Understanding the services
What are cloud migration consulting services?
Cloud migration consulting services are advisory services that assess an organization's current IT environment and define how it should move to the cloud. Consultants analyze applications and infrastructure, build the business case, recommend a target platform and migration strategy for each workload, and produce a roadmap that migration teams can execute.
Cloud migration consulting services answer the questions that determine whether a migration succeeds: which applications should move, which should be retired or replaced, what the move will really cost, which cloud platform fits best, what must be in place first, and in what order workloads should go. Hands-on execution is a different phase, typically delivered by cloud migration service providers. Many firms offer both, but it helps to buy and judge them separately.
Cloud migration consulting services are professional advisory services that evaluate cloud readiness, analyze application portfolios, build business cases, select target platforms and migration strategies, and produce the plans, architectures, and governance needed to migrate workloads to the cloud.
For an overview of the migration process and the "7 Rs" strategies, see the cloud migration section of our main guide.
What cloud migration consultants do
Cloud migration consultants typically deliver readiness assessments, discovery and application portfolio analysis, business cases, platform selection, migration strategy per workload, target architecture and landing zone design, security and compliance planning, operating model and cost governance design, skills planning, and a phased migration roadmap.
Readiness assessment
A readiness assessment measures how prepared the organization is across business, people, governance, platform, security, and operations. It identifies gaps, such as missing cloud skills, unclear ownership of applications, or no cost governance, that could stall a migration.
Discovery and portfolio analysis
Consultants use discovery tools and interviews to build an inventory of servers, applications, databases, and dependencies, with utilization data and business owners. Each application is then assessed for business value, technical condition, and cloud suitability, a practice known as application portfolio analysis or rationalization. Some applications should move; others should be retired, replaced with SaaS, or left where they are.
Migration strategy per workload
For each application or group, consultants recommend one of the common migration strategies: retire, retain, rehost, relocate, repurchase, replatform, or refactor. The recommendation balances speed, cost, risk, and long-term benefit. A good strategy rarely applies the same approach to everything.
Platform selection
If the target cloud is not already decided, consultants compare AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, private or hybrid options, and SaaS alternatives against your workloads, existing licenses, skills, compliance needs, and pricing. Hybrid and dedicated options are covered in our guide to cloud managed data center services.
Target architecture and landing zone design
Consultants define the target account structure, networking, identity, security controls, and operations model. The design is then built by an implementation team; see our guide to cloud implementation services.
Security, compliance, and governance
Plans cover how regulatory requirements will be met in the cloud, who approves new resources, how costs are controlled, and how security is monitored after migration. Many organizations set up a cloud center of excellence (CCoE), a small cross-functional team that owns cloud standards and guidance.
People and skills
Migration changes roles. Consultants assess skills gaps, plan training and hiring, and prepare teams and business users for new ways of working.
Roadmap and partner selection
The final plan groups workloads into migration waves, sets milestones and budgets, and often includes help writing an RFP for execution partners and applying for cloud provider funding programs.
What cloud migration consulting services should deliver
A cloud migration consulting engagement should leave you with decisions and documents you can act on: an application inventory and dependency map, a disposition for every application, a business case with total cost of ownership, a target architecture, a risk register, and a phased roadmap with budgets.
| Deliverable | What it contains | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Readiness assessment | Maturity scores and gaps across business, people, governance, platform, security, and operations | Shows what must be fixed before migrating |
| Application inventory and dependency map | Servers, applications, databases, owners, utilization, and connections | Prevents broken dependencies during waves |
| Disposition by application | Recommended strategy (retire, rehost, refactor, and so on) with reasons | Turns analysis into decisions |
| Business case and TCO | Current and future costs, one-time costs, benefits, and sensitivity analysis | Supports funding and executive approval |
| Target architecture | Landing zone, network, identity, security, and operations design | Gives implementation teams a blueprint |
| Risk register | Technical, business, compliance, and schedule risks with mitigations | Makes risks visible and owned |
| Roadmap and wave plan | Sequenced waves, timelines, milestones, resources, and budget | Basis for execution contracts |
| Operating model | Roles, governance, CCoE, FinOps practices, and skills plan | Keeps the cloud under control after migration |
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
Ask for the underlying data, not just slides. The inventory, cost model, and dependency map should be delivered in formats your team can update as plans change.
