How to Successfully Perform an AWS Cloud Readiness Assessment

A cloud migration is an expensive business decision that requires careful planning. For this reason, you want to make sure you do it right from the start. The best way to ensure your migration is a success is by performing a Cloud Readiness Assessment before getting started. By doing so, you can identify gaps and fill them before actually making any major changes to your IT environment.

A Cloud Readiness Assessment is an evaluation process that will help you understand whether your organization is ready to migrate its IT infrastructure and applications to the cloud. It helps you check various aspects of the organization to see if they have the necessary tools, skills, and processes in place for a successful cloud migration.

You should also consider a Cloud Readiness Assessment when you are…

• Looking to reduce costs and optimize IT spending through cloud solutions.
• Planning significant IT upgrades or changes that could benefit from being in the cloud.
• Deciding to adopt cloud technology as part of your strategic plan.
• Planning to scale operations that could benefit from the cloud’s flexibility.
• Aiming to innovate and improve services or products using advanced cloud capabilities.

Why Perform a Cloud Readiness Assessment

Now that we understand what a Cloud Readiness Assessment is, let's explore the business benefits of performing one before you migrate to the cloud or make any significant changes to your IT environment:

• Strategic Alignment: It ensures your cloud strategy supports your organization's main objectives and that all efforts are aligned.
• Cost Management: It helps you understand the costs involved and identify potential savings, enabling better budget management.
• Risk Mitigation: It helps identify and address risks related to data security and operations before they become issues.
• Performance Assurance: It checks that the cloud setup will meet your needs without performance problems.
• Skill Development: It supports in identifying the new skills your team needs and helps plan necessary training.

How to Perform a Cloud Readiness Assessment

Let’s break down the process into simple, actionable steps:

1. Identify Scope and Business Cases: Determine why you want to migrate to the cloud and what you plan to move.
2. Evaluate In-House Resources: Assess your available funds, IT skill sets, and resource availability.
3. Assess Infrastructure Requirements: Review your current IT environment to decide which applications and data to migrate.
4. Assess Security Requirements: Ensure you comply with security regulations for the data you plan to move.
5. Determine Timeline and Budget: Plan the milestones, costs, and labor required for the migration.

For those moving to the AWS cloud, the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) is a valuable guide. The AWS CAF helps assess your cloud readiness across six key perspectives: Business, People, Governance, Platform, Security, and Operations. It aligns your business and technical strategies, assesses readiness, identifies gaps, and creates a roadmap for cloud adoption.

Using the AWS CAF, the AWS Cloud Readiness Assessment identifies gaps in each of the six perspectives. This synergy helps organizations understand where they need to focus their efforts to ensure a successful cloud migration.

For example, the assessment might reveal a need for more training (People Perspective) or better governance frameworks (Governance Perspective).

Here at StratusGrid, we specialize in guiding businesses through their cloud migration journey using the AWS CAF and the AWS readiness assessment. Contact us today for a consultation.

AWS Offers a Self-Guided Cloud Readiness Assessment

If you prefer a self-guided approach, AWS offers a Cloud Readiness Assessment through its online AWS Cloud Adoption Readiness Tool (CART).

The AWS Cloud Readiness Assessment, or CART, is a user-friendly checklist that gauges your preparedness for a smooth transition to the cloud. It is a self-guided questionnaire built to help you identify areas to improve with actionable recommendations.

In the end, the tool provides a personalized report highlighting strengths, identifying gaps, and offering actionable insights to prepare for cloud adoption.

For more insights and to get started with the AWS cloud assessment, you can visit the AWS CART page. You may also want to check AWS’s useful tips on how to gather the information you need to complete the AWS CART.

DIY or AWS Certified Partner?

“Can I complete the AWS Cloud Readiness Assessment myself or do I need an AWS Certified Partner?” is a question we get all the time. Let’s discuss each approach.

You can complete the AWS CART on your own. The tool is designed to be user-friendly and self-explanatory. It provides step-by-step instructions and questions across the six key perspectives covered in the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF). 

However, conducting an assessment without a structured approach or professional guidance might lead to incomplete results and missed opportunities.

A certified AWS partner such as StratusGrid can perform a comprehensive and detailed AWS Cloud Readiness Assessment for your organization. AWS partners have specialized expertise and tools to conduct in-depth evaluations tailored to your company's specific needs. In the end, we will provide a detailed analysis, identify gaps, and develop customized cloud migration strategies. 

