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Workshop 1: Goals and Inventory

Workshop 1: Goals and Inventory

This workshop guide provides a comprehensive framework for conducting the Goals and Inventory workshop. Duration: 1 hour

Overview

This workshop is designed to establish the foundation for your migration journey by focusing on three critical elements:

Review Rapid Insights
Guide customer throught Rapid Insights Report
 Inventory Assessment
Review and validate the current landscape using AI-assisted analysis tools.
 Goals Definition
Capture business and technical goals.

Workshop Objectives

  • Establish clear migration goals and success criteria
  • Validate initial inventory findings
  • Align stakeholders on migration approach
  • Set foundation for detailed assessment in Workshop 2

Expected Outcomes

  • Documented migration goals and priorities
  • Validated inventory mapping
  • Clear next steps for detailed assessment
  • Engaged stakeholder group

Pre-Workshop Preparation

Tool Setup
System Requirements
 Required Materials
Documentation Needs
 Participant List
Required Attendees

Tool Setup

  • Ensure Dr Migrate reports are recently refreshed
  • Verify access for all participants
  • Have the Rapid Report, Goals and Inventory sections ready to demonstrate

Required Materials

  • Workshop agenda with business motivation themes
  • Initial data collection results
  • Access to Dr Migrate platform

Participant List

  • Business stakeholders (IT & Business Executives)
  • Technical leads (CTO, Enterprise Architects)
  • Application owners
  • Key decision makers (CIO, Executives)
  • Infrastructure team representatives
  • Assessment Desk Represnetives
  • Account Team Represnetives

Key Dependencies

The following items must be in place before proceeding with the workshop:
Technical Requirements
System Prerequisites
 Business Requirements
Organizational Prerequisites

Technical Prerequisites

  • Dr Migrate tool access and configuration
  • Completed initial data collection
  • Report Recently Refreshed

Business Prerequisites

  • Stakeholder availability
  • Customer provided Initial inventory data (Optional but preferred)

Workshop Structure

The workshop is structured into four key sections, each building upon the previous to create a comprehensive migration foundation.

Confirm TCO Settings (15 minutes)

Begin with a review of initial findings to set the context and highlight key areas of focus.

Azure Cost Config: Configure core Azure cost settings and payment models.

  • Currency settings
  • Primary Azure region
  • Default payment models
  • Dev/Test pricing options
  • Workload optimization settings
  • Production workload settings
  • Non-production settings
  • Azure Backup configurations
  • Azure Site Recovery settings
  • Defender for Cloud settings

Treatment Savings: Define savings assumptions and hybrid benefit configurations.

  • Replace scenarios
  • Refactor options
  • Rehost configurations
  • Retain calculations
  • Software Assured license counts
  • Core allocations
  • Benefit maximization strategy
  • Cost optimization recommendations

AVS Settings: Configure Azure VMware Solution specific settings.

  • Sizing criteria (As-is/Right-sized)
  • Node type preferences
  • Comfort factor settings
  • Reserved instance duration
  • Storage utilization metrics
  • Dedupe/compression factors
  • FTT and RAID settings
  • Memory overcommit ratios

On-Premises Benchmark: Set on-premise cost benchmarks and estimates.

  • Total cost method
  • Detailed cost breakdowns
  • Customer-specific overrides
  • Distribution metrics
  • Industry benchmark alignment
  • Custom benchmark adjustments
  • Per-core cost metrics
  • Per-GB storage costs
On-premises costs can be modified at any time during the assessment process to reflect updated information or changing business requirements.
Ensure all stakeholders agree on the configured TCO settings as they will significantly impact the final migration assessment and cost projections.

