Cloud migrations go wrong when the specialist underestimates your environment, rushes the cutover, or doesn't test before going live. SerenIT matches you with vetted cloud migration specialists who have moved environments like yours before — same platform, same size, same complexity.
Each migration type has different complexity, timeline, and risk profile. Knowing which type you're doing is the first step to finding the right specialist.
The most common migration. Moves email, calendars, and contacts from an on-premise Exchange server to Microsoft 365. Well-understood migration path with good tooling. Primary risks: calendar item corruption, distribution list misconfiguration, and hybrid coexistence issues during the transition window. Timeline: 2–6 weeks for 25–100 users.
Moves on-premise file shares to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. The most underestimated migration — file path length limits, permissions translation, and version history gaps cause more post-migration tickets than any other workload. Requires thorough permissions audit before migration starts. Timeline: 4–12 weeks depending on data volume.
Lifts physical or virtual servers into Azure virtual machines — maintaining the same OS, applications, and configurations in Microsoft's data center. Lower application rewrite risk than re-platforming, but higher ongoing Azure costs than SaaS. Common for line-of-business applications that can't move to SaaS. Timeline: 2–4 months per server tier.
Migrates identity management from on-premise Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD). Often done in a hybrid model (AD Connect sync) rather than a hard cutover. Required for full Microsoft 365 integration and Zero Trust security architecture. Touches every user, device, and application in the environment. Plan 3–6 months for a clean migration.
Platform switches driven by acquisition, compliance requirements, or changing tool preferences. Email migration is manageable; the harder challenge is migrating Google Docs/Sheets/Slides to Office formats without formatting loss, and retraining users on a new platform. Timeline: 4–10 weeks for 50 users; user adoption is the long-tail risk.
Shutting down an owned or leased data center and moving all workloads to cloud. Requires workload inventory, cloud readiness assessment, platform selection per workload (SaaS / IaaS / PaaS), phased migration, and lease/contract termination planning. The highest-risk and longest migration type. Budget 6–18 months and dedicated project management.
The most common reason cloud migrations go over budget and timeline is scope creep that wasn't discovered until the migration was already underway. A proper pre-migration assessment — environment documentation, application inventory, data volume measurement, compliance requirements review — takes 2–4 weeks and prevents the surprises that blow up a fixed-price migration engagement.
The second most common failure is underestimating the user adoption component. Moving email and files to the cloud is a technical project; getting 75 employees to stop going around the new system and using their personal Dropbox requires change management, training, and executive sponsorship. Budget for it explicitly.
| Migration Type | Company Size | Typical Cost | Typical Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange → M365 (email only) | 25–50 users | $3,000–$8,000 | 2–4 weeks |
| Exchange + file server → M365 | 25–50 users | $8,000–$20,000 | 4–8 weeks |
| Exchange + file server → M365 | 50–150 users | $20,000–$50,000 | 8–16 weeks |
| Server → Azure IaaS (per server tier) | Any | $5,000–$25,000/server | 4–8 weeks/tier |
| Google Workspace → M365 | 25–75 users | $6,000–$18,000 | 4–10 weeks |
| Full data center exit | 50–200 users | $50,000–$250,000+ | 6–18 months |
One form. One vetted specialist who has migrated environments like yours. Not a shortlist of vendors competing for your project.
Fill out the form with your current platform, target platform, company size, and timeline. Takes 2 minutes.
We identify vetted MSPs and cloud specialists with verifiable experience migrating your specific platform — the same source environment, comparable user count, similar compliance requirements.
Not a flood of proposals from strangers. One vetted cloud migration specialist contacts you knowing your environment, size, and target — so the first conversation is substantive, not a discovery questionnaire.
Cloud migration is a category with enormous variance in specialist quality. Microsoft 365 and Azure have certification exams that don't require hands-on experience — a "certified" migration specialist may have passed a test without migrating a single real environment. These questions separate experience from credentials.