AWS MAP (Migration Acceleration Program): Phases and Tools in 2026

Which AWS tools do you use in each MAP phase?

The table below maps the main deliverables of each phase to the AWS services teams use for them in 2026.

What happens in the assess phase?

Assess answers one question: is the move worth it, and are you ready? AWS describes it as identifying capability gaps across the six Cloud Adoption Framework perspectives (business, process, people, platform, operations and security) and building a TCO model.

• Migration readiness assessment. A structured workshop that scores your organisation's readiness and lists the gaps to close in mobilize.
• Inventory and right-sizing. Migration Evaluator collects utilisation data from on-premises servers and suggests right-sized AWS instances, including where existing licences can be reused. Application Discovery Service adds server and dependency data.
• Business case. Projected AWS run costs against current costs, plus the one-off migration cost. A good business case also lists what you will retire.

A common mistake is to size the business case on today's server specifications. Measured utilisation usually shows idle capacity, and that difference is often where the saving comes from.

What happens in the mobilize phase?

Mobilize turns the business case into a working foundation. This is where most of the hard decisions are made, and it is where many programmes stall.

• Landing zone. A multi-account structure with guardrails, central logging, network design and identity. AWS Control Tower sets up and governs this environment.
• Detailed portfolio assessment. Each application gets a migration strategy, an owner, dependencies and a wave.
• Operating and security model. Who runs the estate after go-live, how incidents are handled, how cost is reported and how changes are approved.
• Pilot migration. A few representative workloads moved end to end. The pilot tests tooling, runbooks and the landing zone before you commit to a schedule.
• Skills. Training for the teams who will operate the new environment, so knowledge does not leave with the migration team.

What happens in the migrate and modernize phase?

This is where workloads move, in waves of grouped applications. Each wave follows the same runbook: replicate, test, cut over, support and close.

Rehost servers with AWS Application Migration Service

AWS Application Migration Service (often called MGN) replicates servers block by block into AWS and launches them at cutover. It is AWS's main rehost tool; the old AWS Server Migration Service web page now redirects to it.

Move databases with AWS DMS

AWS Database Migration Service keeps source and target in sync during the move, so downtime covers only the final switch. With the Schema Conversion feature it also helps with engine changes, for example from Oracle or SQL Server to PostgreSQL.

Plan and modernise with AWS Transform

AWS Transform is AWS's AI-agent-based migration and modernisation service. AWS describes it as covering infrastructure migration for VMware, bare-metal and hybrid environments, and modernisation of mainframe, Windows (.NET and SQL Server) and custom code.

Track progress after Migration Hub

If you read older MAP guides, they tell you to track everything in AWS Migration Hub. The AWS Migration Hub availability notice says the service closed to new customers on 7 November 2025. Existing customers can finish ongoing projects, and AWS states that Migration Hub features such as Strategy Recommendations, Journeys and Orchestrator are available in AWS Transform.

Which migration strategy should each workload get?

AWS's large migration guidance lists seven strategies. Older MAP material often says "6 Rs"; relocate is the seventh.

AWS notes that refactor is not recommended for large migrations because it adds modernisation work to the move. Its advice is to rehost, relocate or replatform first and modernise afterwards. More detail is in our guide to the 7 Rs of AWS migration.

What does MAP funding cover?

AWS describes MAP funding only in general terms: financial investment that helps offset initial migration costs. The actual form (credits, partner funding or both), the amount and the conditions are agreed per engagement and depend on the projected AWS spend of the migrated workloads. Rules change between programme versions. Our comparison of MAP Lite and standard MAP covers how smaller and larger migrations are treated.

Two practical points: tag migrated resources the way your MAP agreement requires from the first wave, because funding is usually tied to tracked spend; and get the funding terms in writing before you plan the schedule around them.

Where do MAP engagements usually go wrong?

• Skipping mobilize. Teams that start moving servers before the landing zone and operating model are agreed end up rebuilding accounts and networks mid-programme.
• Thin discovery. Missing dependencies show up during cutover, when they are most expensive to fix.
• Refactoring inside the waves. Rebuilding an application during its migration wave delays every application scheduled after it.
• No owner after go-live. Someone must run patching, backup, monitoring and cost reporting from the first cutover, not after the last.
• Missed tagging. Untagged resources may not count towards MAP funding.

A real example: SilverRail on AWS

SilverRail Technologies moved its Nordic branch onto AWS to join its global organisation on one platform. Opsio ran the work in three phases, Assessment, Mobilize and Migrate, with AWS guidance throughout. The assessment produced a target architecture and a business case with ROI calculations. Mobilize included a pilot test migration. In the migrate phase, data moved with native PostgreSQL tools, cutovers ran in tight service windows, and AWS Control Tower, Systems Manager and Patch Manager were set up for governance and automation. Read the SilverRail case study for the full breakdown.

How Opsio helps

Opsio is an AWS Advanced Tier partner with the AWS Migration Competency. We run MAP engagements from readiness assessment to the last wave through our AWS migration service, handle the MAP paperwork with AWS, and can operate the estate 24/7 after go-live from our offices in Karlstad and Bangalore.

Frequently asked questions

Is AWS MAP free?

The method and AWS guidance come with the programme, and AWS provides funding to offset part of the migration cost. You still pay for the migration work and for the AWS resources you run. How much is offset depends on the agreement for your engagement.

Who is AWS MAP for?

MAP targets organisations moving existing workloads to AWS, from single data-centre exits to large enterprise estates. AWS does not publish a single eligibility rule on the MAP page; your AWS account team or partner checks fit based on the projected AWS spend.

How long does a MAP migration take?

It depends on scope. AWS guidance for large migrations (300 or more servers) puts the stage that prepares bulk migration at 1–3 months and recommends waves of 6–10 weeks. See how long a cloud migration takes for the full breakdown.

Do I need a partner to use MAP?

MAP is delivered through AWS Professional Services or AWS partners. Most organisations use a Migration Competency partner to run the assessment, landing zone and waves, and to manage the funding process with AWS.

What replaced AWS Migration Hub?

AWS Transform. Migration Hub closed to new customers on 7 November 2025, and AWS states that its features, including Strategy Recommendations, Journeys and Orchestrator, are available in AWS Transform.

Related from our knowledge base: AWS MAP: Accelerate Your Cloud Migration