Contact StratusGrid for a consultation and more information on how to best leverage AWS’s Cloud Readiness Assessment and how our personalized approach can help your organization migrate to the AWS cloud in a secure and effective way.

How StratusGrid Simplifies the AWS Cloud Readiness Assessment Process

At StratusGrid, we follow a structured approach based on AWS's best practices to evaluate your organization's preparedness for cloud adoption. 

Here’s what you can expect from our approach:

An Understanding of Your Current Environment

Our personalized Cloud Readiness Assessment begins with a deep dive into your current IT environment. We focus on understanding your existing infrastructure, applications, data, and security posture.

This phase involves:

1. Infrastructure Evaluation: We assess your current hardware, network capabilities, and on-premises resources to determine their compatibility with AWS services.
2. Application Review: We evaluate your applications to identify which ones can be easily migrated, which need modifications, and which might need to be replaced or retired.
3. Data Analysis: We analyze your data storage, databases, and data management practices to ensure they are ready for migration to AWS.

Alignment with Your Business Objectives

We work closely with your stakeholders to understand your business objectives and ensure that your cloud strategy supports these goals. This alignment helps us prioritize workloads and create a migration plan that delivers maximum value.

Assessment of Your Security and Compliance

Security and compliance are one of the most important aspects in any cloud migration. Our assessment includes a thorough review of your current security measures and compliance requirements. We ensure that your data and applications will be secure in the AWS cloud and that you will meet all regulatory standards.

Evaluation of Your Organizational Readiness

Migrating to the cloud requires shifts in skills and processes. We assess your IT team's readiness for cloud adoption and identify any skill gaps. We will then provide recommendations for training and upskilling.

Cost Analysis and Optimization

Understanding the financial implications of cloud migration is key. We conduct a detailed cost analysis to compare your current IT expenditures with projected costs in the AWS cloud. Our goal is to identify potential cost savings and ensure that your migration is cost-effective.

Risk Identification and Mitigation

Every cloud migration comes with its own set of risks. We perform a comprehensive risk assessment to identify potential challenges and develop strategies to mitigate them. This proactive approach helps minimize disruptions during the migration process.

A Migration Plan

Finally, we create a detailed migration plan for you

Based on the insights gathered during the Cloud Readiness Assessment, we create a detailed migration plan. This plan includes:

• Migration Strategy: A clear roadmap outlining which applications and workloads will be migrated and in what order.
• Timelines: A realistic timeline for each phase of the migration.
• Resource Allocation: Identification of the resources needed for a successful migration.
• Success Metrics: Key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of the migration.

We Also Provide Continuous Monitoring and Support

Our support doesn't end with the assessment. We provide ongoing monitoring and support throughout the migration process to ensure everything goes smoothly. We offer post-migration support to help you optimize your AWS environment and continue to achieve your business objectives.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist you on your cloud journey.

Introducing StratusGrid’s MigrateOne: Our Comprehensive Cloud Migration Offering

At StratusGrid, our MigrateOne offering integrates the Cloud Readiness Assessment as a foundational step in your cloud migration journey. We specialize in guiding businesses through their cloud migration using the AWS CAF and AWS readiness assessment.

Though our MigrateOne offering, we can help you:

• Define your migration strategy.
• Build a cloud adoption action plan.
• Prepare for your migration to the AWS cloud.
• Modernize your applications.
• Optimize your AWS cloud costs.

Unlike standard migration services that often apply a one-size-fits-all approach, with MigrateOne, we will craft a migration plan that is precisely tailored to suit your specific scenarios and requirements.

MigrateOne was designed to minimize operational disruption during the migration process. Our strategies are implemented in a way that either eliminates or significantly reduces downtime. This ensures that your business operations continue smoothly without significant interruptions.

One of the main advantages of MigrateOne is its focus on cost-efficiency. By leveraging StratusGrid’s expertise in AWS pricing structures and our proprietary cost management tools (Stratusphere™), MigrateOne helps clients optimize their spending and avoid common pitfalls that lead to unnecessary costs. This proactive approach to cost management ensures a higher return on investment from your cloud migration.

Ready to transform your AWS cloud migration journey? Contact StratusGrid today for a consultation and discover how we can help you unlock the full potential of AWS.

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BONUS: Find Out if Your Organization is Ready for The Cloud ⤵️