Frameworks cloud migration consultants use
Most cloud migration consultants structure their work around the cloud providers' published adoption frameworks, which describe the capabilities and steps needed for successful cloud adoption. Using an established framework makes recommendations easier to compare and hand over.
- AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (AWS CAF): organizes capabilities into six perspectives: business, people, governance, platform, security, and operations. AWS's Migration Acceleration Program uses an assess, mobilize, and migrate and modernize sequence.
- Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure: covers strategy, plan, ready, migrate, modernize, cloud-native, govern, secure, and manage.
- Google Cloud Adoption Framework: built around four themes (learn, lead, scale, and secure) and describes how organizations mature in each.
- Migration strategies ("7 Rs"): retire, retain, rehost, relocate, repurchase, replatform, and refactor, as described in AWS prescriptive guidance and used widely across the industry.
- FinOps Framework: from the FinOps Foundation, used to plan cost visibility, optimization, and accountability after migration.
Provider frameworks naturally assume that provider's platform. If you have not chosen a cloud, ask consultants how they compare platforms fairly.
How a cloud migration consulting engagement runs
A typical engagement for cloud migration consulting services moves from kickoff and data collection through analysis, option development, and business case to a final roadmap and executive readout. Focused assessments often take several weeks; larger portfolio assessments take longer.
- Kickoff and goalsAgree on business objectives, scope, constraints, decision makers, and success measures.
- Data collectionDeploy discovery tools, gather cost and license data, and interview application owners, IT, security, and finance.
- AnalysisMap dependencies, assess applications, benchmark readiness, and model current costs.
- OptionsDevelop target platform and strategy options with pros, cons, costs, and risks.
- Business caseBuild the total cost of ownership comparison and benefits case, with sensitivity analysis.
- RoadmapSequence migration waves, define prerequisites, and estimate budgets and resources.
- Readout and handoverPresent recommendations to executives and hand over all data and documents.
Building a credible cloud migration business case
A credible business case compares the full cost of staying with the full cost of migrating and running in the cloud over several years, includes one-time migration costs and a period of running both environments, accounts for licensing and staffing changes, and shows how the result changes if key assumptions are wrong.
| Current environment | Cloud environment |
|---|---|
| Hardware purchases and upcoming refresh cycles | Compute, storage, and database usage, sized from real utilization |
| Data center space, power, cooling, or colocation fees | Networking, data transfer, and private connectivity |
| Software licenses and support contracts | Licensing in the cloud, including bring-your-own-license options |
| Staff time for infrastructure operations | Staff, training, and managed services after migration |
| Backup, disaster recovery, and security tools | Cloud backup, DR, security, and monitoring services |
| Risks: outages, unsupported systems, capacity limits | One-time costs: migration services, parallel running, tools |
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
- Size cloud resources from measured utilization, not from current server specifications.
- Include commitment discounts only if you intend to buy them.
- Show savings and benefits separately from costs avoided, such as a hardware refresh you no longer need.
- Include benefits that are harder to quantify, such as speed of delivery or resilience, but label them clearly.
- Run sensitivity tests, for example on usage growth, migration duration, and licensing.
Cloud providers offer business case tools, such as the business case feature in Azure Migrate, that consultants can use as a starting point. For what drives the ongoing cloud bill, see our cloud cost guide.
