Cloud Migration & Modernization
Wave-based migration where each workload lands in the right state — lifted, replatformed, or refactored by evidence, not ideology. Rollback per wave, FinOps from day one, and an operating model established before the estate touches down.
Overview
Moving workloads to cloud without changing how you run them captures only half the value — the bill goes down modestly, but the operations model stays the same. Cloud migration and modernization moves your applications to cloud infrastructure while selectively refactoring the parts that deliver the most return: faster release cycles, lower operational cost, and reduced technical debt. We sequence migration waves so each workload lands on the right foundation — rehost, replatform, or refactor — judged by evidence, not ideology.
Clevertek scopes every engagement to your environment — capacity, sites, compliance and support model — so you get a tailored plan rather than a fixed SKU. Pricing is quote-only, and our solutions architects will work through your requirements before any proposal.
Our approach
We run migration as a structured programme with discovery, wave planning, execution, and validation phases. Each workload is assessed for cloud readiness, dependency coupling, and modernisation potential — then assigned a migration path: rehost (lift and shift), replatform (move to managed services), refactor (break monoliths into services), or retain (leave in place). Migration waves are sequenced by business risk and dependency order, with rollback plans for every wave. Post-migration, we validate performance, cost, and operability against baseline metrics. Modernisation targets the parts of each application that deliver the highest return — usually the components that change most often or cost most to operate.
Why work with us
Evidence-based migration path per workload
Every workload gets an assessed recommendation — rehost, replatform, refactor, or retain — based on dependency analysis, cost data, and business criticality, not a default approach.
Rollback-ready wave planning
Each migration wave includes a back-out plan validated before execution. If a wave fails its success criteria, the environment returns to the known-good state within hours.
FinOps from migration day one
Tagging, budgets, and cost baselines are established before the first workload lands. The cloud bill is governed from the start, not after a surprise.
Modernisation where it pays
Refactoring targets the components that change most often or cost most to run — the 20% of the codebase that delivers 80% of the benefit. Stable workloads are moved as-is to avoid wasting budget.
End-to-end programme management
A single accountable programme manager coordinates discovery, wave planning, execution, cutover, and post-migration validation — one escalation path, not a committee.
Day-two operations built in
Monitoring, alerting, cost governance, and incident response are configured before each workload goes live. The estate is operable from launch, not patched together afterwards.
Key benefits
What this solution delivers for your business.
Lower total cost of operations
Managed services and right-sized infrastructure reduce run cost compared to self-managed environments. Modernisation targets the high-cost components first.
Faster application release cycles
Automated CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code shorten the time from code commit to production deployment — releases shift from quarterly to weekly.
Reduced technical debt
Refactoring addresses the most expensive pieces of technical debt during the migration window, when the code is already being touched. Doing it later costs more.
Improved resilience and availability
Cloud-native architectures with load balancing, auto-scaling, and multi-AZ deployment improve uptime compared to single-server or single-site on-premise deployments.
Skills development for the team
Your engineers work alongside our migration specialists, learning cloud-native patterns, infrastructure-as-code, and CI/CD practices that make the team more capable.
Predictable migration timeline
Wave-based planning with dependency ordering means each phase has a defined scope, timeline, and success criterion — no open-ended programmes that drift.
What's included
Part of this managed service.
Discovery and dependency mapping
Agent-based and agentless discovery of every workload, its dependencies, performance profile, and configuration — the complete inventory before any migration decision.
- Agent-based and agentless discovery tools
- Application-to-infrastructure dependency mapping
- Network and security dependency identification
- Performance and utilisation baselines
Migration path selection
Each workload assigned a migration path based on cost, risk, and benefit analysis — rehost, replatform, refactor, or retain with rationale documented.
- 7R assessment per workload
- Cost-benefit analysis per path
- Risk classification per workload
- Recommendation with documented rationale
Wave planning and sequencing
Workloads grouped into migration waves by dependency order, business windows, and risk tolerance — with rollback plans for every wave.
- Dependency graph analysis
- Business calendar alignment
- Risk-ordered wave sequencing
- Rollback plan and validation per wave
Infrastructure as code build
Target environment defined in Terraform, Bicep, or CloudFormation — reproducible, version-controlled, and auditable from day one.
- Landing zone as code
- Networking and security definitions
- CI/CD pipeline for infrastructure
- Drift detection and remediation
Cutover and validation
Planned cutover windows with runbooks, rollback readiness, and post-migration validation against established baseline metrics.
- Detailed cutover runbooks
- Rollback drill before cutover
- Performance validation against baseline
- Cost validation against TCO model
Post-migration operations handover
Monitoring, alerting, FinOps, and incident management configured and documented — the estate is operable from the day it lands.
- Monitoring and alerting configuration
- FinOps dashboards and budgets
- Runbooks and operational documentation
- Team training and skills transfer
Where it helps
Real-world scenarios where this solution delivers measurable outcomes.
Exit a data centre lease with modernisation
Move workloads off owned hardware to cloud infrastructure while selectively refactoring the applications that are most expensive to run or hardest to change. The data centre exit date is the deadline; migration waves are sequenced to meet it.
Monolith applications that are hard to change
Refactor monolithic applications into service-oriented or microservices architecture during the migration window. The strangler-fig pattern extracts modules incrementally, preserving business continuity throughout.
End-of-life hardware driving a cloud move
Use the hardware refresh cycle as the natural trigger for migration. Instead of buying new servers, redirect the CapEx budget to cloud migration — the same financial approval, different destination.
Post-merger infrastructure consolidation
Migrate and consolidate workloads from multiple legacy environments into a single cloud footprint. Standardise on one operating model, one toolchain, and one security framework across the merged entity.
Lift-and-shift that needs optimisation
Revisit workloads that were lift-and-shifted without optimisation. Assess what operational toil, cost waste, or performance gaps remain, and plan a targeted modernisation wave for the highest-value targets.
Questions buyers actually ask
How do we decide which workloads to rehost versus refactor?
Each workload gets a 7R assessment — rehost, replatform, refactor, repurchase, retire, retain, or relocate — based on cost, risk, dependency analysis, and business value. Stable, low-change workloads are rehosted; high-change, high-cost components are refactored. The decision is documented with evidence.
How long does a migration programme take?
Timeline depends on estate size and complexity. A typical enterprise migration of 100-200 workloads runs over 12-18 months with 4-6 migration waves. The first wave targets low-risk workloads and completes within 8-12 weeks to prove the pattern.
How do we avoid cloud cost surprises after migration?
FinOps starts before the first workload lands. Every resource is tagged, budgets are set, and cost baselines are established during migration validation. A monthly FinOps review identifies drift before it becomes a surprise.
What happens if a migration wave fails?
Every wave has a validated rollback plan. If the wave fails its success criteria — performance, cost, or operability — the environment is rolled back to the known-good state. We investigate the failure cause, adjust the plan, and retry in the next window.
Can we keep some workloads on-prem?
Yes. Workloads that are not cloud-fit due to licensing, latency, compliance, or cost constraints are retained on-prem. The strategy decides per workload, not by blanket policy.
Ready to scope a solution?
Talk to a Clevertek solutions architect about your requirements — no obligation.