CLOUD CONSULTING · CLOUD MIGRATION
Most cloud migrations move the same cost structure to a new environment. DAM Networks treats migration as an architecture programme — each workload is assessed, designed for its cloud target, and migrated in a sequence that keeps production running throughout.
THE PROBLEM
Lift-and-shift migration is fast. Virtual machines are replicated, IP addresses are reconfigured, and workloads start running in the cloud. The cloud bill arrives and it is higher than expected because the workloads were sized for on-premise hardware — where spare capacity costs nothing — not for cloud compute, where every CPU and gigabyte has a per-hour cost. The performance, resilience, and agility improvements that justified the migration project do not materialise because the architecture that would produce them was never built.
The organisations that get value from cloud migration are the ones that treat migration as an architecture programme rather than a logistics exercise. Each workload is assessed for its correct cloud target state — some warrant lift-and-shift, others replatforming to managed services, others refactoring to serverless or containerised architectures. The migration sequence is designed to reduce risk, not to maximise speed.
DAM Networks manages cloud migration programmes that produce the performance and cost outcomes the migration was designed to achieve. The programme begins with a workload assessment and ends with a post-migration optimisation phase that verifies each workload is performing to its designed specification in its new environment.
CAPABILITIES
Per-workload assessment covering compute requirements, data dependencies, compliance constraints, and target state recommendation across the 6R migration strategies. Output is a documented migration plan with cost modelling for each option.
Dependency mapping, wave sequencing, and cutover scheduling for enterprise migration programmes. Wave design prioritises business continuity — interdependent systems migrate together; production risk is carried as late as possible.
Database migration to cloud-native managed database services, data warehouse migration to BigQuery or Azure Synapse, and large-scale data transfer with validation. Data integrity is verified before and after cutover at the record level.
Right-sizing review, performance benchmarking against pre-migration baselines, cost model validation, and Reserved Instance or Savings Plan commitment after workload patterns have stabilised in the cloud environment.
DAM APPROACH
The workload assessment is not a checkbox exercise. DAM's engineers interview the application owners, review the existing infrastructure documentation, and map the actual dependencies between systems — not the dependencies listed in a configuration management database that has not been updated in two years. The dependency map drives the wave sequence.
Cutover planning is designed with a rollback state for every wave. Until the post-cutover validation window closes, the original environment is maintained in a runnable state. This adds cost to the migration programme but removes the risk of an irrecoverable failure during a live cutover — which, at enterprise scale, typically means a multi-day incident.
Post-migration optimisation begins 30 days after final cutover. By that point, cloud workload patterns have stabilised enough to right-size compute, establish Reserved Instance commitments, and validate that the cost model produced during assessment is tracking to actual spend. The optimisation phase typically recovers 15 to 25 percent of the first-year cloud cost against the initial post-migration bill.
RELATED SERVICES
WORK WITH DAM NETWORKS
DAM Networks runs cloud migration programmes for enterprises moving from on-premise infrastructure, data centres, or one cloud platform to another. Every engagement begins with a workload-level assessment before any infrastructure decision is committed.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The 6Rs are Rehost (lift-and-shift to cloud VM), Replatform (move to managed service with minimal changes), Repurchase (replace with SaaS), Refactor (re-architect for cloud-native), Retire (decommission), and Retain (keep on-premise). Most enterprise migration programmes include workloads across all six categories. The assessment determines which category each workload belongs in — the answer is driven by the application's architecture, its support lifecycle, its compliance requirements, and the cost-benefit ratio of modernisation versus migration.
For an enterprise with 30 to 60 workloads in scope, a full migration programme including assessment, foundation build, wave migration, and post-migration optimisation typically runs 9 to 18 months. The assessment phase takes 4 to 6 weeks. Foundation build — landing zone, networking, identity, security controls — takes 6 to 10 weeks. Migration waves run in parallel from that point, with the final wave and post-migration optimisation at the end. Programmes with higher refactor workload ratios take longer; programmes dominated by rehost and replatform can run faster.
For production workloads, yes — and the parallel run window should be determined by the validation requirements for that workload, not by the desire to reduce dual-run costs. Critical systems warrant a minimum 30-day parallel operation period after cutover before the on-premise environment is decommissioned. The cost of parallel run is the cost of the insurance against a post-cutover failure that requires rollback at scale. For non-critical workloads, shorter windows are appropriate.