The Complete Cloud Migration Checklist for 2026

Cloud migration is one of the most impactful projects an IT team can undertake — and one of the easiest to get wrong. After guiding dozens of organisations through the process, we have distilled our experience into a practical checklist.

1. Build a complete inventory

You cannot migrate what you do not know about. Catalogue every application, database, integration and dependency. Automated discovery tools help, but always validate findings with application owners.

2. Define the business case

Be clear about why you are migrating. Common goals include:

• Reducing infrastructure and data centre costs
• Improving scalability and resilience
• Accelerating software delivery
• Enabling data and AI initiatives

3. Choose a strategy per workload

Not every workload should be treated the same way. Use the "6 Rs" — rehost, replatform, refactor, repurchase, retire and retain — to decide the right path for each application.

4. Design a secure landing zone

Set up identity, networking, logging and guardrails before moving any workloads. A well-designed landing zone makes every subsequent migration faster and safer.

5. Migrate in waves

Start with low-risk applications to build confidence and refine your runbooks, then progress to business-critical systems.

6. Optimise continuously

Migration is the beginning, not the end. Right-size resources, adopt reserved capacity and review costs monthly to realise the full value of the cloud.

Need help planning your migration? Our cloud architects offer a free readiness assessment.