Cloud migration is no longer just a technical initiative, it is a business decision. While many organizations recognize the long term benefits of moving to AWS, leadership teams often ask fundamental questions before committing: What exactly are we migrating? What will it cost? And what business value will we gain?
A structured migration assessment and a data driven business case help answer these questions with confidence.
In this blog, I’ll walk through how AWS Transform can be used to perform a migration assessment and create a data driven AWS migration business case, based on real inventory data and transparent cost modeling.
Why start with a migration assessment
Migration programs frequently slow down when early planning is based on assumptions rather than data. Common challenges include limited visibility into the existing infrastructure footprint, over provisioned servers, unclear licensing implications, and business cases that fail to stand up to financial scrutiny.
A migration assessment establishes a factual baseline. AWS Transform simplifies this process by analyzing workload inventory at scale and translating it into actionable insights that can be used for both technical planning and financial decision making.
Discover and analyze your current workloads
Every migration business case begins with a clear understanding of the current environment.
AWS Transform supports multiple inventory input formats, allowing teams to get started quickly without deploying new discovery tooling. Supported inputs include RVTools exports from VMware environments, Migration Portfolio Assessment (MPA) exports, vCenter inventory files, and the AWS Transform assessment data template.
Once the inventory is uploaded, AWS Transform analyzes server configurations, operating systems, and workload characteristics to produce a consolidated view of the environment.
Build a data driven AWS migration business case
With a clear understanding of the existing environment, AWS Transform generates a comprehensive migration business case grounded in real data.
The business case provides a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) view that compares the current on premises cost baseline with projected AWS run costs. It includes multiple pricing scenarios, such as on demand and commitment based models, and highlights opportunities for licensing optimization.
Because the business case is derived directly from inventory data rather than assumptions, it resonates strongly with finance teams, procurement stakeholders, and executive leadership. It also creates a shared, objective reference point for migration discussions across technical and business teams.
Step by step walkthrough: building the business case using AWS Transform
The following steps outline a typical workflow for creating a migration business case using AWS Transform.
Step 1: Create a migration assessment job
Start by creating a new migration assessment job in AWS Transform and provide a meaningful name that reflects the scope or business unit being assessed.
1.1 Open AWS Console and search for “AWS Transform” service
1.2 Choose Settings and open the “Web application URL” to create workspace
1.3 Click on “Create Workspace” and provide a meaningful name
1.4 You will get the below screen once the workspace created
Now, you need to create a Job, Select Job type as Migration from the list highlighted in red color below
1.5 Choose Assessment as type of transformation you want to work on
1.6 You should be able to see the Job plan and select the storage information to upload the inventory
Step 2: Upload inventory data
Upload supported inventory files, such as RVTools, Migration Evaluator exports, or the AWS Transform assessment data template.
AWS Transform validates and processes the uploaded data.
In this blog example, I am using the “AWS Transform assessment data template”
Download the template and update your inventory information in the sheets “Servers”, “FileNAS Storage”, “Block Storage”, “Object Storage”
Review and fill the applicable sheets within this template based on your assessment requirements. Check the sheet “Glossary” for required (green), desired (yellow) and optional (white) fields information to fill the file.
2.1 Upload the on-premises server data
Step 3: Select the target AWS Region
Once uploaded, Choose the AWS Region where workloads are expected to run after migration. This selection ensures that pricing and service availability are accurately reflected in the business case.
click on “Generate business case” button.
Step 4: Generate the migration business case
Allow 10-20 minutes for AWS Transform to generate the migration business case, including cost projections, licensing scenarios, and savings estimates.
Step 5: Review insights and define next steps
Download business case and use the generated insights to identify migration priorities, validate financial assumptions, and plan follow on activities such as dependency analysis and migration wave planning.
Open “Business_case document to view the generated insights.
You should be able to see all the insights
Benefits of using AWS Transform
Using AWS Transform for migration assessments and business case development provides several key benefits.
Faster modernization
Organizations can modernize applications up to five times faster by using AI powered automation for complex transformation tasks. This reduces manual effort and significantly shortens planning and execution timelines.
Cost savings
Migration and modernization agents help reduce the cost of complex transformation projects by automating high effort analysis and planning activities, allowing teams to focus on execution and value delivery.
Confidence through consistency
A consistent, data driven approach across discovery, cost modeling, and planning builds confidence among stakeholders and reduces the risk of rework later in the migration journey.
Pricing considerations:
AWS Transform currently offers migration and modernization capabilities for enterprise workloads such as Windows, VMware, and mainframe at no additional cost. Custom transformations for code, APIs, frameworks, and other advanced scenarios are available as paid features.
You only pay for the AWS resources you create to run your applications, such as Amazon EC2 instances and storage. There are no minimum fees and no upfront commitments you pay only for what you use.
For the latest pricing details, please check:
https://aws.amazon.com/transform/pricing/
Thank you!
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