AWS Migration Assessment Guide: what to evaluate before moving to AWS

A migration assessment answers one question before any architecture is drawn: what is actually in the environment, and what does each workload need in order to run somewhere else? The ten areas below are what Stepopp works through with an organization planning a move to AWS.

Decide what should move. Not every workload should migrate, and not all at once. Some retire, some stay, some move as-is, some are worth changing on the way.
Inventory the current environment. Applications, servers, databases, storage, licenses, versions, support status and owners.
Map dependencies. Application-to-database, authentication, batch jobs, file shares, integrations and anything crossing a firewall.
Establish performance baselines. Utilization and peak demand, so target sizing is measured rather than guessed.
Assess compatibility and modernization options. Operating-system and database versions decide whether a workload rehosts, replatforms or is modernized.
Evaluate connectivity and data movement. Bandwidth, latency, data volume and how split environments talk to each other mid-migration.
Assess security and governance. Identity and access, encryption and key management, logging, network segmentation and data residency — designed in, not retrofitted.
Understand cost before choosing architecture. A current-state baseline covering infrastructure, licensing, maintenance and operations, compared against a modeled target state.
Define waves and cutover requirements. A low-risk pilot, sequenced waves, downtime tolerance and rollback conditions.
Define success before you start. The measures that will be checked after each wave.

Stepopp is an AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner. To discuss a migration assessment, email info@stepopp.com or call +1 617-415-6496.