Cloud Migration Checklist: Ten Gates Before Cutover

Gates before any data moves

• 1. Inventory: every workload, with an owner, the data it holds and its integrations. *Exit test:* no workload is without a named owner.
• 2. Dependencies: who calls whom, including batch jobs, certificates, DNS records, partner IP allowlists and licenses. *Exit test:* every external dependency has an owner and a contact.
• 3. Cost model: current run cost against target cost, with each assumption written in USD. *Exit test:* finance has signed the assumptions, not only the totals.
• 4. Strategy per workload: one of the 6 Rs for each workload, with a reason. *Exit test:* every row in the decision register has an R and a sentence explaining it. The 6 Rs guide covers the options.
• 5. Landing zone: accounts, identity, network, logging and guardrails. *Exit test:* a test workload deploys and logs through the standard path, and access has been reviewed.
• 6. Wave plan with rollback: waves grouped by dependency, each with a rollback trigger and a time limit. *Exit test:* each wave states its decision point, for example "roll back if the error rate stays above the agreed threshold for the agreed time."

In our project record, small migrations take 4 to 8 weeks, medium ones 8 to 16 weeks and large ones 4 to 6 months. Discovery results move these figures in either direction. The cost model in gate 3 should use the same period for both the current and the target run cost.

Gates for cutover and after

• 7. Replication and validation: row counts and checksums, or the method agreed in advance, match before cutover.
• 8. Success metrics and runbook: the runbook has been rehearsed once in a non-production environment.
• 9. Post-move checks: performance, security and cost measured against the baseline, with a stabilization window agreed in advance and the results recorded.
• 10. Handover: a FinOps owner, monitoring and an on-call rota named. *Exit test:* the on-call rota is live before the old environment is switched off.

No gate guarantees zero downtime. For each wave, write down the interruption the business can accept, in minutes, and set the cutover window to match it. A window that was never agreed is the most common reason a cutover runs long.

Want the full template?

TiCON runs a one-week discovery. It produces the inventory and the per-workload classification for your estate, and we can give you the editable version of this checklist to keep. The ten gates are the same whether the target is AWS, Azure or Google Cloud. Engagements are quote-based and billed in USD, with taxes handled as applicable in your jurisdiction and the contract.

Related reading

[Why Cloud Migrations Fail, and What to Do About Each](/resources/blog/why-cloud-migrations-fail) The common failure patterns and the design choices that prevent them.

[The 6 Rs of Cloud Migration: How to Assign Each Workload](/resources/blog/6rs-of-cloud-migration) Rehost, replatform, repurchase, refactor, retain and retire, decided workload by workload.

[How Much Does Cloud Migration Cost?](/resources/blog/how-much-does-cloud-migration-cost) The cost drivers, timelines by size, and what a USD quote should contain.