What Is a Cloud Migration Strategy?

A cloud migration strategy is a detailed plan an organization creates to move its digital assets, such as applications and data, from its on-premise infrastructure to a cloud computing environment. The importance of a comprehensive strategy cannot be overstated, as it is fundamental for minimizing operational disruption, managing costs effectively, and ensuring a successful transition. A well-defined strategy helps organizations build a comprehensive approach to accelerate migration and realize business benefits from the cloud sooner, like cloud cost optimization[1]. This guide will cover what cloud migration is, its benefits, common strategies, and the step-by-step process of creating a cloud migration plan for your business.

What Is Cloud Migration?

Cloud migration is the process of moving an organization's data, applications, and IT workloads from a private, on-premise data center to a public cloud environment or between different cloud platforms. For many years, businesses managed their own IT infrastructure, which required buying expensive hardware and paying for ongoing maintenance. In contrast, modern cloud services offer a more cost-effective and scalable alternative, causing a significant shift in how businesses handle their technology needs[2].

Cloud Migration Strategy Checklist

Use this as a pre-flight + in-flight + post-flight checklist to keep your migration on track.

1) Governance and Scope

• Name an executive sponsor and a single migration owner (clear decision-making).
• Define success criteria: availability target, performance KPIs, security/compliance requirements, and budget guardrails.
• Confirm your migration boundaries (what’s in/out, what stays hybrid, what retires).
• Decide how you’ll track work: migration waves, owners, due dates, and dependencies (single source of truth).

2) Discovery You Can Actually Act On

• Build an application inventory that includes dependency mapping (APIs, DBs, identity, network flows).
• Identify “hidden” blockers: legacy auth, hard-coded IPs, unsupported OS/runtime, vendor licensing constraints.
• Classify data: PII/PCI/PHI, retention needs, residency constraints, and encryption requirements.
• Baseline current state: AHT/latency, error rates, peak load, and current monthly costs (for comparison later).

3) Architecture and Landing Zone Readiness

• Create/validate the landing zone: account/subscription structure, network segmentation, DNS, logging, and monitoring.
• Establish identity and access: SSO, least-privilege IAM roles, break-glass access, MFA, and audit trails.
• Set up security defaults: encryption at rest/in transit, secrets management, vulnerability scanning, and patch policy.
• Define environment standards: naming, tagging, and resource policies (mandatory tags, region rules, budget caps).

4) Migration Execution Controls (Reduce Surprises)

• Choose the migration tooling per workload: database replication, file transfer, containerization, CI/CD, IaC.
• Create a cutover plan: timeline, responsibilities, communication plan, and a go/no-go checklist.
• Define rollback criteria and method (what triggers rollback, and how you revert safely).
• Run a pilot migration with a low-risk workload to validate the process end-to-end.

Streamline Operations with Ringover

With a cloud phone system, your teams can work with an Internet-connected device, enjoying unlimited calls and powerful productivity features like call summaries, IVR menus, and more. 

Cloud Phone Free Trial

5) Testing to Prevents Production Pain

• Functional testing: core user journeys, integrations, and edge cases.
• Performance testing: peak-load simulations and concurrency tests against your baselines.
• Security testing: access controls, secret exposure checks, and security-event alerting validation.
• DR testing: backups, restore drills, RTO/RPO verification.

6) Cost and FinOps Controls (Day 1, Not Day 90)

• Apply tagging for cost allocation (app, environment, owner, cost center).
• Set budgets/alerts and anomaly detection for each account/project.
• Right-size early: instance types, autoscaling thresholds, storage tiers, and data transfer paths.
• Confirm reserved capacity/commitments strategy (only after usage stabilizes).

7) Operations, Training, and Change Management

• Update runbooks and on-call rotations (new alerts, new failure modes).
• Train teams on cloud ops basics: IAM, monitoring, incident response, and deployment processes.
• Update internal documentation and escalation paths (who owns what in the new setup).
• Ensure vendor support plans are aligned with your criticality tiers.

