Map what the application depends on.
A migration rarely moves only one application. Databases, storage, DNS, scheduled tasks, third-party services and access policies are part of the same working system.
Document those dependencies and identify which components need to move together. Speak to the people who operate the application as well as the people who built it. Their day-to-day knowledge often reveals requirements that are missing from a diagram.
Agree on recovery and validation.
Decide how much interruption the business can tolerate and what data recovery would look like. These decisions shape the migration method, the order of work and the resources needed for the transition.
Define the checks that tell you the move has succeeded. They should include real user journeys, integrations, data consistency and operational visibility. Write down a rollback path before the cutover, with clear responsibility for the decision.
Make the new environment operable.
The destination should come with monitoring, access controls, backups and a clear deployment process. A successful cutover is the beginning of operating the new environment, not the end of the work.
Review capacity and cost after the workload has settled. The architecture should be understandable to the people maintaining it, and the handover should include the decisions that matter when something changes.