Cloud migration and multi-cloud architecture
Whether you're moving off on-premise hardware or trying to make sense of a multi-cloud footprint that grew by accident, the questions are the same: which cloud, what does it actually cost, and what breaks on the way.
How multi-cloud actually happens
Almost nobody plans a multi-cloud strategy on purpose. It happens because one team stood up AWS for a side project, another moved to Azure when Microsoft 365 came in, and an acquisition brought a chunk of Google Cloud along with it. A few years later, nobody owns the total bill, security policy is enforced three different ways, and every new project starts with an argument about which cloud it belongs on.
The other version of this problem is simpler and more urgent: the data center lease is up, the hardware is past end of life, or the person who understood the on-premise environment left. Now there is a deadline, three cloud vendors making the same pitch, and no time to get the decision wrong.
Both versions need the same thing first: an honest picture of what you are running, what it would cost to run it properly on each cloud, and which workloads should not move to any cloud at all. We build that picture before we recommend anything.
What we do
- Workload assessment and cloud fitEvery application and dependency mapped, then scored against each cloud on cost, complexity, and risk. Some workloads belong on-premise longer; we say so.
- Reference architecture designLanding zones, network topology, and identity design that will not need to be redone in year two, on whichever cloud you land on.
- Cost modeling, by workloadA real number per workload, not a vendor calculator screenshot, including the commitment discounts that only apply if you actually use them.
- Migration executionWave planning, cutover, and validation, with rollback points at every wave.
- Multi-cloud cleanupFor estates already spread across two or three clouds by accident: consolidate what should be consolidated, and put one owner on the total cost.
- DevOps and platform engineering on topCI/CD, infrastructure as code, and container platforms, so the migration does not just move the same manual deployment process to a new address.
Which cloud, honestly
We do not carry a preferred vendor. The right cloud is the one that fits your existing licensing, your team's skills, and your actual workloads, and that is different for every estate we look at.
| Cloud | Pricing model | Ecosystem fit | Database tooling | Typical mid-market fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | Broadest service catalog; committed-use discounts (Savings Plans, RIs) reward workload stability | Best fit when the estate is already AWS-native or vendor-neutral | RDS, Aurora, and DynamoDB cover most workloads; deepest managed-service breadth | Estates with varied workloads and no strong Microsoft dependency |
| Microsoft Azure | Hybrid benefit and enterprise agreements often undercut list price for Windows-heavy estates | Strongest fit when Microsoft 365, Entra ID, or on-prem Active Directory are already central | Azure SQL and Managed Instance are a near-direct lift from on-prem SQL Server | Estates already licensed through Microsoft, or migrating off Windows Server and SQL Server |
| Google Cloud | Sustained-use discounts apply automatically; often the simplest pricing model to reason about | Strongest for data and analytics workloads (BigQuery) and Kubernetes-native teams | Cloud SQL and AlloyDB cover Postgres and MySQL well; thinner Oracle and SQL Server tooling | Data-heavy or container-native workloads, or teams already invested in Kubernetes |
How the engagement runs
- 01AssessmentInventory, dependency mapping, and cost modeling across the clouds that make sense for your estate. Often the right starting point is one of our fixed-scope assessments.
- 02Architecture and planTarget design, wave sequence, and a written recommendation, including which workloads should not move yet.
- 03MigrationWave by wave, with validation and rollback points, not a single high-risk cutover weekend.
- 04Platform and DevOps handoffCI/CD and infrastructure as code set up so your team can operate the new environment without calling us for every change.
Platforms and tooling
- AWS
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud
- Terraform
- Azure Migrate
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- GitHub Actions
Common questions
Which cloud should we choose?
Whichever fits your existing licensing, your team’s skills, and your actual workloads. Azure usually wins when Microsoft 365 and Active Directory are already central; AWS when the estate is varied and vendor-neutral; Google Cloud when the work is data-heavy or Kubernetes-native. We score your specific workloads against each rather than defaulting to one.
How long does a cloud migration take?
For a typical mid-market estate, plan on four to eight weeks of assessment and architecture, then migration in waves over two to six months depending on workload count and how much can move without downtime windows. Multi-cloud cleanup projects are usually shorter since the workloads already run somewhere.
Do you push everyone toward one cloud vendor?
No. We hold no cloud partnership that would bias the recommendation, and some of our engagements end with a multi-cloud architecture staying multi-cloud on purpose, just with one owner on the total cost and a consistent security policy across both.
What about workloads that shouldn’t move to the cloud at all?
Some should not, and we say so. A legacy application with four users and no growth path is usually cheaper to leave on a small on-premise footprint or retire outright than to lift and shift into a cloud bill it will never justify.
Can you fix a multi-cloud setup we already have, not just migrate something new?
Yes, and it is one of the more common calls we get. Consolidating duplicated tooling, unifying identity and security policy, and putting one real number on the combined bill usually pays for the engagement inside the first year.
Related services
Bring your architecture diagram, or the mess where one should be.
Thirty minutes with the engineer who would do the work. We will tell you honestly whether cloud is even the right answer for what you're running.