Cloud Strategy & Migration Consulting
Build a practical cloud strategy around what your business actually needs — then access the expertise to turn it into implemented change.
Project Brains connects you with experienced cloud, architecture and migration specialists who can assess your current environment, define the right cloud migration strategy and work alongside your teams through delivery.
Vetted specialists. Flexible engagements. Expertise matched to your needs.
Understand what you have today
Cloud built around your business
Cloud strategy consulting
Don’t start with the cloud. Start with what the business needs.
Cloud migration is not automatically the right answer for every application, workload or business. The first question should be what you need your technology to do differently.
Project Brains helps clarify the outcome first, then connects you with experienced cloud, architecture and migration specialists who can assess your environment and build a practical cloud migration strategy around your business priorities.
Scale without infrastructure becoming the constraint
Build cloud and technology foundations that can support increasing users, workloads and business complexity.
Reduce legacy constraints
Identify applications, infrastructure and dependencies that are expensive to maintain or preventing technology from evolving.
Improve resilience
Shape infrastructure and architecture around greater reliability, security and operational continuity.
Prepare for what comes next
Create technology foundations capable of supporting new products, integrations, data platforms and AI.
When cloud migration consulting is needed
Signs you need a clearer cloud migration strategy
You may not need a large transformation programme. You may simply need experienced cloud expertise to work out what should move, what should stay and how to reduce risk before migration begins.
You know parts of the technology estate need to move to the cloud, but not what should move first
Infrastructure is becoming expensive, difficult to manage or hard to scale
Cloud workloads already exist, but there is no coherent cloud strategy across the business
Legacy applications and dependencies are making migration difficult to plan safely
You are deciding between AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, hybrid cloud or keeping some systems on-premise
Previous cloud migration work has increased complexity, cost or operational overhead
Security, compliance or data requirements are making cloud decisions harder to resolve
Your internal team needs senior cloud expertise to move from strategy into implementation
Cloud migration assessment
Understand your environment before deciding what to move
A successful cloud migration starts with understanding what you already have. Project Brains can match you with specialists who assess applications, infrastructure, architecture and dependencies to identify migration opportunities, constraints and risks.
Applications & workloads
Understand what exists, how critical it is and whether each workload is suitable for migration, modernisation or retention.
Infrastructure
Review hosting, compute, storage, networking and existing cloud environments to understand readiness, constraints and migration options.
Dependencies
Identify connections between applications, data, infrastructure and business processes that could affect migration sequencing or risk.
Architecture
Understand where existing architecture may constrain cloud adoption, scalability, resilience or future technology change.
Also assessed
Security & compliance
Identify security, governance, regulatory and data requirements that need to shape the target cloud environment.
Cost & commercial considerations
Understand current costs and where cloud adoption may create savings, additional spend or different commercial trade-offs.
Cloud readiness
Assess whether workloads, architecture, skills and operational processes are ready to move into a cloud environment.
Business priorities
Connect migration decisions to scalability, resilience, cost, delivery speed and the wider outcomes the business needs.
From strategy to implementation
A cloud strategy shouldn’t end with a roadmap
Project Brains can match Forward Deployed Engineers and hands-on technical specialists who work alongside your existing teams to turn cloud migration priorities into implemented change.
Rather than handing over recommendations and leaving your team to work out the delivery, embedded expertise can help solve technical problems as they appear during migration and implementation.
Move from cloud migration strategy to working technology
Cloud migration consulting can establish what should move, how it should change and the order in which migration should happen. Forward Deployed Engineering adds hands-on technical capability closer to the implementation itself.
Specialists work within the context of your applications, infrastructure, architecture, data and existing teams, helping translate the migration roadmap into practical technical decisions and delivery.
Understand the environment
Work with internal teams to understand applications, infrastructure, architecture, data, dependencies and operational constraints before implementation begins.
Design practical solutions
Translate the cloud migration strategy into technical designs, workload decisions and implementation approaches that fit the reality of your organisation.
Implement alongside your team
Support migration, integration, engineering and technical problem-solving as workloads move into their target environments.
Build internal capability
Transfer context and technical knowledge so your teams can operate, manage and evolve the cloud environment after the engagement.