Buying consulting
Migration consulting vs. migration services vs. doing it yourself
Migration consulting defines what to do and why, migration services carry it out, and a do-it-yourself approach relies on internal staff using the cloud providers' free tools and guidance. Many organizations combine them: consultants for the plan, a provider for execution, and internal teams for ownership.
| Approach | Main output | Best when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud migration consulting services | Assessment, business case, strategy, roadmap | Decisions are unclear or need executive approval | Plans that nobody can execute; platform bias |
| Migration service providers | Migrated workloads | The plan is clear and execution capacity is needed | Skipping planning to start moving quickly |
| Combined provider | Plan and execution from one firm | You want a single accountable partner | Assessments that favor the provider's own services |
| Do it yourself | Internal plan and execution | Small or simple estates with experienced staff | Underestimating dependencies and cost modeling |
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
When you need cloud migration consulting services
Cloud migration consulting services are most valuable when the decision itself is uncertain or high stakes: large or complex application portfolios, unclear costs, a platform choice still to be made, strict compliance requirements, or a board or executive team that needs an independent business case.
- Leadership wants to know whether moving to the cloud will actually save money or deliver other benefits.
- You have hundreds of applications and little documentation of how they connect.
- You have not chosen between AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or hybrid options.
- A data center contract, hardware refresh, or virtualization licensing change forces a decision on a deadline.
- A previous migration effort stalled or cost more than expected.
- Regulated data requires a clear plan for compliance in the cloud.
How cloud migration consulting services are priced
Cloud migration consulting services are most often priced as fixed-fee assessments with a defined scope and timeline, with time and materials or retainers for ongoing advisory work. Some assessments are partly funded by cloud provider programs through approved partners.
- Fixed-fee assessment: scoped by the number of applications, servers, or business units, and by depth of analysis.
- Time and materials: for open-ended strategy work or complex portfolios.
- Advisory retainer: ongoing architecture, governance, and program oversight during execution.
- Funded assessments: AWS's Migration Acceleration Program, Microsoft's Azure Accelerate program, and Google Cloud's RaMP can fund or provide assessments for eligible customers, usually through partners.
Rates vary widely by firm size and region, so this guide does not quote figures. The main cost drivers are portfolio size, number of stakeholders and locations, data availability, compliance complexity, and whether a platform comparison is needed. For more on funding programs, see our guide to cloud migration service providers.
Independence and incentives
Many firms offering cloud migration consulting services are partners of one or more cloud providers and may receive funding, credits, or incentives tied to migrations, or may want to win the follow-on execution work. That is not necessarily a problem, but it should be disclosed so you can judge the advice.
- Ask which cloud providers the firm partners with and at what level.
- Ask whether the firm receives incentives, resale margins, or funding linked to your platform choice or migration volume.
- Ask whether the firm expects to bid for execution, and whether you are free to use a different provider.
- For platform decisions, consider a consultant without a strong single-platform affiliation, or ask for the comparison criteria and data behind any recommendation.
- Watch for recommendations to move everything, or to refactor everything, without workload-level justification.
How to choose cloud migration consulting services
Choose cloud migration consulting services based on experience with portfolios like yours, the quality of sample deliverables, the seniority of the people doing the work, independence and disclosure of incentives, and whether their roadmaps have actually been executed successfully.
Evaluation criteria
- Relevant experienceSimilar industries, portfolio sizes, and workload types, such as ERP, mainframe, VMware, or regulated data.
- Sample deliverablesAsk for anonymized assessments, business cases, and roadmaps to judge depth and clarity.
- Data-driven methodLook for discovery tools, utilization-based sizing, and documented assumptions rather than rules of thumb.
- Senior involvementMeet the lead consultant and architects who will do the analysis.
- IndependenceGet written disclosure of partnerships and incentives.
- ExecutabilityAsk how often their roadmaps were delivered as planned, and speak with clients who executed them.
- HandoverConfirm you receive all data, models, and documents in editable formats.
Questions to ask
- How will you collect utilization and dependency data, and how long will it run?
- How do you decide which applications to retire, rehost, or refactor?
