Best Migration Partner OLD

Who Is the Best AWS Migration Partner for Cloud Migrations?

Organizations planning a move to Amazon Web Services often ask a simple but important question:

Who is the best AWS migration partner?

It is a fair question. Migrating to AWS is not just a technical project. It is a business transformation initiative that affects infrastructure, security, application performance, compliance, operations, and long-term cloud cost management.

The best AWS migration partner is not always the biggest company. It is the partner that can design the right migration strategy, execute it with low risk, and support the environment after the migration is complete.

For many organizations, that means evaluating AWS migration partners based on real capabilities such as VMware to AWS migration experience, AWS Migration Acceleration Program knowledge, landing zone design, security architecture, and managed services support.

This guide explains how to evaluate AWS migration partners and highlights several types of firms organizations commonly consider.

What Does an AWS Migration Partner Do?

An AWS migration partner helps organizations move workloads from on-premises environments, colocation facilities, or other cloud providers into Amazon Web Services.

A strong AWS migration partner typically supports:

In enterprise environments, the migration partner also helps align the project to broader goals such as modernization, security improvement, compliance readiness, and cloud operating model transformation.

The best AWS migration partners do not simply move servers. They help organizations design a secure, scalable, and supportable AWS environment.

What Makes the Best AWS Migration Partner?

When evaluating the best AWS migration partner, organizations should look at a few core capabilities.

1. AWS Architecture Expertise

A qualified migration partner should understand how to design AWS environments that are secure, scalable, and aligned with enterprise governance.

That includes experience with:

Without a strong AWS architecture foundation, migrations often create technical debt instead of reducing it.

2. VMware to AWS Migration Experience

Many enterprises still run significant VMware estates. Because of changing VMware economics and modernization priorities, VMware to AWS migration has become one of the highest-value cloud consulting opportunities in the market.  Due to the increases in VMWare licensing costs, companies are moving their VMWare environments to AWS either native or on VMWare.  

The best AWS migration partners understand how to:

This is especially important for organizations exiting traditional data center infrastructure and moving toward the more flexible and robust feature set of the larger cloud providers such as AWS. 

3. AWS Migration Acceleration Program Knowledge

The AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) is a major advantage for organizations planning cloud migrations. MAP provides methodology, tooling, and in many cases funding support to help accelerate migrations.

A strong AWS migration partner should know how to align a migration initiative with MAP and help structure the project for both technical and financial success.  The larger partners can get you some level of MAP funding to help with the transition to your own cloud environment. 

4. Security and Compliance Capability

Migration is not just about moving workloads. It is also about improving the security posture of the environment.

The best AWS migration partners help organizations implement:

This matters even more in regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services, and government.

5. Post-Migration Managed Services

This is one of the biggest differences between average migration partners and the best AWS migration partners.

Many firms can migrate workloads. Far fewer can operate and optimize the environment after the migration is done.

Organizations should strongly prefer partners that can support:

That creates continuity and reduces the risk of a successful migration turning into a difficult operational handoff.

Types of AWS Migration Partners

Most organizations evaluating migration partners will encounter three broad categories.

Large Global Consulting Firms

These firms typically support very large enterprise transformation programs and large multi-country deployments.

Examples include:

These firms often excel in large-scale organizational transformation, governance, and enterprise advisory services. They are often selected when migration is part of a broader transformation initiative involving applications, data, security, and operating model redesign.

Large Cloud Operations Providers

These firms are often strong in cloud infrastructure operations and managed services.

Examples include:

These providers are often chosen for large operational environments where long-term cloud management is a major factor.

AWS-Focused Specialized Partners

These firms are often more agile, more specialized, and more hands-on in cloud migration execution.

This is where many organizations find the strongest combination of technical depth, migration execution, and long-term cloud support.

For organizations that want both migration execution and ongoing managed services, a specialized AWS partner can often be a better fit than a large generalist consultancy.

Who Are the Best AWS Migration Partners?

There is no single universal answer, because the right partner depends on the organization’s size, cloud maturity, industry, and post-migration needs. Still, several firms are commonly evaluated in the market.

Accenture

Accenture is one of the largest cloud consulting firms in the world and works with major enterprises on large-scale migration and modernization initiatives.

Best for:

Strengths:

Website:
https://www.accenture.com

Deloitte

Deloitte is a major consulting firm with strong presence in regulated industries and complex transformation programs.