Review Early Insights (15 minutes)

Next we review the initial findings to set the context and highlight key areas of focus.
  • Present initial findings from data collection
  • Review any automated discovery results
  • Share early observations about the environment
  • Walkthrough of Migration Planning Framework
  • Key Tool Section: Insights Dashboard

Inventory Mapping (20 minutes)

Using the Inventory section in Dr Migrate with AI Assistant support to accelerate the mapping process.
Application Portfolio Review
  • Demonstrate AI Assistant’s inventory analysis capabilities
  • Show how AI can:
    • Identify application patterns
    • Suggest initial groupings
    • Flag potential dependencies
    • Highlight areas needing human review
  • Review AI-generated insights from initial data
  • Plan approach for validating AI suggestions
  • Provide Exported Inventory for Customer Review

This AI-assisted approach provides a foundation for the detailed analysis in Workshop 2, helping to:

  • Accelerate initial discovery
  • Identify key focus areas
  • Prepare structured data for detailed review
  • Build confidence in automated insights
For more information on running AutoMap see Inventory Mapping.
Migration Treatments

Migration Treatments:

  • Rehost: “Lift and shift” to cloud
  • Replatform: Optimize for cloud
  • Refactor: Modernize architecture
  • Repurchase: Switch to SaaS
  • Retain: Keep on-premises
  • Retire: Decommission

Selection Criteria:

  • Technical compatibility
  • Business urgency
  • Resource availability
  • Risk tolerance

Capture Goals (15 minutes)

This section focuses on documenting both business and technical goals using the Migration Goals section in Dr Migrate. The goal is to establish clear direction and priorities for the migration journey.

Key Business Themes to Cover:

  • Business Motivations
  • Compelling Events
  • Organizational Risks
  • Organizational Alignment
  • Skills Readiness
  • Cloud Operating Model

Configuration Items:

  • Set target migration start date
  • Document data center exit date (if applicable)
  • Define preferred staffing strategy
  • Establish post-migration management approach
  • Record RFP/tender requirements
  • Document additional milestones
  • Configure hosting preferences
  • Set cloud-native solution adoption strategy
  • Define database PaaS migration approach
  • Establish web application modernization strategy
  • Document workplace solution preferences
  • Set security modernization priorities
  • Define acceptable migration complexity

Intro App Strategies (10 minutes)

This final section introduces the frameworks that will guide detailed planning in Workshop 2, ensuring all participants understand the methodology and approach.

Workshop 2 introduces key migration strategy frameworks to support effective cloud adoption planning. We begin with an overview of the TIME methodology, which helps organizations assess their application portfolios over a 2–4 year horizon.

Complementing this, the 6R framework provides a more tactical approach for 1–2 year planning, offering a structured lens for determining application treatment paths. The session also touches on core strategic considerations, including balancing business value against technical complexity, identifying opportunities for modernization, and assessing potential risks.

As a preview of Workshop 2, we’ll outline the application portfolio analysis process, the approach to developing migration strategies, and the methodology for determining treatment paths. Reference materials include the TIME Methodology Guide, 6R Framework Overview, and Portfolio Strategy Guidance.

Workshop 2 Preview

The final section of the workshop provides a runway to the next workshop, highlighting the actions that come next.

Building on the foundations established in Workshop 1, Workshop 2 focuses on detailed workload planning and migration strategy development.

Aligning Long-term and Short-term Planning

Integration Examples:

  • Tolerate → Rehost/Retain
  • Invest → Refactor/Replatform
  • Migrate → Rehost/Replatform
  • Eliminate → Retire/Repurchase

Key Principles:

  • Ensure 6R decisions support TIME strategy
  • Balance immediate needs with long-term goals
  • Consider resource constraints
  • Maintain flexibility for future changes
Note: TIME and 6R treatments may sometimes appear to conflict due to different time horizons. For example, an application marked for elimination (TIME) might still need rehosting (6R) in the short term.

Reference Materials:

These topics are covered in detail in Workshop 2.

Workshop Deliverables

Completed in Dr Migrate
  • Rapid Insights Report Reviewed Inventory Auto Map Ran, and validated Migration Goals Completed
 Additional Documentation
  • Workshop minutes Action items Preparation tasks for Workshop 2 Customer Users provided with access to platform if not already able

Workshop 2 Preparation

To prepare for the detailed strategy workshops in Workshop 2:

  1. Review current application portfolio
  2. Gather technical documentation
  3. Identify key stakeholders for each application
  4. Prepare initial TIME categorization
  5. Consider potential 6R treatments
  6. Document any known constraints or dependencies

This preparation will enable more effective decision-making during the detailed assessment phase.

