Cloud Migration Services
The unvarnished truth about cloud migration services, vendor tactics, and migration strategies. Move beyond "Lift & Shift" without overpaying.
⚠️ What Vendors Won't Tell You
81% of organizations overspend on cloud by >30%. 37% are moving workloads BACK on-prem due to bill shock. The "cloud savings" promise is a myth unless you refactor—and vendors know you won't budget for that upfront.
Top Cloud Migration Services Companies
| Company | Specialty | Cost | Our Rating ↓ | Case Studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thoughtworks | Cloud-Native Refactoring | $$$ | ★4.6 | 8 |
| Google Cloud Consulting | Kubernetes & GKE | $$$ | ★4.5 | 12 |
| Onica (Rackspace) | AWS Migration Factory | $$$ | ★4.4 | 16 |
| DoiT International | Cloud Cost Management | $$ | ★4.4 | 8 |
| Microsoft Azure Consulting | Enterprise Hybrid Cloud | $$$$ | ★4.3 | 18 |
| AWS Professional Services | Serverless & Event-Driven | $$$$ | ★4.2 | 15 |
| VMware Tanzu Labs | Platform Engineering | $$$ | ★4.0 | 11 |
| Deloitte | FinOps & Cost Optimization | $$$$ | ★3.9 | 14 |
| Accenture | Large-Scale Transformation | $$$$ | ★3.8 | 22 |
| IBM Consulting | Mainframe-to-Cloud | $$$$ | ★3.7 | 10 |
Thoughtworks
Cloud-Native Refactoring
Kubernetes & GKE
AWS Migration Factory
DoiT International
Cloud Cost Management
Enterprise Hybrid Cloud
Serverless & Event-Driven
Platform Engineering
Deloitte
FinOps & Cost Optimization
Accenture
Large-Scale Transformation
IBM Consulting
Mainframe-to-Cloud
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True Cost of Cloud Migration Approaches
Serverless vs. EC2: The Real TCO
| WORKLOAD TYPE | EC2 (t3.xlarge) | LAMBDA | WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low Traffic API (5% util) | $120/mo | $8/mo | Lambda (93% ↓) |
| Scheduled Jobs (1hr/day) | $120/mo | $2/mo | Lambda (98% ↓) |
| Bursty Traffic (30% avg util) | $120/mo | $42/mo | Lambda (65% ↓) |
| 24/7 High Traffic (80% util) | $120/mo | $290/mo | EC2 (58% ↓) |
| Rule: Lambda wins if utilization <50%. EC2 wins if >70%. | |||
* Hidden cost: API Gateway adds $3.50 per million requests. Use Lambda Function URLs for internal APIs to avoid this "tax."
Cloud Provider Market Share 2025
Cloud Migration Strategy
Strategic cloud migration services for AWS, Azure, and GCP migrations.
Cloud Cost Optimization Services (FinOps)
Your cloud bill is out of control. You need FinOps that actually cuts costs—not just dashboards that show you how much you're bleeding.
Cloud Readiness Assessment & FinOps Strategy
Stop paying 3x more for cloud than on-prem. Get a data-driven roadmap to eliminate waste and unlock cloud-native economics.
Kubernetes Migration Services
60% of K8s migrations fail. We analyzed 50+ companies to find the 10 specialists who get it right.
Tactical Migration Guides
Technical patterns for specific cloud migrations.
EC2 (Lift & Shift) to Serverless (Lambda)
→API Gateway can be shockingly expensive at high scale ($3.50/million requests). If you have a high-throughput, low-compute API, the gateway costs might dwarf your compute savings. Consider Application Load Balancer (ALB) for Lambda triggers instead.
GCP to AWS
→BigQuery's nested data structures and proprietary SQL functions do not map 1:1 to Redshift, requiring significant manual refactoring.
AS/400 (IBM i) to Cloud
→On AS400, the database and OS are one. RPG code relies on this tight integration (Single Level Store). Decoupling the logic from the database is the hardest technical hurdle.
Mainframe to AWS
→Moving data out of AWS back to on-premise systems (for hybrid scenarios) can be incredibly expensive. Architect your VPC endpoints and Direct Connect links carefully to minimize traversal costs.