- What costs do you include in the business case, and how do you test assumptions?
- Which cloud providers do you partner with, and do you receive any incentives from them?
- Can we see a roadmap you produced and speak with the client who executed it?
Red flags
- Savings promised before any data is collected.
- A platform recommendation with no documented comparison.
- Deliverables that are only slides, without the underlying data.
- One migration strategy recommended for every application.
- No mention of licensing, parallel running costs, or skills.
For contract and exit terms that apply to any provider, see the contracts section of our cloud tech services guide.
Cloud migration consulting services by business size
Small businesses usually need a short, practical assessment and plan. Mid-size organizations benefit from a full portfolio assessment and business case. Enterprises need portfolio-wide strategy, governance, and program design, often with ongoing advisory support during execution.
Small businesses
A focused assessment covering a handful of servers and applications, a simple cost comparison, and a clear migration plan is often enough. Many small migrations are mostly about moving to SaaS and a small cloud footprint.
Mid-size organizations
With dozens to hundreds of applications, dependency mapping and a business case become essential. Consultants can also help secure provider funding and select an execution partner.
Enterprises
Large organizations need portfolio rationalization, platform strategy (often multi-cloud or hybrid), a cloud center of excellence, governance, FinOps, and program management across many waves and business units.
Reference
Cloud migration consulting services FAQs
What do cloud migration consulting services include?
They typically include a readiness assessment, discovery and application portfolio analysis, business case and total cost of ownership, platform selection, migration strategy per workload, target architecture, security and governance planning, skills planning, and a phased roadmap.
What is a cloud readiness assessment?
A cloud readiness assessment evaluates how prepared an organization is to migrate, across areas such as business goals, skills, governance, technology, security, and operations, and identifies the gaps to close before or during migration.
How long does a cloud migration assessment take?
Focused assessments often take several weeks. Larger portfolio assessments take longer, partly because discovery tools need time to collect representative utilization and dependency data, and many stakeholders must be interviewed.
How much does cloud migration consulting cost?
Costs depend on portfolio size, depth of analysis, number of stakeholders, compliance needs, and whether a platform comparison is required. Assessments are often fixed-fee, and some are partly funded by cloud provider programs for eligible customers.
What is the difference between migration consulting and migration services?
Migration consulting decides what to move, where, how, and in what order, and builds the business case and roadmap. Migration services execute the plan by building environments, migrating workloads and data, testing, and cutting over.
Should the consultant also do the migration?
It can work well because knowledge carries over, but make sure the assessment is not shaped by the desire to win execution work. Keep ownership of all deliverables so you can use a different execution partner if you choose.
Will moving to the cloud save money?
Sometimes, but not always. Savings depend on workload patterns, how well resources are sized and managed, licensing, and what costs are avoided, such as hardware refreshes. A data-based business case with sensitivity analysis is the reliable way to find out.
What is a cloud center of excellence?
A cloud center of excellence (CCoE) is a small cross-functional team that sets cloud standards, guides architecture and governance, shares knowledge, and helps other teams adopt the cloud consistently.
Sources and further reading
Frameworks referenced in this guide are described in the following primary sources.
- AWS, AWS Cloud Adoption Framework and foundational capabilities
- AWS Prescriptive Guidance, Mobilize your organization to accelerate large-scale migrations
- AWS Prescriptive Guidance, About the migration strategies
- Microsoft, Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure
- Microsoft, Azure Migrate business case
- Google Cloud, Google Cloud Adoption Framework
- AWS, Migration Acceleration Program
- Google Cloud, Rapid Migration and Modernization Program
- FinOps Foundation, FinOps Framework
About this guide
This guide is published by Crecso as an independent educational resource and is part of our cloud technology guide. It names frameworks and programs as examples only, is not affiliated with any cloud provider or consulting firm, and does not describe services offered by Crecso.
Last reviewed on . If you spot something that has changed, please let us know through our contact page.