A Practical Guide to Cloud Migration for UK Businesses

Moving to the cloud is no longer a future ambition for UK businesses, it’s a practical step towards greater flexibility, security and cost control. Here at Ashgoal, we help organisations to plan and deliver cloud migrations that are smooth, low-risk and aligned with business goals.

1. Assess Your Current Environment

A thorough assessment is important. This should cover:

• Infrastructure – servers, storage, networking and how they interconnect
• Applications – what they do, who uses them and their technical dependencies
• Data – Where it is stored, how sensitive it is and relevant UK regulatory requirements (e.g. UK GDPR)

This assessment helps identify applications that are “cloud ready”, those needing modification and any that are better retained on-premise in a hybrid model.

2. Choose The Right Cloud Model

Different cloud models suit different organisations:

• Public cloud – highly scalable, cost-effective and ideal for most workloads
• Private cloud – dedicated environments where tighter control or custom-made security is needed
• Hybrid cloud – a mix of on-premise and cloud, giving flexibility and a gradual migration path

UK businesses should also consider data residency, compliance and integration with existing systems when choosing providers.

3. Plan your migration strategy

There are several approaches to moving workloads and many organisations blend them. A lift-and-shift approach moves applications with minimal changes and is usually the fastest way to migrate, although it may not deliver the full benefits of cloud services. Re-platforming involves making small changes so that systems can use managed cloud services, such as hosted databases, improving performance, reliability and management overheads. Refactoring goes further, redesigning applications to be cloud-native; this demands more initial effort but offers the greatest long-term flexibility and scalability. Starting with lower-risk systems allows you to build experience and confidence before tackling high-priority workloads.

4. Manage Security, Compliance and Continuity

Security must be integrated into every stage of your migration, rather than treated as a final step. Strong identity and access management ensure that only the right people have the right level of access, while data encryption in transit and at rest protects sensitive information. Robust backup and disaster recovery planning, supported by clear service recovery objectives, will help maintain business continuity if problems occur. Thorough logging, monitoring and alerting enable you to detect issues early and respond quickly. Throughout, you should stay mindful of compliance with UK GDPR and any sector-specific regulations that apply to your organisation.

5. Communicate, Train and Support Users

Cloud migration is as much about people as it is about technology. Communicating early with stakeholders about the reasons for change and the expected benefits helps build support across the business. Clear, role-specific training ensures that users understand any new tools or processes, which in turn reduces resistance and minimises disruption. Ongoing support, encourages adoption, resolves issues promptly and helps staff make the most of the new cloud environment.

6. Optimise After Go‑Live

Migration is not the end of the journey; it is the start of a new operational phase. After go-live, you should review performance and capacity to confirm that systems are meeting user expectations and business requirements. Comparing actual cloud costs against your initial forecasts helps you identify opportunities for optimisation, such as resizing resources or adopting reserved instances. Gathering user feedback provides insight into productivity gains, while regular reviews of your security posture and incident logs ensure that controls remain effective as your usage evolves. Continuous optimisation enables you to extract maximum value from your cloud investment.

Ashgoal works with UK businesses to plan, implement and support tailored cloud solutions. Are you ready to look to move your business to the cloud? Get in touch with a member of our team and we’ll help you get started.

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