Consultant Guidance

Pre-Workshop

  • Review all available data before the workshop
  • Prepare example scenarios
  • Distribute agenda with themes
  • Review cloud strategy documentation
  • Prepare Migration Planning Framework presentation

During Workshop

  • Keep discussions focused on objectives
  • Document decisions in real-time
  • Focus on introduction and overview
  • Set expectations for detailed analysis in Workshop 2

Post-Workshop

  • Send summary within 24 hours
  • Schedule Workshop 2
  • Collate offline responses
  • Review and highlight important themes
  • Share initial findings with team
Be prepared to address these common challenges:
  • Limited stakeholder availability (max workshop duration 2 hours)
  • Incomplete data
  • Stakeholders wanting to dive too deep into details
  • Keeping focus on introduction rather than detailed analysis
  • Managing scope expectations
The workshop is considered successful when these criteria are met:
  • All goals sections completed in Dr Migrate
  • Initial inventory validation complete
  • Clear understanding of assessment frameworks
  • Workshop 2 objectives understood
  • Business motivations documented
  • Key themes identified for detailed planning

Next Steps

Immediate Actions
Next Steps
 Follow-up Tasks
Additional Items

Immediate Actions

  • Schedule Workshop 2 (allow 1-2 hours)
  • Prepare and distribute assessment templates
  • Export and share Rapid Insights report
  • Document key decisions from Workshop 1
  • Set up access for new stakeholders
  • Create initial application groupings

Follow-up Tasks

  • Distribute TIME and 6R framework documentation
  • Gather missing inventory data points
  • Validate business motivation responses
  • Review data center constraints
  • Identify application SMEs
  • Schedule technical deep-dives if needed
Workshop 2 Planning
Scheduling & Logistics
 Documentation Tasks
Key Documents
 Technical Preparation
Platform Setup

Workshop 2 Planning

Scheduling & Logistics:

  • Book 2-3 hour time slot
  • Confirm availability of key stakeholders
  • Reserve meeting facilities
  • Prepare video conferencing links

Required Attendees:

  • Application owners
  • Enterprise architects
  • Technical leads
  • Business stakeholders
  • Infrastructure team

Documentation Tasks

Remenber: If customer is using Dr Migrate SaaS, generate PPT Exports with AI Talk Tracks, as this enhances the deliverable.

Key Documents to Prepare:

  • Workshop 1 summary report
  • Initial application inventory
  • Preliminary TIME assessments
  • Generate Rapid Assessment PPT
  • Generate Security Assessment PPT
  • Record any additional business drivers thats have been discussed

Distribution Plan:

  • Share large downloads via OneDrive/Sharepoint Folder
  • Set review deadlines
  • Track document access
  • Gather preliminary feedback

Technical Preparation

Platform Setup:

  • Ensure Reports have been recently refreshed
  • Set up user access rights

Data Collection:

  • If additional Inventory uplaods have been provided ensre they have been uploaded

Critical Dependencies for Workshop 2:

  • Ensure stakeholder availability
  • Validate if Inventory needs to be re imported
Pre-Workshop 2 Checklist

  1. Documentation Review

    • Workshop 1 minutes reviewed and distributed
    • Initial findings documented
    • Framework documentation links provided
    • Exports customized for customer (In/Out of Scope)

  2. Technical Preparation

    • Platform access verified
    • Data collection completed
    • Initial analysis performed

  3. Stakeholder Management

    • All participants confirmed
    • Pre-read materials distributed
    • Roles and responsibilities defined
    • Expectations set

  4. Logistics

    • Meeting scheduled
    • Technical setup confirmed
Ensure all follow-up tasks are completed before Workshop 2 to maintain project momentum and enable effective decision-making in the detailed assessment phase.