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ILLUSTRATIVE DECISION / PLATFORM RENEWAL

Retain for now.
Prove the next move.

A worked example showing the assumptions, alternatives and conditions behind a phased platform recommendation.

Discuss your platform decision
THE BRIEF

A renewal is approaching.
Compatibility is still unresolved.

For this exercise, assume the organisation needs to maintain service through a renewal deadline and wants to understand whether another platform would be a better long-term fit.

01 / MAKE THE ASSUMPTIONS VISIBLE

What this recommendation
depends on.

A

There is a supported interim path.

The existing platform and hardware can remain supported during evaluation, on terms within the available budget.

B

A critical application is not yet validated.

Its support status, behaviour and recovery on the candidate platform still need confirmation.

C

A broad cloud move has no established case.

No immediate workload requirement justifies moving everything. Transfer costs and operating responsibilities remain unassessed.

02 / COMPARE THE PATHS

Choose for this situation.
Keep the decision open to evidence.

PREFERRED INTERIM PATH

Retain & evaluate

Use the supported renewal to keep services operating while testing the alternative.

Why it fits these assumptions
It separates the immediate support deadline from the unresolved migration risk.
Trade-off
It incurs renewal and evaluation costs and delays any benefit from a platform change.
NOT YET JUSTIFIED

Replatform immediately

Move the critical workload before application support and recovery have been validated.

Why defer it here
Application compatibility remains unverified in this example. A lower licence price alone does not justify the migration.
When to reconsider
Once compatibility and recovery are validated, migration effort is assessed and the operating case is established.
ASSESS WORKLOAD BY WORKLOAD

Move to the cloud

Evaluate cloud placement where an application has a specific reason to move.

Why not a broad move here
No immediate workload need has been identified in this exercise.
When to reconsider
If a workload needs a cloud service, a different capacity model or a justified location change.
03 / RECORD THE RECOMMENDATION

Renew with a purpose.
Pilot with a decision gate.

Under the stated assumptions, retain the supported platform for an agreed evaluation period. Choose renewal terms that leave enough time to test, decide and—if justified—migrate before the next support deadline.

  1. Confirm the interim commitment. Check support coverage, renewal terms, cost and the time needed for evaluation and transition.
  2. Test the alternative. Use a representative, non-production instance of the critical application. Check support, application behaviour, restore capability and operational ownership.
  3. Make the next decision. Compare the complete operating case, including licences, hardware, migration, skills and support. Agree the next review date before committing.

What would change the recommendation?

If current support cannot continue, renewal terms are unacceptable, or capacity is insufficient, the interim path must be redesigned. If the alternative passes the agreed checks and has a stronger operating case, plan a phased migration.

SAMPLE WORKING DOCUMENTS

Make the thinking
reviewable.

Sample records for this hypothetical platform decision, from the brief to the handover.

SAMPLE / 01

Decision brief

Decision
Renew the existing platform or move to an alternative?
Must retain
Application support, service continuity and a tested recovery path.
Assumed
An affordable, supported interim renewal is available.
Unresolved
Critical application compatibility and recovery on the alternative.
Requirements brief Blank worksheet · PDF ↓
SAMPLE / 02

Evaluation gates

GateBefore recommending migration
ApplicationConfirm application support and pass the agreed functional checks.
RecoveryRestore the service on the candidate platform against agreed objectives.
EconomicsCompare licences, transition, infrastructure and operating costs over the same period.
OwnershipAgree monitoring and support arrangements, required skills and a named service owner.
Platform comparison Blank worksheet · PDF ↓
SAMPLE / 03

Migration acceptance checklist

  1. Before the maintenance windowConfirm dependencies, backups, owners and rollback triggers.
  2. Before migrationValidate the migration method on a representative workload.
  3. Before acceptanceCheck application behaviour, data integrity and monitoring.
  4. Before handoverRecord acceptance, remaining issues and the rollback decision.
Migration & recovery checklist Blank worksheet · PDF ↓
SAMPLE / 04

Operational handover

Environment
As-built architecture, configuration inventory and dependencies.
Recovery
Runbook, test evidence and the next review date.
Responsibility
Named operational owners, escalation paths and support scope.
Open items
Outstanding risks, actions and the person responsible for each follow-up.
Migration & recovery checklist Blank worksheet · PDF ↓
YOUR PROJECT

Start with
your decision.

Tell us what is changing and what needs to keep working.

Discuss your platform decisionBack to the connected view