August 23, 2025|4:49 PM
Whether it’s IT operations, cloud migration, or AI-driven innovation – let’s explore how we can support your success.
What if your next infrastructure shift could cut costs and speed innovation without increasing risk? We ask this because many leaders face pressure to move faster while keeping operations stable, compliant, and secure.
We outline why this guide matters now, linking a practical strategy to measurable outcomes for your business, and we explain how OpEx budgeting, elasticity, and global access deliver real value.
Gartner forecasts show most organizations will base their transformation on a modern platform, and we use that market view to shape a realistic plan that balances benefits with risks.
We also emphasize security and governance: zero‑trust, MFA, encryption, and clear roles reduce breach likelihood while preserving operational visibility and data integrity.
Our goal is to give your company a repeatable, board‑ready approach that aligns people, process, and infrastructure so IT can shift from maintenance to innovation.
Market momentum and concrete adoption data make now the right time to revisit your IT strategy and seize measurable advantages. By 2026, 75% of organizations will base transformations on a platform‑first model, and 74% of U.S. infrastructure leaders report container and PaaS adoption in on‑premises or public cloud setups.
These trends drive faster innovation, OpEx flexibility, and global access for distributed teams. Hyperscale providers like AWS and Azure supply advanced AI/ML and elastic services that speed project cycles and improve employee experience.
Risks are real: compliance drift, insecure APIs, and loss of visibility can erode gains. We reduce exposure with MFA, encryption, RBAC, clear shared responsibility boundaries, and cost governance using tags and dashboards.
Timing matters. Hardware refreshes, license renewals, and end‑of‑support events create windows for moving workloads with less disruption and lower risk.
| Driver | What it enables | Key control |
|---|---|---|
| Faster innovation | AI/ML, PaaS acceleration, shorter cycles | Platform governance and CI/CD controls |
| OpEx flexibility | Budget agility, pay‑for‑use economics | Cost tagging, dashboards, review cadence |
| Distributed workforce | Global access, secure remote work | MFA, zero‑trust access, global identity |
For a focused review of benefits and risk controls, read our analysis of cloud migration benefits and risks.
We define the process as the transfer of data, applications, and business processes from on‑premises or another environment into a managed platform, with clear ownership and controls guiding each step.
Data moves with classification, residency, encryption at rest and in transit, and retention rules applied up front.
Applications span transactional systems, content services, and analytics stacks; each requires a target that balances performance, scalability, and compliance.
Processes include integration points—identity, messaging, and pipelines—that determine sequencing and cutover windows.
We distinguish models so you know what you manage versus what the provider operates: IaaS (examples: AWS), PaaS (examples: Salesforce, Alfresco), and SaaS (examples: DocuSign, Hyland OnBase).
Developer velocity increases with PaaS and containers—74% adoption among U.S. infrastructure decision‑makers—while SaaS yields fast wins for collaboration and content services.
| Application archetype | Best fit | Key control |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional systems | IaaS / Refactor to PaaS | Performance SLAs, encryption |
| Content services | SaaS / PaaS | Access controls, retention |
| Analytics stacks | PaaS / Managed services | Data governance, costs |
We map eight practical pathways so teams select the right pattern for each workload, not a single default. This helps protect performance SLAs while controlling costs and risk.
Rehosting (lift‑and‑shift) is fastest and lets organizations exit datacenters quickly. It delivers short wins but limits cloud‑native gains.
Replatforming tinks runtimes and components to capture better performance with moderate effort.
Refactoring or re‑architecting to microservices, serverless, and managed databases demands more work yet improves scalability, observability, and long‑term costs.
Repurchasing to SaaS reduces operational burden when fit is strong. Retiring lowers complexity by removing low‑value systems.
Retain/revisit keeps selected applications until legal, technical, or compliance windows allow change. Hybrid paths sequence moves by dependency maps and business windows.
| Strategy | Time to move | Effort | Primary benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rehost | Short | Low | Fast datacenter exit |
| Replatform | Moderate | Medium | Improved performance |
| Refactor | Long | High | Scalability & cost efficiency |
| Repurchase / SaaS | Short–Moderate | Low–Medium | Reduced operations |
Example: a legacy content management application can be rehosted for a quick exit, replatformed to a managed PaaS for better performance, or repurchased as SaaS to cut ops and speed feature delivery.
We guide organizations to match workloads to platforms by weighing regulatory posture, data sensitivity, scaling needs, and budget models.
Public cloud providers like AWS and Azure shine when demand varies or you need global reach and AI/ML services fast.
They offer elasticity and pay‑as‑you‑go costs, but require active governance to avoid surprises.
Private environments give dedicated isolation and customization for regulated records, at the cost of fixed commitments and operational overhead.
They work well when compliance and bespoke configuration trump elasticity.
Hybrid models combine strengths: low latency at the edge, centralized security policy, and flexible workload placement.