Hands-on expertise for the difficult parts of cloud migration
Support workload migration, platform changes, testing and technical delivery.
Rehost, replatform or refactor applications where migration requires deeper technical change.
Implement target-state cloud architecture, infrastructure and supporting technical foundations.
Resolve dependencies and connect the systems and data required for successful migration.
Need hands-on expertise for your cloud migration?
Tell us what you are trying to migrate and Project Brains can help identify the cloud, architecture and engineering expertise best suited to the challenge.
Cloud strategy consulting
Build a cloud strategy around business outcomes
Once the current environment is understood, the next step is deciding where cloud creates genuine value and how to get there.
Experienced cloud strategy specialists can help turn technical findings into a practical direction that balances architecture, cost, risk and the wider priorities of the business.
Define the target-state strategy
Establish what the future technology environment should look like and the role cloud should play within it.
- Business and technology objectives
- Target-state environment
- Cloud adoption priorities
Make platform & architecture decisions
Evaluate the cloud platforms, deployment models and architecture needed to support your applications, data and operational requirements.
- Public, private and hybrid cloud
- AWS, Azure and Google Cloud considerations
- Target architecture decisions
Build the business case & priorities
Balance technology improvements against cost, risk, business value and implementation complexity before committing to migration.
- Cost and commercial considerations
- Business value and risk
- Migration prioritisation
Define governance & operating model
Determine how the cloud environment should be secured, governed, managed and evolved after workloads have been migrated.
- Security and governance
- Ownership and operating model
- Cost management and optimisation
The Brains
Meet specialists who've led complex technology change before
Cloud migration can require expertise across architecture, engineering, technology transformation and programme delivery. Project Brains can match experienced specialists around the specific combination your environment and migration strategy require.
AI & Software
Ben Ford
AI and Software Transformation Specialist
Bringing deep software engineering and architecture experience to complex technology environments where applications, integrations and technical decisions need to support migration and future growth.
View specialist
Technology Change
William Hurst
Technology Transformation Specialist
Providing experienced leadership and practical direction where organisations need to connect cloud strategy, technology priorities and implementation into a coordinated programme of change.
View specialist
Enterprise Change
Patrick Strauss
Enterprise Digital Transformation Specialist
Connecting technology decisions, stakeholders and programme delivery to help organisations move complex cloud and transformation priorities towards practical implementation.
View specialist
Programme Delivery
Satishan M.
Enterprise Transformation and Delivery Specialist
Bringing governance, delivery leadership and clear accountability to complex migration and technology change where multiple teams, dependencies and implementation priorities need to stay aligned.
View specialistYou don't need to know exactly who you need
These profiles are examples from the wider Project Brains community. We start by clarifying your cloud migration challenge so the right combination of cloud, architecture, engineering, programme or transformation expertise can be identified.
Built around your stage of growth
Cloud migration consulting for scale-ups and mid-sized businesses
The right cloud migration strategy depends on the size, complexity and maturity of your technology environment. Project Brains helps you access experienced cloud expertise around the challenges your business is actually facing.
For scale-ups
Build cloud foundations that won't become tomorrow's constraint
Rapid growth can expose infrastructure and architecture decisions that worked when the business was smaller. Cloud migration consulting can help establish what needs to change before those constraints begin limiting the next stage of growth.
- Assess infrastructure that is struggling to keep pace with growth
- Build architecture capable of supporting more users, workloads and products
- Create a clearer cloud strategy before technology complexity increases
- Improve scalability, resilience and operational flexibility
- Strengthen technology foundations for data, integrations and AI
- Access senior cloud expertise without another permanent hire
For mid-sized businesses
Modernise cloud infrastructure without unnecessary disruption
Established businesses often have more complicated application estates, dependencies and operational requirements. A structured cloud migration strategy can identify where cloud creates genuine value while protecting business continuity.
- Assess legacy infrastructure that is expensive or difficult to support
- Create a coherent strategy where cloud adoption has happened organically
- Map applications, systems and dependencies before migration begins
- Decide what should move, remain, change or be retired
- Sequence migration around risk, business continuity and technical readiness
- Bring independent senior expertise into complex cloud decisions
Not sure where to start?
