Topic
Migration strategy
25 articles on migration strategy.
- Guides
Cloud migration services, explained end to end
What cloud migration services cover, how the process runs, what it costs, and how to choose a partner. A hub that links every step from strategy to cutover.
- Providers
Moving to DigitalOcean: a business owner's guide
What DigitalOcean does well, the six services you'll actually use, honest pricing with worked numbers, and the point where teams outgrow it.
- Providers
How to choose a cloud provider
A vendor-neutral framework for picking between AWS, Azure, GCP, DigitalOcean, and OCI: five factors, a decision table, and why multi-cloud can wait.
- Providers
Moving to Oracle Cloud (OCI): a business owner's guide
Where OCI genuinely wins (Oracle databases, egress-heavy workloads, raw price), its core services, and an honest read on who should actually pick it.
- Guides
How to migrate file shares and NAS storage to the cloud
Object storage vs managed file systems, DataSync and AzCopy transfer mechanics, preserving NTFS and POSIX permissions, and a cutover that keeps users working.
- Guides
How to migrate a monolith to the cloud (without rewriting it)
Rehost the monolith first, fix state and config so it survives the move, and decompose later with the strangler fig if the pain justifies it. Not a rewrite.
- Guides
How to migrate from on-premise to Azure without the drama
Discovery with Azure Migrate, VNet and VPN/ExpressRoute networking, Entra ID and AD decisions, hybrid licensing, DNS cutover, and validation for a boring Azure move.
- Cost
On-premise vs cloud: total cost of ownership
An honest TCO comparison with a worked 5-year example: the on-prem costs that hide in other budgets, the cloud costs that surprise, and when cloud loses.
- Security
Cloud compliance: SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR, explained
What SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR each require, what your cloud provider covers versus what you own, data residency, BAAs, and a realistic path to compliance.
- Glossary
High availability
High availability means a system keeps serving users when components fail. What the nines mean, how clouds deliver HA, and what it costs in a migration.
- Glossary
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
IaC means defining cloud infrastructure in version-controlled files a tool applies automatically. What it is, the main tools, and why migrations rely on it.
- Providers
Moving to AWS: a business owner's guide
What AWS is actually good at, the five services you'll really use, the pricing gotchas, and when AWS is the right pick, from engineers who migrate for a living.
- Providers
Moving to Microsoft Azure: a business owner's guide
When Azure is the right cloud, especially for Microsoft shops, the core services you'll use, hybrid licensing savings, real pricing gotchas, and how the migration goes.
- Providers
Moving to Google Cloud: a business owner's guide
When Google Cloud is the right pick, data, AI, and Kubernetes-first teams, the core services you'll use, pricing behavior, and how a GCP migration actually goes.
- Playbooks
A Step-by-Step Cloud Migration Roadmap (with Checklists)
A phase-by-phase cloud migration roadmap, assess, plan, pilot, migrate, optimize, with a checklist for each phase and realistic timelines.
- Playbooks
The 6 Rs of Cloud Migration: How to Pick One per Application
The 6 Rs of cloud migration, rehost, replatform, repurchase, refactor, retire, retain: what each strategy costs, when it applies, and how to assign one per app.
- Playbooks
Lift-and-Shift vs Replatform vs Refactor: The Real Tradeoffs
The three ways to move an app to the cloud, compared on cost, risk, and time-to-value, plus a decision framework and worked numbers for each path.
- Playbooks
How to Migrate to the Cloud with Zero Downtime
Blue-green environments, database replication, DNS traffic shifting, and rollback, the four techniques that let you migrate without taking users offline.
- Guides
How to migrate a production database to the cloud safely
Dump-and-restore vs continuous replication, managed vs self-managed, cutover steps, validation queries, and the rollback plan, a working method for zero-drama database moves.
- Guides
Should you containerize before migrating? Usually not first
Usually not first. A per-app decision framework for when Docker and Kubernetes pay off, what containerizing really costs, and why migrate-then-containerize wins.
- Guides
How to migrate from on-premise to AWS without the drama
Discovery, VPC and VPN/Direct Connect networking, migration waves with MGN/DMS/DataSync, DNS cutover, and validation, the sequence that keeps an AWS move boring.
- Guides
How to set up a cloud landing zone that stays governable
How to build a landing zone before migrating: multi-account structure, SSO identity, a non-overlapping network, preventive guardrails, and centralized logging.
- Cost
How to estimate your cloud bill before you migrate
A step-by-step method to estimate cloud costs before migrating: compute, storage, egress, and managed services, with a full worked example in dollars.
- Glossary
Cloud migration
Cloud migration is moving your applications and data from your own servers onto a cloud provider. Plain-terms definition, a real example, and what decides success.
- Glossary
IaaS, PaaS & SaaS
IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS defined in plain terms: what you manage vs. what the provider manages at each level, with real examples and why it matters for migration.