Mainframe (z/OS) to Azure
→Mainframe security (RACF/TopSecret) is granular and dataset-based. Azure Entra ID (Active Directory) is role-based. Mapping these permissions without opening security holes is a major audit risk.
Monolith to Microservices
→In a monolith, ACID transactions are easy. In microservices, they are impossible. You must embrace 'Eventual Consistency' and patterns like Sagas. This complicates error handling and rollback logic significantly.
On-Premise to Hybrid Cloud
→Hybrid cloud requires data synchronization between on-prem and cloud. If you have latency-sensitive workloads (trading systems, real-time analytics), expect 10-50ms added latency for cross-boundary calls. This can violate SLAs and cause regulatory compliance issues in finance/healthcare.
Legacy Data Warehouse to Snowflake Data Cloud
→Teradata BTEQ scripts, Oracle PL/SQL, and SQL Server T-SQL don't translate 1:1 to SnowSQL. Custom macros, stored procedures, and proprietary extensions require manual rewriting or automated conversion tools (SnowConvert). Expect 40-60% of migration effort on SQL refactoring.
VMware (vSphere) to Native AWS/Azure
→Since the acquisition, VMware licensing costs have skyrocketed (4x-7x). The 'Lift and Shift' to VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC) is no longer a safe haven as costs rise there too. The only escape is native refactoring.
Cloud Migration Services FAQ
Q1 How much does cloud migration really cost?
$400K to $1.8M for enterprise workloads, depending on approach. Lift-and-shift (rehost) costs $400K but increases monthly bills 2-4x. Cloud-native refactoring costs $1.8M upfront but saves 60-80% long-term. The 'cheap' option isn't cheap.
Q2 Why are 37% of companies moving workloads BACK from cloud?
Bill shock from lift-and-shift. They migrated VMs to EC2 without refactoring, paid cloud prices (opex) for on-prem architecture (designed for capex). Monthly bills went from $180K/year on-prem to $400K/month in cloud. Repatriation breaks even in 18 months.
Q3 Is serverless actually cheaper than EC2?
Only if utilization is <50%. A t3.xlarge EC2 costs $120/month. Same workload on Lambda at 30% utilization: $42/month (65% savings). But at 80% utilization, Lambda costs $290/month (2.4x MORE than EC2). Rule: Lambda for bursty/low-traffic, EC2 for 24/7 high-traffic.
Q4 What's the hidden cost vendors don't tell you about?
Data egress charges. AWS charges $0.09/GB to move data OUT of the cloud. A 500GB/month app costs $540/year just in egress. Multi-cloud strategies can cost $15K-$50K/year in cross-cloud traffic. Vendors hide this in fine print because it's pure profit.
Q5 Should I hire AWS/Azure/GCP or a consulting firm like Accenture?
Hyperscalers (AWS/Azure/GCP) are biased toward their services and rated 4.2-4.3. Specialists like Thoughtworks (4.6) or Onica (4.4) are vendor-neutral and 20-40% cheaper. Big 4 consultants (Accenture 3.8, IBM 3.7) cost $$$$, slower, but needed for Fortune 100 governance.
Q6 When does 'lift and shift' make sense?
ONLY for datacenter exit deadlines <6 months. Example: Your colocation contract ends in 4 months, no time to refactor. Lift-and-shift buys you 12-24 months to plan a proper cloud-native migration. Otherwise, you're paying 3x for the same architecture.
Q7 What's the break-even point for refactoring to cloud-native?
2-4 years. Refactoring a 500K LOC monolith costs $1.2M-$4M. Monthly savings: $4K-$8K from autoscaling and serverless. Break-even at $1.2M ÷ $6K/month = 16.7 months (best case). Worst case: 4 years. Only worth it for strategic apps you'll run 10+ years.
Q8 Why do most microservices projects fail?
68% report increased complexity, not improved velocity. Root cause: too fine-grained (140 services), network latency (47 cross-service calls per request), and data consistency nightmares (customer address in 5 places). Start with a modular monolith. Break apart only when you have 50+ engineers.