We recommend piloting connectivity, enforcing uniform identity, encryption, and logging, and aligning SLAs with your business roadmap.
| Environment | Best fit | Key tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Public | Variable demand, AI services | Cost variability vs agility |
| Private | Sensitive data, strict compliance | Higher fixed costs, more ops |
| Hybrid | Mixed workloads, edge needs | Integration and governance effort |
A successful move requires clear roles, enforceable policies, and layered defenses that travel with your workloads. We build a governance model that aligns provider capabilities with your operational duties to avoid gaps.
We define policy, RACI, and automated controls so the organization and the provider share responsibilities without overlap.
Automated guardrails reduce errors and keep configuration baselines consistent as teams deploy.
We design layered security with MFA everywhere, zero‑trust segmentation, encryption at rest and in transit, and conditional access for remote users.
Next‑gen firewalls, VM protection, and real‑time threat intelligence limit lateral movement and speed response.
We map regulatory requirements to technical controls and audit evidence so GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 obligations are demonstrable.
We upskill teams, codify incident and change processes, and adopt automation‑first tooling for logging, SIEM, and MEDR integration.
Post‑move tasks include integrity checks, entitlement reviews, backups, and metrics reviewed by governance forums.
| Area | Core control | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Governance | RACI + automated policy | Clear ownership |
| Security | MFA, zero‑trust, encryption | Reduced breach risk |
| Operations | SIEM, backups, drift detection | Faster recovery & visibility |
Effective continuity begins with clear uptime targets and a tested recovery approach that aligns technical controls to business priorities.
We set RPO and RTO per application group, then map architecture, replication, and failover to those goals.
That means defining acceptable data loss, recovery time, and the runbooks teams will follow during an outage.
We implement layered backups with immutable storage and cross‑region replication, using provider tooling to orchestrate snapshots and traffic shifts.
Automated failover runbooks, codified in IaC, keep restores consistent and auditable, and we schedule regular DR exercises to validate people, process, and technology.
We embed zero‑trust access—verify explicitly, least privilege, assume breach—so remote users can work securely during incidents.
Management responsibilities between internal teams and providers are explicit, so monitoring, escalation, and communications stay coordinated.
| Target | Control | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| RPO / RTO | Replication & failover | Predictable recovery |
| Backups | Immutable + cross‑region | Fast, compliant restores |
| Access | Zero‑trust + MFA | Secure remote continuity |
Effective cost and performance controls let businesses convert variable usage into predictable value while preventing bill shock. We align finance and engineering with simple rules, automated tooling, and continuous reviews.
Moving capital spend to operating budgets offers flexibility and lowers hardware and maintenance overhead, but it demands clear visibility.
We implement tagging standards, budgets, and alerts so teams see where and why costs occur across services and providers.
We match instance types, storage tiers, and DB classes to real usage, apply reserved capacity where stable demand exists, and automate shutdowns for non‑prod time windows.
| Focus | Control | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility | Tagging + dashboards | Shared cost ownership |
| Optimization | Right‑size + reserved plans | Lower recurring costs |
| Performance | Autoscale & profiling | Stable latency, less waste |
We close the loop by reporting realized savings and reinvesting a portion into innovation backlogs, making optimization a repeatable way of working over time.
We present a concise sequence that moves teams from inventory to post‑go‑live review, reducing disruption and protecting operations. The checklist below turns strategy into tasks, with clear owners and measurable gates at every phase.
We begin with a full inventory, classifying data and applications by sensitivity, value, and compliance scope.
Defensible disposition removes ROT, and remaining items get enriched metadata to enable governance and automation.
We sequence workloads by dependency and business windows, choosing big‑bang or phased cutovers to limit user impact.
Functional, performance, and security tests must pass before scheduling a go‑live. We favor off‑hours windows and explicit rollback steps.
Post‑cutover tasks include integrity checks, access reviews, and backup validation to confirm RPO/RTO and business continuity.
| Phase | Key action | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare | Content inventory, metadata | Visible scope and reduced risk |
| Execute | Sequenced cutover, fresh backup | Minimal downtime, clean transfer |
| Verify | Checksums, access review, backups | Proven recovery and compliance |
For detailed technical planning guidance, see our recommended plan migration reference, which complements this checklist and helps each organization refine requirements and schedules.
Selecting the correct platform and services partner prevents costly rework and preserves security and compliance posture. We evaluate technical fit and commercial terms so your teams can move confidently, protect data, and meet recovery objectives.
We score reference architectures, attestations such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, and HIPAA, geographic footprints, and service maturity against your requirements.
Billing transparency matters: prefer providers and marketplaces that offer automated provisioning, budget caps, and fine‑grained cost allocation to control costs and forecast spend.
Managed partners accelerate outcomes with architecture design, migration execution, and sustained ops, bringing SIEM, Managed EDR, and UTM into a single support model.
