Your cloud journey deserves a clear direction.

A cloud strategy is a structured plan describing how an organisation intends to adopt, use, govern and improve cloud technology in support of its business objectives.

A strategy helps organisations make informed decisions about workload placement, security, architecture, operational requirements and spending before committing to significant cloud changes.

Cloud strategy establishes business goals, technical direction, readiness, governance and a roadmap. Cloud migration involves carrying out appropriate technical changes to move supported workloads or information into a cloud environment.

Yes. A cloud strategy can be developed as a planning engagement, with any implementation or migration work agreed separately.

It examines the current environment and organisational requirements to determine the suitability, dependencies, challenges and opportunities associated with cloud adoption.

Depending on scope, it may review applications, servers, storage, networking, identity, security, licensing, operations, costs, recovery requirements and employee readiness.

No. Some workloads may be unsuitable because of performance, technical compatibility, latency, cost, contractual or regulatory requirements. Each significant workload should be assessed individually.

Public cloud uses services supplied through a public cloud provider. Private cloud provides a dedicated environment for an organisation. The most appropriate approach depends on technical, operational, security and financial requirements.

Hybrid cloud combines suitable on-premises or private environments with public cloud services, using an architecture intended to support the organisation's required integration and operational needs.

Multi-cloud refers to using cloud services from more than one public cloud provider. It can support defined technical or business requirements but may add governance and management complexity.

A hybrid cloud planning engagement can assess workloads, connectivity, security, identity, infrastructure and operational responsibilities to determine suitable design options.

No. The appropriate cloud platform should depend on business requirements, existing systems, compatibility and commercial considerations. Microsoft Azure is one option that can be evaluated.

It is Microsoft's guidance for planning, preparing, adopting, governing, securing and managing Azure environments. It helps connect technical cloud work with organisational and business priorities.

An Azure landing zone is a structured foundation for Azure adoption, including relevant subscription organisation, networking, identity, governance, security and management standards.

The appropriate landing zone design depends on the environment and intended workloads. Establishing suitable governance and platform foundations before significant migration can help reduce later complexity.

Cloud architecture describes how applications, infrastructure, storage, networking, security and associated services are structured and connected within a cloud environment.

The shared responsibility model describes how security and operational duties are divided between a cloud provider and its customer. Responsibilities vary according to the service type and configuration.

No. Cloud platforms offer substantial security capabilities, but the organisation must still configure and manage the services appropriately. Risk depends on architecture, access, workloads, operational practices and other safeguards.

Cloud strategy can consider data location, access, retention, security and relevant contractual obligations. Using cloud services does not automatically establish compliance with GDPR, HIPAA or other legal requirements.

A well-planned strategy may identify cost optimisation opportunities, but cloud services do not automatically cost less. Total cost depends on resource use, architecture, licences, storage, networking, support and commercial commitments.

It is the process of reviewing cloud resource use and financial arrangements to identify suitable opportunities for more efficient expenditure without disregarding business requirements.

FinOps is a cloud financial management discipline that encourages collaboration between engineering, finance and business teams to improve accountability and decisions about cloud expenditure.

Microsoft Azure provides cost management, budgeting, tagging and reporting capabilities. Organisations should configure appropriate access, ownership and financial governance to use them effectively.

Application modernisation involves changing an existing application or its supporting technology to better meet business, operational or technical requirements. The approach may include refactoring, replatforming or replacing the workload.

No. Some systems may be retained, replaced or retired instead. Decisions should account for business value, technical compatibility, cost, risk and long-term support.

Migration waves are groups of workloads scheduled for movement during particular stages of a project. They can be organised according to dependencies, complexity, risk and business importance.

Yes. A strategy can assess redundancy, backup, replication, recovery objectives and alternative infrastructure options. Actual resilience depends on the services and architecture implemented and tested.

Cloud backup focuses on retaining recoverable information or system copies. Disaster recovery concerns restoring the broader technology services and dependencies needed after disruption.

Yes. A suitable hybrid architecture can allow certain existing workloads to remain on-premises while selected services operate in the cloud.

Cloud planning can consider approved remote access, identity, applications, collaboration, virtual desktops, device management and network security requirements.

Typical elements include business objectives, an environment assessment, target architecture, governance, security requirements, cost considerations, migration priorities, dependencies and a proposed roadmap.

The timescale depends on the number of applications, technical complexity, organisational stakeholders, documentation quality and the level of assessment required.

Yes. A consultancy engagement can involve internal IT staff, business leadership, security teams, suppliers and other stakeholders to develop a shared technical direction.

A review may be appropriate annually, following major business changes or whenever significant new workloads, risks, costs or platform capabilities affect the original plan.

No universal savings, performance or availability guarantees are stated. Results depend on the architecture, services, configuration, costs and business environment. Any specific contractual commitments must be agreed separately.

Support coverage, monitoring, response times and escalation arrangements depend on the applicable service agreement. This page does not imply continuous staffed coverage.

Pricing depends on the number of systems, cloud platforms, complexity of the assessment, business requirements and agreed deliverables. Contact IRON IT Group to discuss your project.