You don't need to have the migration strategy worked out already.
You may know that infrastructure needs to change without knowing what should move, which platform is right or how the migration should be sequenced. Project Brains can help clarify the challenge and identify the expertise needed to determine the most practical route forward.
Why Project Brains?
Start with the problem, not the job title
You may know that your cloud environment needs to change without knowing whether you need a cloud architect, migration specialist, transformation lead or hands-on engineer. Project Brains starts by understanding the challenge, then identifies the expertise required to solve it.
Clarify the challenge
Understand what is driving the need for cloud change, from scalability and resilience to cost, legacy infrastructure, technical constraints or future business requirements.
Assess what needs to change
Determine whether the priority is assessment, cloud strategy, architecture, migration planning, application change or implementation support.
Match the right expertise
Identify cloud, architecture, engineering or transformation specialists whose experience fits your technology environment, priorities and stage of migration.
Move into delivery
Bring experienced specialists alongside your existing teams to turn cloud decisions into a practical migration roadmap and, where needed, support implementation.
Define the cloud challenge before deciding who you need
ProdigyPB helps clarify why cloud change is needed, what is creating the constraint and which outcomes matter before recommending a specialist or migration approach.
Clarify the cloud challenge
Separate symptoms from underlying issues across infrastructure, applications, architecture, dependencies, cost and capability.
Define migration priorities
Connect cloud decisions to the business outcomes that matter and establish which areas should be assessed or changed first.
Match precise expertise
Identify the specialist or combination of specialists required for cloud assessment, strategy, architecture, migration or delivery.
Cloud migration decisions
Not everything should move to the cloud in the same way
A cloud migration strategy should determine the right approach for each application and workload rather than treating migration as a single technical exercise. Some systems may move largely as they are. Others may need to change, remain where they are or be retired altogether.
Retain
Keep a workload in its existing environment when there is no strong business or technical reason to migrate it yet.
Does this actually need to move?Rehost
Move an application or workload into a cloud environment with minimal changes when speed or simplicity is the priority.
Can this move largely as it is?Replatform
Make targeted changes so a workload can take advantage of cloud services without completely redesigning the application.
What should change during migration?Refactor
Redesign parts of an application or its architecture where deeper change is needed for scalability, resilience or cloud-native capability.
Does the application need deeper change?Replace
Replace an existing application or platform when modern alternatives offer a better route than migrating or rebuilding what exists.
Is the existing system still worth keeping?Retire
Remove applications, infrastructure or workloads that no longer provide enough value to justify migrating and maintaining them.
Should this exist in the target environment?Cloud & migration expertise
Access the expertise your cloud strategy needs
Cloud migration rarely requires one type of specialist from beginning to end. Project Brains can match experienced cloud, architecture, engineering and transformation expertise around the specific decisions, risks and delivery challenges in your environment.
Cloud migration consulting
Assess what should move, what should stay and how migration can be planned around dependencies, risk, cost and business continuity.
- Migration planning
- Workload decisions
- Dependency analysis
Cloud strategy consulting
Define how cloud should support wider business and technology priorities before committing to platforms, architecture or a major migration programme.
- Target-state strategy
- Platform decisions
- Business case & priorities
Cloud architecture
Design the target architecture, infrastructure and technical foundations required to support scalable, resilient and secure cloud environments.
- Target architecture
- Infrastructure design
- Scalability & resilience
Cloud migration assessment
Build an evidence-based view of applications, infrastructure, architecture and dependencies before deciding whether, where and how workloads should migrate.
- Current-state assessment
- Cloud readiness
- Risk & opportunity analysis
Additional expertise
Bring in the capabilities needed at each stage of migration
Migration planning & sequencing
Turn migration priorities into practical waves, dependencies and delivery plans.
Cloud cost & optimisation
Evaluate commercial trade-offs and improve the way cloud resources are designed, consumed and managed.
Security & governance
Shape security, compliance, access, ownership and governance around the target cloud environment.
Systems & data integration
Resolve application, API and data dependencies that affect migration and the target technology environment.
Application modernisation
Replatform or refactor applications where successful migration requires deeper technical change.
Programme leadership
Coordinate complex migration activity across teams, stakeholders, suppliers, dependencies and business priorities.
