Moving systems and applications to the public cloud is something every enterprise has experienced or considered. But how do you decide on the target state after migration?

Firstly, it's essential to understand the three main deployment models on the public cloud: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). If a service provider only suggests using the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model for migrating systems and applications, there are two possibilities: either the systems and applications are too old to be modernized, or the service provider lacks the experience to advise clients on leveraging different cloud technologies for more business value.

Using data systematically to analyze and decide on the target state after migrating to the public cloud is a prerequisite for cloud migration projects.