We are embarking on a massive multi-region cloud migration. Given the complexity of data integrity and potential downtime, I need advice on risk registers. What are the most overlooked risks in cloud projects, and how do you quantify them for senior leadership to ensure we get the right budget?
3 answers
In my experience with AWS and Azure migrations, the biggest overlooked risk is "Latent Dependency." Often, legacy apps have undocumented connections that break post-migration. You must perform a deep discovery phase using automated tools to map these. To quantify this for leadership, use a "Cost of Downtime" formula: $(Idle Labor + Lost Revenue) \times Hours$. When they see the six-figure impact of a single day of failure, they will approve the contingency budget. Also, ensure you have a robust roll-back plan for every single cutover window to minimize the actual business impact.
Have you considered the "Security and Compliance" gap during the transit phase? Many teams focus on the technical move but forget that data is often most vulnerable while it is moving between on-premise servers and the cloud provider's edge locations.
Always prioritize a "Pilot Migration" first. Moving a non-critical application will reveal the hidden networking issues that your risk register probably hasn't captured yet.
Definitely. The pilot phase acts as a proof of concept. Laura is right; it provides the real-world data needed to refine the risk mitigation plan for the critical systems.
Mark, that is a valid point. We are using encrypted tunnels, but I am worried about the IAM roles. How do you suggest we manage temporary access permissions for the third-party vendors who are assisting with the migration without creating a long-term security hole in our new environment?\