Forward Deployed Engineering
Add hands-on technical expertise alongside your team to help move from migration strategy into working implementation.
Cloud migration roadmap
Turn cloud strategy into a migration plan your teams can execute
Once the direction is clear, the next step is turning cloud strategy into an actionable migration roadmap. The plan should show what needs to happen, in what order, where the risks are and which expertise is required to move each stage forward.
Understand
Build a clear picture of applications, infrastructure, architecture, data, dependencies, business priorities and operational constraints.
Decide
Determine what should be retained, rehosted, replatformed, refactored, replaced or retired and define the target environment.
Prioritise
Rank migration activity by business value, technical readiness, risk, cost, dependencies and the urgency of the underlying problem.
Sequence
Group work into practical migration waves so dependencies, testing, security, business continuity and internal capacity can be managed.
Deliver
Move from roadmap into migration with the architecture, engineering, programme and implementation expertise needed at each stage.
Decide what should happen first
A roadmap should make dependencies visible and show which workloads can move independently, which need preparatory work and which changes unlock later stages of migration.
Plan around the realities of the business
Migration waves can be designed around operational risk, security, testing, regulatory requirements, peak trading periods and the need to keep critical services running.
Know which expertise is needed when
Different stages may require cloud architecture, migration engineering, programme leadership, application modernisation or embedded technical delivery rather than one fixed team throughout.
Representative scenarios
How cloud strategy and migration expertise can help
The examples below illustrate the types of cloud migration challenges Project Brains specialists can support. They are representative scenarios rather than published client case studies.
Deciding what should actually move to the cloud
A business knows parts of its technology estate need to move away from ageing infrastructure, but there is no clear view of which applications should migrate, which should change and which should remain where they are.
Cloud migration, architecture and infrastructure specialists matched around the existing application estate, dependencies and business priorities.
- Assess applications, infrastructure and dependencies
- Identify migration readiness, constraints and risks
- Compare retain, rehost, replatform, refactor and replace options
- Prioritise workloads around business value and technical readiness
A clearer evidence-based view of what should move, what should stay and where deeper modernisation is required before migration begins.
Creating a coherent cloud strategy after organic growth
Cloud services have been adopted over time by different teams, creating fragmented infrastructure, inconsistent architecture and uncertainty around cost, governance and the future target environment.
Cloud strategy, architecture and technology transformation specialists matched around the organisation's current environment and future business priorities.
- Assess the existing cloud environment and operating model
- Define target-state cloud and architecture principles
- Clarify platform, security and governance decisions
- Build a prioritised roadmap around cost, risk and business value
A coherent cloud strategy that gives teams clearer direction on architecture, ownership, investment priorities and what should happen next.
Moving from a migration roadmap into working technology
A migration strategy and roadmap already exist, but the internal team needs additional senior technical capability to resolve architecture, engineering and dependency issues during implementation.
Cloud engineers, architecture specialists and Forward Deployed Engineers matched around the migration plan and the internal team's capability gaps.
- Translate roadmap decisions into practical technical designs
- Support workload migration, integration and testing
- Resolve technical blockers as migration progresses
- Transfer knowledge and strengthen internal capability
Migration priorities move from documentation into implemented technology while the internal team retains context, capability and ownership of the target environment.
Flexible cloud migration support
How cloud migration consulting pricing works
Every cloud migration engagement is shaped around your technology environment, business priorities and the stage of migration you are at. Pricing depends on the expertise, scope and level of support required rather than a fixed consulting package.
Specialist expertise
The cloud, architecture, engineering or transformation expertise required to solve your specific migration challenge.
Scope and complexity
The size of your application and infrastructure estate, architecture, integrations, dependencies, security requirements and migration complexity.
Level of involvement
Whether you need a focused cloud migration assessment, cloud strategy consulting, specialist advisory support or hands-on implementation alongside your internal team.
Engagement duration
Whether support is required for an initial assessment, a defined strategy and roadmap, a migration phase or a longer cloud transformation programme.
Additional expertise
Whether the engagement needs multiple specialists, such as cloud architects, migration engineers, programme leaders, application specialists or Forward Deployed Engineers.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about cloud migration consulting
Understand how cloud migration consulting, cloud strategy and specialist expertise can help you assess your environment, make better migration decisions and move from planning into implementation.
