Moving workloads into AWS or GCP is rarely just a lift-and-shift decision. Teams that migrate successfully are usually the ones that understand their dependencies, operating assumptions, deployment model, and target-state architecture before they begin.
Start with dependency clarity
Before migration, teams need to understand what systems depend on each other, how traffic flows, and what cannot tolerate interruption.
Define target architecture intentionally
Migration works better when there is a clear view of the desired future platform, not just a destination account or cluster.
Plan rollout and rollback together
Every migration plan should include both forward progress and rollback thinking to reduce operational risk.
Do not postpone observability
Production visibility should be part of the migration, not something added after cutover.