8) Post-Migration Hardening and Optimization

• Validate logging/metrics coverage and dashboards for business + technical KPIs.
• Review security posture: IAM cleanup, unused resources, open ports, and policy compliance.
• Remove/retire legacy infra and contracts (avoid “double running” costs).
• Run a 30/60/90-day optimization cycle: performance tuning, cost right-sizing, and architecture improvements.

9) Communications Systems (If Your Scope Includes Telephony)

• If migrating your phone system (e.g., from on-prem PBX), confirm requirements for: number porting, call routing, CRM integration, recordings, retention, and user rollout.
• Plan phased onboarding by teams and validate call quality, compliance, and analytics before full cutover.

Why Is a Cloud Migration Strategy Crucial for Businesses?

A well-defined cloud migration strategy provides a clear roadmap that connects the technical process of moving to the cloud with the larger goals of the business. A formal plan is essential for reducing risks, avoiding unexpected costs, and minimizing downtime during the transition[3].

Furthermore, a strategy is crucial for addressing key considerations like security, compliance, and making sure your organization is ready for the change from the start. It requires a business to carefully assess its current technology and choose the right cloud model that fits its unique needs[4].

Key Benefits of Cloud Migration

Moving to the cloud offers numerous advantages that can help your business grow and become more efficient. A successful migration allows organizations to improve their operations and gain a competitive advantage.

• Cost Savings: Migrating to the cloud reduces upfront spending on physical hardware. It also lowers operational costs related to maintenance, power, and cooling by shifting IT spending to a more predictable, pay-as-you-go model[5].

• Scalability and Flexibility: Cloud environments allow businesses to easily scale resources up or down based on demand, paying only for what they use. This flexibility is vital for managing changing workloads and supporting business growth. It is also essential for meeting the needs of remote and hybrid teams who require access to tools from anywhere. Ringover provides a business phone system with AI features like call summaries and transcriptions that leverage this scalability for businesses of all sizes.

• Enhanced Security: Top cloud providers invest heavily in security, often offering stronger protection than a single organization can achieve on its own. They provide advanced security features, constant monitoring, and adherence to global compliance standards[6].
• Improved Performance and Reliability: Cloud providers operate global networks of data centers, ensuring high availability and disaster recovery options. By using services like content delivery networks (CDNs), businesses can deliver applications and content to users faster and more reliably.
• Increased Agility and Collaboration: Cloud-based tools enable teams to work together in real time from anywhere in the world. This accessibility speeds up projects, encourages innovation, and improves overall productivity.

Common Cloud Migration Strategies: The 6 R's

A popular framework developed by AWS for categorizing different approaches to cloud migration is known as the "6 R's." This model helps organizations decide the best path for each application they plan to move.

Rehosting ("Lift and Shift")

This strategy involves moving applications to the cloud without making any changes. It is the fastest and simplest approach, making it ideal for organizations that want to migrate quickly with minimal effort. However, it may not take full advantage of cloud-native benefits.

Replatforming ("Lift and Reshape")

Replatforming is a middle-ground approach where some cloud optimizations are made to applications during migration. For example, a business might move from a self-managed database to a managed database service offered by the cloud provider. This allows for some cloud benefits without the complexity of a full redesign.

Repurchasing ("Drop and Shop")

This strategy involves moving to a different product altogether, typically by replacing an on-premise application with a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. A common example is switching from an old, on-premise phone system to a modern, flexible cloud PBX solution.

Refactoring / Rearchitecting

Refactoring involves completely redesigning an application to be cloud-native. This is the most complex and resource-intensive strategy, but it delivers the greatest long-term benefits in performance, scalability, and cost savings.

Retiring

During the planning phase, organizations often discover applications that are no longer needed. The retiring strategy involves shutting down these applications, which reduces the scope of the migration and cuts unnecessary costs.

