Product
Cloud Viability Assessment
Build a clear business case for your future infrastructure, hosting and cloud investment decisions.
Understand What Your Infrastructure Is Costing You and What Your Options Really Are
Most organisations know what they spend on infrastructure and software licensing. Far fewer know how much of that infrastructure they are actually using, where costs could be reduced or what the same workloads could cost on AWS.
Perform Partners’ Cloud Viability Assessment analyses your infrastructure utilisation, software licensing and application dependencies using data gathered from your own environment. You receive a detailed view of your current estate, potential optimisation opportunities, projected AWS costs and the practical considerations involved in any future migration. The AWS Optimisation and Licensing Assessment program fully funds the assessment, with no obligation to migrate to AWS.
What Is a Cloud Viability Assessment?
A Cloud Viability Assessment establishes what your organisation is spending on infrastructure, workloads and software licensing, where that spend may be unnecessary and what the same workloads could cost on AWS. The assessment measures what your infrastructure is genuinely using rather than relying on historic specifications, allocated capacity or assumptions.
It also examines your software licensing position and maps dependencies between systems. This means any recommendation to move or modernise a workload takes account of the other applications, services and infrastructure connected to it.
The findings are brought together in a Total Cost of Ownership report that models deployment options, licensing scenarios and potential savings.
When Is a Cloud Viability Assessment Useful?
A Cloud Viability Assessment is designed for organisations that need reliable information before making a significant infrastructure decision. It can help if you are:
- Planning a data centre exit
- Comparing AWS with an existing or alternative hosting arrangement
- Reviewing infrastructure and software licensing costs
- Preparing for a major infrastructure investment
- Building a cloud migration business case
- Assessing whether workloads are suitable for AWS
- Identifying over-provisioned infrastructure
- Reviewing Microsoft, VMware or Oracle licensing
- Investigating technology risks across a large estate
- Planning a phased migration or modernisation initiative
The Questions the Assessment Can Answer
The Cloud Viability Assessment helps your organisation answer practical questions about its current position and available options.
- What infrastructure and workloads do we currently operate?
- How much capacity are we paying for and how much are we using?
- Where is infrastructure over-provisioned?
- What are we spending on Microsoft, VMware and Oracle licensing?
- Are there licensing options that could reduce future costs?
- Which applications and systems depend on each other?
- Which workloads are suitable for migration to AWS?
- Which workloads would require further investigation before migration?
- What would our current workloads cost to run on AWS after right-sizing?
- How does AWS compare with our current or proposed hosting arrangement?
- What technology risks could affect our decision?
- Which workloads may need to move together?
What We Assess
- Infrastructure Inventory
We build a detailed inventory of the infrastructure in scope, including virtual machines, compute, memory, storage, operating systems, and installed applications. - Actual Utilisation
We assess CPU, memory, storage and network utilisation to understand how workloads are being used in practice. This helps distinguish between infrastructure that is required and capacity that may have been allocated historically but is no longer needed. - Software Licensing
We review relevant Microsoft, VMware and Oracle workloads and licensing information to identify where the current position may affect cost, portability or future hosting options. - Application Dependencies
We map communication between systems to show how applications, workloads and infrastructure interact. This provides visibility of dependencies that could influence migration sequencing, move groups and delivery risk. - Technology Risk
We identify operating systems and technologies that are unsupported, approaching end of support or likely to create additional cost and risk. - AWS Suitability
We assess workload requirements against suitable AWS services and instance options, taking current utilisation and technical requirements into account. - Cost Comparison
We compare current or proposed infrastructure costs with projected AWS costs after optimisation and right-sizing.
What You Receive
- Detailed Infrastructure Inventory
A consolidated view of the virtual machines, workloads, storage, operating systems and applications included in the assessment. - Utilisation Analysis
Evidence showing how compute, memory, storage and network resources are being used across the estate. - Right-Sizing Recommendations
Recommendations based on actual workload utilisation rather than existing provisioned capacity. - Licensing Analysis
A clearer view of relevant Microsoft, VMware and Oracle licensing, including considerations that may affect cost and future deployment options. - Dependency Mapping
Visibility of communication between systems and the dependencies that could influence migration planning. - Workload Readiness Assessment
An assessment of workload suitability for AWS, including areas that may require further technical investigation. - Total Cost of Ownership Report
A comparison of current or proposed infrastructure costs against projected AWS costs, including relevant licensing and infrastructure assumptions. - Migration Considerations
Information to help your teams understand workload relationships, potential move groups and factors that may influence migration planning. - Clear Recommendations
Specific findings that your stakeholders can use to evaluate whether AWS presents a credible option and decide what should happen next.
How the Cloud Viability Assessment Works
- Confirm the Scope
We begin by understanding the infrastructure decision you need to make, the environment to be assessed and the information required by your stakeholders. - Select the Assessment Tooling
We agree on the most appropriate AWS-approved tooling for your environment and confirm the data collection requirements. - Collect Infrastructure Data
The tooling gathers information about workloads, utilisation, storage and communication between systems. The collection is passive and low-touch. It does not change your workloads or inspect the business information held within them. - Analyse the Environment
Our specialists, along with our Licensing Partners, analyse the data to identify utilisation patterns, over-provisioning, licensing considerations, dependencies, workload readiness and potential optimisation opportunities. - Model the Options
We use the findings to model projected AWS costs and compare them with the relevant current or proposed infrastructure option. - Present the Findings
You receive a detailed report and a review of the findings, including potential savings, technology risks, workload dependencies and recommended next steps. - Decide What Happens Next
The assessment does not commit your organisation to a migration. You can use the findings to build a business case, plan further technical work, begin a pilot, prepare a migration or retain the information for future planning.
What Can Be Assessed?
The Cloud Viability Assessment can support organisations operating infrastructure in:
- An organisation-owned data centre
- A third-party hosted data centre
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud Platform
- A mixed or hybrid environment
- The assessment can cover relevant Windows Server, SQL Server, VMware, Linux and Oracle workloads, together with storage and associated infrastructure dependencies.
Why Perform Partners?
Our role is to help stakeholders understand what their infrastructure is actually costing, where optimisation opportunities exist, and whether AWS offers a credible alternative to their current hosting model.
Using evidence gathered directly from your environment, we help organisations:
- Identify opportunities to reduce infrastructure and licensing costs
- Understand the financial implications of future hosting options
- Reveal dependencies that could affect migration planning
- Assess technology risks before making significant investments
- Build a stronger case for change or validate the decision to stay where they are
The assessment provides evidence, not assumptions, helping stakeholders make major infrastructure decisions using real utilisation data, cost analysis, and dependency mapping rather than estimates or historic allocations.