Step-by-Step Guide to On-Prem to AWS Migration Process

Modernizing Enterprise IT with Confidence and Clarity

Enterprises across industries are rethinking how they run IT. The move from legacy on-premise infrastructure to cloud-native environments is no longer optional. It’s essential for scalability, resilience, cost optimization, and long-term growth. Among all platforms, Amazon Web Services (AWS) stands out for its robust services, global footprint, and maturity.

But successful cloud migration is not just about moving servers. It’s about modernizing your digital foundation without disruption. A misstep in planning or execution can lead to downtime, compliance issues, or escalating costs.

In this blog, we’ll walk through a step-by-step AWS migration process designed specifically for enterprises. As an AWS advanced tier partner, Pace Wisdom has a proven track record of helping businesses confidently modernize their infrastructure while avoiding common pitfalls. We also help our clients access exclusive AWS programs that can provide significant credits and funding for their cloud journey.

Why Enterprises Choose AWS

AWS offers:

• Elastic compute and storage to handle unpredictable demand

• Global reach with localized data residency options

• Advanced security, governance, and compliance frameworks

• Hundreds of managed services for faster innovation

For most, the goal is not just migration. It’s transformation. AWS allows teams to move away from static infrastructure and embrace services that scale with business needs.

Pre-Migration Planning

A successful migration starts with strong groundwork.

1. Infrastructure Audit

Document your current environment. This includes physical servers, VMs, databases, network dependencies, and legacy applications.

2. Business Prioritization

Not all applications should move at once. Categorize workloads based on their business value, performance needs, and integration complexity.

3. Compliance and Security Review

Regulated sectors like finance, healthcare, and logistics must map their regulatory needs (such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or ISO 27001) to AWS security features.

Choosing the Right AWS Migration Strategy

There’s no one-size-fits-all model. AWS supports several migration approaches:

• Rehost (the "Lift and Shift"): Move workloads to AWS as-is, with minimal changes. This approach is comparable to relocating your existing infrastructure into a more modern environment without redesigning it. It is the fastest path to the cloud and works best for straightforward applications requiring speed over optimization.
  

• Replatform (the "Lift and Reshape"): Make targeted cloud optimizations during the move, such as replacing a self-managed database with a managed service like AWS RDS. It is similar to moving into a new home and upgrading select appliances for greater efficiency while keeping the overall structure intact.
  

• Refactor (Re-architect): Redesign applications from the ground up to be fully cloud-native, using services like AWS Lambda or containers (ECS/EKS). This is equivalent to gutting a new house and rebuilding it for open-concept living, maximum efficiency, and future scalability. It requires the most effort but offers the greatest long-term business value.

Pace Wisdom helps assess your workloads to choose the right mix of strategies based on cost, effort, and long-term goals. Our expertise in technology solutions ensures smooth selection and execution.

Step-by-Step AWS Migration Framework

1. Discovery and Assessment with AWS OLA

We begin by mapping application dependencies, current utilization, and risk factors. To accelerate this, we leverage the AWS Optimization and Licensing Assessment (OLA) program. This data-driven analysis provides a clear picture of your current on-premise estate, identifies optimization opportunities, and models the projected TCO on AWS, creating a robust, evidence-based migration blueprint.

2. Business Case Definition and Leveraging AWS MAP

With the insights from the OLA, we define clear success metrics. To further strengthen the business case, we help eligible enterprises leverage the AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP). This program provides expert guidance, best practices, and significant AWS service credits to offset the initial costs of migration, including planning, execution, and parallel-run environments. This substantially de-risks the financial investment and accelerates your ROI.

3. Proof of Concept or Pilot

Before a full migration, we test the process with a less critical workload. This allows us to validate migration tools, assess cutover time, and build rollback plans. A perfect candidate for a pilot is often an internal application, like a development or testing environment or a corporate intranet, as this allows the team to learn the process without impacting live customer-facing systems.

4. Migration Execution and Cutover

Using tools like AWS Migration Hub, Database Migration Service (DMS), and Server Migration Service (SMS), we move the workloads to AWS. Cutover is timed to minimize or eliminate downtime.

5. Post-Migration Optimization

After cutover, we tune performance and costs. This includes:

• Right-sizing instances
  

• Enabling auto-scaling

• Updating IAM roles and policies

• Setting up monitoring and logging

• Decommissioning old systems

Governance, Security, and Compliance

Cloud security is not an afterthought. It’s central to every step. We implement:

• IAM-based access control

• VPC and security groups for network isolation

• Encryption at rest and in transit

• Logging via AWS CloudTrail and CloudWatch

• Compliance alignment with industry-specific frameworks
  

Pace Wisdom has executed secure cloud deployments for BFSI and healthcare clients with sensitive data. We ensure every security layer is in place from day one. For example, in our Fintech solutions, we’ve helped clients align with PCI-DSS and RBI guidelines using AWS-native tools.

Post-Migration Success Framework

Migration isn’t complete once the workloads are on AWS. Our CloudOps teams support:

• Cost governance with AWS Budgets and custom dashboards

• Application tuning and container optimization

• Real-time security monitoring

• Ongoing compliance checks

• Regular infrastructure audits

These activities ensure long-term reliability, security, and performance. We also offer support plans for backup automation, disaster recovery testing, and service updates.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Many migrations fail because of overlooked details. Here are issues we help enterprises avoid:

• Lack of stakeholder alignment: Cloud transformation must include IT, finance, compliance, and business units.

• Weak rollback plans: Always simulate cutover and rollback procedures in advance.

• Overlooking app dependencies: Unmapped data flows can break functionality after migration.

• No cost control mechanisms: Without monitoring, cloud costs can spiral.

Why Partner with Pace Wisdom

Our Digital Transformation Center of Excellence guides every engagement from planning to rollout. Here’s what sets us apart:

• Deep cross-domain expertise in logistics, fintech, and healthcare

• Certified AWS Advanced Tier Partner with proven expertise and success

• Secure, multi-tenant, cloud-native architectures

• Proven AWS migration playbooks tailored for enterprise complexity

• Data Science Center of Excellence for cloud-powered analytics

• ISO-certified delivery with CI/CD and observability baked in

• Dedicated post-migration CloudOps teams for optimization

Our technology solutions are not just technical deployments. They are designed to deliver business outcomes.

Conclusion

An on-prem to AWS migration is more than a technical upgrade. It is a foundational step toward business reinvention. With the right strategy, partners, and execution discipline, enterprises can reduce operational overhead, unlock innovation, and future-proof their infrastructure.

Ready to begin your migration journey? Partner with Pace Wisdom on AWS to design and execute a cloud strategy that delivers measurable enterprise value.

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