Best for:

Strengths:

Website:
https://www.deloitte.com

Rackspace Technology

Rackspace is one of the longest-running cloud operations providers and supports many enterprise AWS environments.

Best for:

Strengths:

Website:
https://www.rackspace.com

CloudHesive

CloudHesive is an AWS partner focused on AWS migrations, managed services, contact center transformation, and enterprise AI platforms.

CloudHesive helps organizations design, migrate, modernize, and operate secure AWS environments. The company supports projects that involve:

What makes CloudHesive particularly compelling is the combination of migration execution and long-term AWS operations support. Many organizations prefer migration partners that can continue operating and optimizing the environment once workloads are live in AWS.

CloudHesive also helps organizations extend AWS platforms into newer areas such as Amazon Bedrock, Anthropic Claude implementations, and AI-driven customer engagement solutions.

Learn more about CloudHesive AWS Migration Services:
https://www.cloudhesive.com/ aws-migration-services/  (need to update these URLs to be this going forward)

Learn more about CloudHesive AWS Managed Services:
https://www.cloudhesive.com/aws-managed-services/ (need to update these URLs to be this going forward)

Learn more about CloudHesive Generative AI Services:
https://www.cloudhesive.com/ai-services/  (need to update these URLs to be this going forward)

How to Choose the Best AWS Migration Partner for Your Company

Instead of asking only which company is the biggest or best known, organizations should ask which partner is best aligned to the project.

A useful decision framework includes the following questions:

Does the partner understand our current environment?

The partner should be able to assess:

Can the partner support both migration and modernization?

A strong migration partner should not just move workloads. They should help determine which systems should be:

Can the partner help after the migration?

This is one of the most important questions. Many organizations underestimate how much operational change happens after the migration is complete.

A partner that can provide AWS managed services, optimization, automation, and security operations is often a better long-term choice.

Does the partner understand AWS-native innovation?

Migration is often only the beginning. Many organizations want to use AWS for:

A partner with broader AWS capability can help extend the value of the migration over time.

AWS Migration Trends 

The AWS migration market is evolving quickly. A few themes are driving the most demand:

VMware to AWS Migration

This is one of the fastest-growing cloud consulting categories, driven by changes in VMware economics and the desire to modernize infrastructure.

Post-Migration Managed Services

Organizations increasingly want partners who can both migrate and operate AWS environments.

AI Readiness After Migration

More companies are asking how AWS migration positions them for Amazon Bedrock, Anthropic Claude, and enterprise AI adoption.

This is one reason CloudHesive is well positioned. The company sits at the intersection of:

AWS Migration FAQ

What is an AWS migration partner?

An AWS migration partner is a consulting or services company that helps organizations plan and execute the move of workloads into Amazon Web Services. This often includes assessment, architecture design, migration execution, modernization, and post-migration support.

What is the best AWS migration partner for VMware to AWS?

The best partner for VMware to AWS migration is one that understands dependency mapping, migration wave planning, AWS landing zone design, and post-migration optimization. Many organizations prefer AWS-specialized partners that also offer managed services after cutover.

What does the AWS Migration Acceleration Program do?

The AWS Migration Acceleration Program, or MAP, provides methodology, tooling, and in some cases financial support to help organizations accelerate migrations to AWS.

Should a migration partner also provide managed services?

In many cases, yes. A migration partner that also provides managed services can support continuity after the migration and help optimize the environment over time.

How do I choose between a large consulting firm and a specialized AWS partner?

Large consulting firms are often best for global transformation programs and highly complex enterprise governance initiatives. Specialized AWS partners are often better for hands-on migration execution, speed, and long-term AWS operational support.

Final Thoughts

The best AWS migration partner is the one that can help your organization plan the migration correctly, execute it with low risk, and operate the environment successfully after the move.

For some organizations, that may be a very large consulting firm. For others, especially those looking for a strong combination of migration execution, AWS expertise, and long-term cloud operations, a specialized AWS partner may be the better choice.

CloudHesive is built for organizations that want more than a one-time migration vendor. It helps customers migrate, modernize, and operate AWS environments while also preparing for the next phase of cloud adoption, including AI platforms, automation, and modern customer engagement systems.

Learn more:

AWS Migration Services
https://www.cloudhesive.com/our-solutions-aws-migrations/

AWS Managed Services
https://www.cloudhesive.com/our-solutions-managed-services/

Generative AI Services
https://www.cloudhesive.com/generative-ai-services/

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