The Complete Guide To Cloud Migration

Everything you need to know about migrating your on-premise infrastructure to the cloud — strategy, pitfalls, and best practices.

Cloud migration is one of the most transformative — and risky — projects a business can undertake. Done well, it unlocks cost savings, scalability, and innovation. Done poorly, it causes downtime, data loss, and budget overruns.

The 6 Rs of Cloud Migration

AWS popularized the "6 Rs" framework for cloud migration:

Rehost — (Lift & Shift) — Move as-is to cloud VMs

Replatform — — Small optimizations without changing core architecture

Repurchase — — Move to a different product (e.g., move to SaaS CRM)

Refactor — — Re-architect to take full advantage of cloud-native services

Retire — — Decommission applications you no longer need

Retain — — Keep some applications on-premise

Planning Your Migration

Step 1: Inventory & Assessment

Document every application, dependency, and data store. Understand what talks to what.

Step 2: Define Success Metrics

What does success look like? Cost reduction? Improved uptime? Developer velocity? Define KPIs before you start.

Step 3: Choose Your Strategy

For most businesses, a phased migration starting with non-critical workloads is the safest approach.

Step 4: Build Landing Zones

Set up your cloud environment with proper networking, security, and governance before migrating anything.

Step 5: Migrate, Test, Optimize

Migrate in waves, test thoroughly, and optimize costs as you go.

Tuostack has successfully executed cloud migrations for companies across East Africa and Europe. Our team handles everything from strategy to execution to post-migration optimization.