What is cloud migration consulting?
Cloud migration consulting helps organisations assess their existing technology environment, decide what should move to the cloud and develop a practical approach for migration.
This can include analysing applications, infrastructure, architecture and dependencies, defining migration priorities, selecting appropriate migration approaches and building a roadmap for implementation.
What is cloud strategy consulting?
Cloud strategy consulting focuses on how cloud technology should support your wider business and technology priorities rather than simply deciding how to move existing systems.
A cloud strategy can define the target environment, architecture principles, platform approach, governance, security, investment priorities and the sequence of changes required to reach the desired future state.
What is a cloud migration assessment?
A cloud migration assessment examines your current applications, workloads, infrastructure, architecture and dependencies before major migration decisions are made.
The assessment can help identify cloud readiness, technical constraints, security considerations, migration risks and which workloads are suitable for retaining, rehosting, replatforming, refactoring, replacing or retiring.
How do you build a cloud migration strategy?
A cloud migration strategy should begin with the business outcomes you are trying to achieve and a clear understanding of the current technology environment.
From there, applications and workloads can be assessed, migration approaches selected, dependencies and risks mapped, the target architecture defined and migration activity prioritised into a practical roadmap.
Does everything need to move to the cloud?
No. A good cloud migration strategy does not assume that every application or workload should move.
Some systems may be better retained in their existing environment, while others may be rehosted, replatformed, refactored, replaced or retired. The decision should reflect business value, technical requirements, cost, risk, dependencies and operational needs.
Which cloud platform should we use?
The right cloud platform depends on your existing technology, workloads, internal capability, security and compliance requirements, commercial considerations and future architecture.
Rather than choosing a platform first, Project Brains can help clarify the requirements and identify the cloud and architecture expertise needed to evaluate the most appropriate approach.
Can Project Brains support AWS, Azure and Google Cloud migrations?
Project Brains matches specialist expertise around the requirements of the engagement rather than prescribing one cloud platform.
Depending on your environment, this can include specialists with relevant AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, multi-cloud, architecture, infrastructure and migration experience.
What if we already have a cloud migration strategy?
You do not need to start again. If the strategy and direction are already clear, specialist support can focus on validating key decisions, developing the migration roadmap or moving into implementation.
Project Brains can also provide hands-on cloud, architecture, engineering or Forward Deployed Engineering expertise where the challenge is turning an existing strategy into working technology.
Can cloud specialists work alongside our existing technology team?
Yes. Project Brains specialists can work alongside your existing technology, engineering, infrastructure and leadership teams rather than replacing them.
They can provide specialist expertise, resolve technical blockers, strengthen migration delivery and transfer knowledge so your internal team retains context and ownership of the environment.
How long does a cloud migration take?
The timeframe depends on the size and complexity of your technology estate, the number of applications and workloads, dependencies, migration approach, security requirements and the amount of modernisation required.
Some engagements begin with a focused assessment or strategy exercise, while larger migrations may be delivered in waves over several months. A cloud migration roadmap can establish a more realistic sequence based on your specific environment.
What is a cloud migration roadmap?
A cloud migration roadmap turns strategic decisions into an actionable sequence of work. It identifies what should move, when it should move and which dependencies or preparatory changes need to be addressed first.
A useful roadmap can also define migration waves, technical priorities, risks, required expertise and the major decisions needed to move from the current environment towards the target state.
How does Project Brains identify the right cloud expertise?
Project Brains starts with the underlying business and technology challenge rather than assuming you need a particular job title or predefined consulting team.
Through the ProdigyPB process, we clarify your environment, priorities, constraints and desired outcomes before identifying the cloud, architecture, engineering, migration or transformation expertise best suited to the challenge.
How much does cloud migration consulting cost?
Pricing depends on the expertise required, the size and complexity of your technology environment, the scope of the engagement, the level of specialist involvement and whether support is focused on assessment, strategy, migration planning or implementation.
Project Brains can structure support around the specific stage and requirements of your cloud migration rather than forcing the work into a fixed consulting package.
View Project Brains pricing