complexity.

Adequate staffing is therefore critical, including cloud experts, security engineers, and data management specialists. Budgets for monitoring and post-migration management tools should also be anticipated.

Without a shared vision and collaboration between IT, security, legal, and business teams, conflicts may arise regarding priorities, security requirements, or expected outcomes.

For example, IT teams may prioritize technical performance while legal teams focus on compliance. Continuous communication, clear expectations, and a governance framework involving all stakeholders are essential to avoid these pitfalls.

Progressive testing plays a crucial role in successful cloud migration but is often overlooked.

Testing should be conducted regularly and systematically to ensure each component functions correctly in the cloud environment. This includes not only performance testing, but also security and resilience testing.

Testing in incremental stages throughout the migration process helps identify and resolve issues before they impact the entire system.