What Is Cloud Migration?

Cloud migration is the process of moving a company's applications, databases, files and supporting infrastructure from on-premise servers, a data centre or another cloud provider into a public cloud such as AWS, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure. It includes choosing the right cloud and services, building a secure foundation, moving each workload with minimal disruption and optimising costs afterwards.

Codersarts provides cloud migration services for small and mid-sized companies, startups and agencies. We plan the move, build your cloud foundation in your company's own account, migrate applications and data in waves, and then run and optimise the new environment, so the migration delivers lower cost, better reliability and less maintenance rather than just a new monthly bill.

Cloud Migration at a Glance

Cloud Migration vs Application Migration

The two terms overlap, but the scope is different.

If you need to move one app between hosts or off a platform such as Heroku, see Application Migration. If you are moving several systems, or moving to the cloud for the first time, this page is for you.

Why Companies Move to the Cloud

• Ageing hardware. Servers near the end of their warranty need replacing, and buying new hardware ties up capital

• Reliability. Cloud providers offer multiple data centres per region, so applications can survive hardware and site failures

• Security and compliance. Encryption, identity controls and audit logs are built in and easier to evidence

• Scalability. Capacity grows with demand instead of being bought years in advance

• Remote teams. Staff and customers in different countries reach applications with lower latency

• Less maintenance. Managed databases, storage and load balancers remove routine work from your team

• Credits and funding. Cloud providers run programmes that offer credits or funding to offset migration costs for qualifying projects

The Six Migration Strategies

Each workload gets its own strategy. Most migrations use a mix.

Assessment usually finds at least one system that can simply be retired, which reduces both migration effort and future costs.

Choosing the Right Cloud

We recommend a cloud based on your workloads, skills, existing licences and budget, not on a reseller arrangement.

Our Cloud Migration Process

1. Discovery and assessment. We inventory servers, applications, databases, file shares, integrations, users and current costs, and map how systems depend on each other.

2. Business case. We compare the current total cost of ownership with an estimated cloud cost, including migration effort, and identify systems to retire.

3. Cloud foundation. We build a secure starting point in your account: organisation structure, separate environments, identity and access, networking, logging, budgets and cost alerts.

4. Wave planning. Systems are grouped into migration waves, starting with lower-risk workloads so the process is proven before critical systems move.

5. Migration. Each wave follows the same steps: build, data sync, rehearsal, testing, cutover and verification, with a rollback plan for every system.

6. Optimisation. After each wave, we right-size resources, turn on savings options where they make sense and remove anything idle.

7. Handover or management. You receive full documentation, or we continue to run the environment through monthly management.

Building a Secure Cloud Foundation

The foundation, sometimes called a landing zone, is what separates a well-run cloud from a collection of servers. It includes:

• Separate accounts or projects for production, staging and shared services, so a mistake in testing cannot affect customers

• Single sign-on and multi-factor authentication for every person, with no shared root logins

• Least-privilege roles for people and applications

• Private networking, with only the services that must be public exposed to the internet

• Centralised logging and audit trails that cannot be changed by the people being audited

• Budgets and cost alerts so spending surprises are caught within days, not at the end of the month

• Tagging rules so every resource shows which system and team it belongs to

Controlling Cloud Costs After Migration

Moving to the cloud does not automatically save money. Costs rise when servers are copied at their old sizes, when test environments are left running and when data transfer is not planned. We build cost control into the migration:

• Right-sizing servers and databases from real usage data after migration

• Scheduling non-production environments to switch off outside working hours

• Using storage tiers for backups and archives

• Planning data transfer to avoid unnecessary egress charges

• Monthly cost reviews with clear recommendations

For an independent review of an existing cloud bill, see our Cloud Cost Audit.

Migrating Data and File Storage

• Databases move with replication or dump and restore, verified with row counts and checksums before cutover

• File shares and media move to object storage such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage or Cloudflare R2, with access rules recreated

• Large datasets are copied in advance and kept in sync, so the final switch takes minutes

• Retention rules for regulated data are carried over and documented

Database work is handled by the same team that provides Managed Database services.

Example Migration Waves

This illustrative plan is for a company moving several systems from office servers to the cloud.

What Changes for Your Team After Migration

Moving to the cloud changes daily work as well as infrastructure. We prepare your team for:

• New ways of accessing systems, through single sign-on and role-based permissions instead of shared server passwords

• Monthly variable costs instead of occasional large hardware purchases, with budgets and alerts to keep them predictable

• Infrastructure defined as code, so changes are reviewed and repeatable rather than made by hand

• Shared responsibility, where the cloud provider secures the physical platform and your team, or ours, secures everything built on it

• New recovery options, such as snapshots and cross-region copies, documented in an updated runbook

Short walkthroughs and written guides are part of every migration.

Common Cloud Migration Risks and How We Reduce Them

What We Need From You

• A list of the systems you know about, and the people who use each one

• Read access to current servers, hosting accounts and network settings

• A company-owned account with your chosen cloud provider, or approval for us to help create one

• Any compliance, data location or licensing requirements

• Preferred windows for cutovers and the people who approve each wave

Who Cloud Migration Services Are For

• Companies with office or data centre servers approaching end of life

• Businesses on traditional hosting that want better reliability and security

• Startups using cloud credits that want a well-structured environment from the start

• Companies switching clouds for pricing, features or regional requirements

• Agencies moving client applications into client-owned cloud accounts

Cloud Migration Pricing

Single Application

Starting at $2,000 per application, one-time, through our Application Migration service.

Multi-System Cloud Migration

Fixed quote after assessment

Covers discovery, business case, cloud foundation, wave planning, migration, cutover and optimisation. The assessment itself is scoped and priced before it starts, and its findings belong to you whether or not you continue with us.

After Migration

Monthly management of the new environment through Managed Run, starting at $1,000 per month. Cloud charges are paid directly to your provider.

What Is Not Included

• Cloud provider charges and software licences

• Rewriting applications for cloud-native architectures, unless agreed as part of the scope

• Migration of business email, office software and end-user devices

• Hosting in Codersarts-owned accounts

Frequently Asked Questions

Plan Your Move to the Cloud

Tell us what you run today, where it runs and what you want the cloud to improve. We will scope an assessment and give you a clear migration plan.