Partners like All Covered deliver high‑availability platforms, DR options, and senior consultants, while Hyland’s presence on AWS Marketplace can streamline procurement and cost clarity.
| Criterion | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Reference designs, APIs | Limits rework, enables scale |
| Compliance | Certifications, audit reports | Supports regulatory proof |
| Support & Billing | SLA, billing model, marketplace | Predictable operations and costs |
Use a weighted scorecard to compare providers and partners against your priorities, so selection aligns with long‑term success and operational resilience.
We show how strategic platform shifts deliver tangible savings, faster delivery, and stronger reliability for people who run the business. A private university realized a 114% ROI within just over a year after adopting Hyland Cloud, saving $275,000 annually and streamlining processes across campuses.
Industry examples reinforce the point: a water management company consolidated document systems on Hyland’s Alfresco to cut licensing and improve integration. Large enterprises, such as Mars, have executed extensive print infrastructure moves, proving secure scale and predictable performance.
Benefits we commonly measure include reduced CapEx through eliminated refresh cycles, faster feature delivery via PaaS services and open APIs, and better uptime from autoscaling and managed databases.
| Outcome | Metric | Example result |
|---|---|---|
| ROI | Payback period / % | 114% ROI in ~1 year (private university) |
| Annual savings | Costs avoided | $275,000 saved annually (licensing & ops) |
| Time‑to‑value | Months to measurable gains | 12 months for major process streamlining |
Success checklist: track RPO/RTO, cost savings, deployment frequency, error rate, and user satisfaction so your organization can report progress and sustain momentum.
Successful cloud initiatives need a clear strategy, disciplined execution, and measurable outcomes that convert technical effort into business value. We recommend sequencing work by dependency, using a validated migration plan, and tracking cost, performance, availability, and risk.
Security and continuity remain continuous practices: embed zero‑trust, run integrity checks, perform access reviews, and validate backups after each wave so recovery and compliance stay testable.
Choose flexible hosting and consistent controls across services, and engage experienced partners for architecture reviews and 24/7 operations to de‑risk execution and speed time‑to‑value.
Start with the checklists and playbooks here, schedule a discovery workshop, and begin the first wave—early wins create momentum for organization‑wide success.
Organizations pursue this shift to gain agility, operational efficiency, and faster time to market while converting capital expense into operating expense, but they must weigh risks such as vendor lock‑in, data residency, and gaps in skills or governance that can increase security and compliance exposure.
Common candidates include line‑of‑business applications, development and test platforms, file and object storage, and analytics pipelines; we recommend classifying data, cataloging dependencies, and prioritizing based on criticality, compliance needs, and performance profiles.
Choose IaaS when you need full control of OS and network, PaaS when you want to accelerate development with managed runtimes, and SaaS for standard business functions; the decision depends on customization needs, total cost of ownership, and the team’s operational maturity.
For quick time to value, rehosting (lift‑and‑shift) or replatforming works; for long‑term agility and cost savings, refactoring or re‑architecting to microservices or serverless is best; repurchasing or retiring helps rationalize spend—select a mix based on risk, ROI, and business priorities.
Hybrid suits organizations needing on‑prem control for sensitive workloads while using public providers for scaling and innovation; multicloud helps avoid single‑provider constraints and optimize for latency, cost, or specific managed services.
Implement clear policies, role‑based controls, and Automated guardrails that define provider responsibilities versus your team’s duties, combined with cost tagging, configuration baselines, and continuous compliance monitoring to reduce drift and risk.
Enforce MFA, least‑privilege identity, network segmentation, encryption in transit and at rest, and adopt a zero‑trust posture; integrate monitoring tools such as SIEM and managed detection to maintain visibility across workloads.
Map data flows, apply appropriate data residency and encryption controls, choose providers with relevant certifications, and document policies and evidence for audits; establish contractual terms and conduct periodic compliance assessments.
Define RPO and RTO per application class, build resilient architecture using region and zone redundancy, automate backups and failover, and run regular recovery drills to validate runbooks and reduce downtime risk.
Use tagging and showback to increase cost visibility, implement rightsizing and autoscaling, leverage reserved or committed pricing where appropriate, and continuously profile workloads to tune resource allocation and improve efficiency.
Start with an inventory and data classification, map dependencies, sequence applications, create cutover plans and fallbacks, run pilot migrations, validate performance and security, schedule go‑live with rollback options, and perform post‑migration integrity checks and access reviews.
Evaluate providers on architecture fit, compliance posture, SLAs, support model, and billing flexibility; engage a managed partner when you need 24/7 operations, advanced security services such as SOC, SIEM/MDR, or when internal skills and staffing are constrained.
Expected benefits include faster product delivery, improved operational resilience, predictable costs, and innovation velocity; quantify ROI by measuring cost savings, reduced time to market, system availability improvements, and business metric uplift tied to specific initiatives.