Retaining

Retaining means choosing to keep certain applications on-premise. This decision is often made for applications with strict regulatory requirements, low-latency needs, or that would be too expensive to migrate. This approach usually results in a hybrid cloud environment.

How to Create a Cloud Migration Strategy in 4 Steps

Creating a successful cloud migration strategy involves a structured, phased approach. Following these steps can help ensure a smooth and effective transition.

Step 1: Assess and Plan

The first phase involves a thorough evaluation of your current IT systems. This includes identifying all applications, data, and infrastructure, as well as how they connect to each other. During this stage, you will build a business case for the migration, set goals, and decide which of the "6 R's" is best for each application. It is also vital to assess your organization's readiness for the cloud and identify any skill gaps that need to be addressed[7].

Step 2: Choose Your Cloud Environment

Next, you must select the right cloud environment and provider. The main options include:

• Public Cloud: Services offered by third-party providers over the internet (e.g., AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud).
• Private Cloud: Cloud infrastructure used exclusively by a single organization.
• Hybrid Cloud: A mix of public and private clouds, allowing data and applications to be shared between them.
• Multicloud: Using services from more than one public cloud provider.

The choice depends on factors like cost, performance needs, compliance requirements, and the specific services offered by each provider.

Step 3: Execute the Migration

With a plan in place, the migration can begin. It is best to migrate applications in waves, starting with less critical ones as a trial run. This approach allows your team to gain experience, improve the process, and build confidence. Throughout this phase, continuous testing is essential to ensure that applications work correctly in the new environment.

Step 4: Monitor and Optimize

Migration is not the final step. Once applications are running in the cloud, it is essential to continuously monitor their performance, security, and costs. Cloud environments are dynamic, and there are always opportunities for improvement. Using cloud cost management tools and regularly reviewing resource usage helps ensure your business gets the most value from its cloud investment.

Simplify Your Business Communication with a Cloud Migration

The principles of cloud migration apply directly to business communication systems. Many companies still use traditional on-premise PBX systems that are expensive to maintain and lack the flexibility needed for modern work. Migrating to a cloud VoIP platform like Ringover can transform how your teams connect and collaborate.

By moving your business phone system to the cloud, you can boost team productivity, provide flexibility for remote work, and access advanced features like call analytics and integrations with popular software like Salesforce, Hubspot, and more.

Conclusion

A cloud migration strategy is a critical roadmap for any business looking to successfully move its operations to the cloud. By creating a clear plan, organizations can manage the complexities of migration while minimizing risks and maximizing benefits. A well-planned migration delivers tangible advantages, including significant cost savings, unmatched scalability, and improved security. For businesses seeking to seamlessly transition their communication systems, Ringover offers an intelligent platform that helps them harness the full power of the cloud. To learn how it can revolutionize your business communication, start your free Ringover trial today!

Cloud Migration Strategy FAQ

What are the 7 cloud migration strategies?

A widely used framework is AWS’s “7 Rs”: rehost, replatform, refactor, repurchase, relocate, retain, and retire.

What is a cloud migration strategy?

A cloud migration strategy is the plan for how each application/workload will move to the cloud (or be modernized/replaced/removed), typically by selecting one of the “R” approaches per workload (based on risk, timeline, cost, and business goals).

What are the 4 R's of cloud migration?

A simplified version used in some teams focuses on the core options: rehost, replatform, refactor, and retire (i.e., lift-and-shift, light modernization, deeper modernization, or decommission). The full 7R framework provides a more complete taxonomy.

Citations

• [1]https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/cloud-migration-strategy
• [2]https://www.alloysoftware.com/blog/benefits-of-cloud-migration
• [3]https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/learn/what-is-cloud-migration.html
• [4]https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/cloud/what-is-a-cloud-migration-strategy.html
• [5]https://www.mertech.com/blog/benefits-of-cloud-migration
• [6]https://www.acceldata.io/blog/7-benefits-of-cloud-migration-for-modern-enterprises
• [7]https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/strategy-migration/overview.html

Published on January 16, 2026.