Migration cost is more than the destination instance. The plan must account for discovery, parallel environments, data movement, validation, cutover and support after launch.
Price discovery and dependencies
Unknown scheduled jobs, integrations, storage paths or DNS ownership can consume more time than copying the application. Begin with a dependency inventory and identify which findings require testing.
Budget for parallel operation
A safer migration normally keeps the source live while the destination is built and tested. Include temporary duplicate infrastructure, data transfer, backup storage and the observation period in the plan.
- Destination build and configuration
- Application and database transfer
- Functional and performance validation
- DNS and certificate changes
- Monitoring and post-cutover support
Define downtime and rollback separately
The migration window, DNS propagation and application write freeze are different concepts. Document exactly what users experience, when new data stops on the source and what condition triggers rollback.