3 questions from the package
From the RFI round. The first shows part of the guide each question carries; the workbook adds follow-ups, how to verify the answer, a priority and a weight.
1. Provide a matrix of the source platforms your product can discover, showing for each whether collection is agentless, agent-based, or both.
Why it matters. If a source type in the buyer's estate can only be inventoried with agents, or cannot be inventoried at all, the buyer must plan an agent rollout or collect data by hand. Either way the inventory has gaps that weaken every later assessment step.
Good answer
- Hypervisor, physical, and cloud sources are listed as separate rows with supported version ranges
- States which attributes are unavailable in agentless mode compared with agent-based mode for each source
- Covers the operating system families in [operating system versions]
Red flags
- Claims support for "all major platforms" without version ranges
- Physical servers are covered only through manual spreadsheet or file import
- No distinction between generally available and planned support
2. List the methods your product uses to detect dependencies between servers, stating for each method whether it requires an agent on the server.
Why it matters. If dependency detection relies on one method, servers where that method cannot run are missing from the map. Their integrations are then first discovered when they break at cutover.
3. For each of the six dispositions (retire, retain, rehost, replatform, repurchase, refactor), state whether your product generates it as a recommendation or only records it when a user assigns it manually.
Why it matters. If the product can generate only some dispositions, the rest depend on manual analysis. Under deadline pressure, the applications that need that analysis tend to default to rehost.
Capability areas
Discovery & Inventory (12)
Agentless and agent-based collection of servers, operating systems, installed software, databases, and utilization data across hypervisor, physical, and cloud sources, including collector deployment, credential handling, and blind-spot reporting. Dependency relationships are covered in DEP.
Dependency & Application Mapping (13)
Network-flow and process-level dependency detection, grouping of servers into applications, surfacing of undocumented integrations, and import or reconciliation with existing records such as a CMDB. Wave sequencing based on these maps is covered in WAV.
Portfolio Assessment & Disposition (11)
Per-application readiness scoring, six R's disposition recommendations (retire, retain, rehost, replatform, repurchase, refactor), anti-pattern and blocker reports, and how the buyer reviews and overrides recommendations. Cost figures behind those recommendations are covered in TCO.
Right-Sizing & Cost Modeling (9)
Performance-based right-sizing, target instance and storage mapping, total-cost comparison across candidate destinations, and license portability assumptions in the model. Commercial terms for the platform itself are excluded.
Wave Planning & Orchestration (11)
Grouping applications into migration waves by dependency affinity, scheduling against fixed deadlines, runbook automation, and orchestration of many servers per wave with status tracking. Individual cutover mechanics are covered in CUT. Program-level progress reporting across waves is included.
Replication & Data Movement (12)
Continuous block-level, byte-level, or journal-based replication, initial sync and delta handling, bandwidth throttling, source-side performance impact, database replication, and application-consistent capture. Encryption of the replication stream is covered in LZG. Bulk transfer of file shares and object data, online or by offline transfer device, is included.
Test Cutover, Cutover & Rollback (11)
Non-disruptive test cutovers in isolated networks, production cutover sequencing, achievable recovery point and cutover window per workload, post-cutover health checks, and rollback to source. Ongoing optimization after sign-off is covered in POM. Network changes at cutover (IP address retention or re-addressing, DNS updates, load balancer repointing) are included.
Source & Target Coverage (10)
Supported source platforms, target clouds and private-cloud destinations, cloud-to-cloud moves, operating system and database version support, and exit paths off a licensed hypervisor platform to cloud, to hosted virtualization services, or to a private landing zone. Replication internals are covered in REP.
Replatform & Modernization (13)
Automated replatforming to managed databases, containers, and managed application tiers, schema and code conversion, AI-assisted code refactoring, and mainframe or legacy-language modernization where in scope. Generic AI governance is covered by cross-cutting modules.
Landing Zone & Migration Governance (9)
Encryption of replication in transit and at rest, customer-managed keys on target disks, role separation within migration workflows, audit records of each cutover action, and enforcement of landing-zone guardrails such as networking, tagging, and policy on migrated resources. Vendor-wide security posture is covered by the security module.
Post-Migration Validation & Optimization (9)
Application validation after the move, right-sizing and commitment recommendations for landed workloads, cost and tagging reporting per wave, and decommissioning tracking for vacated source servers and data-center footprint. Pre-move cost modeling is covered in TCO.
Questions about this package
How many Cloud Migration & Modernization Platforms RFP questions are there?
120 solution questions in 11 capability areas: 25 for the RFI, 62 for the RFP and 33 deep-dive questions for the finalists. The workbook adds 100 due-diligence questions on security, integration, implementation and exit.
What comes with each question?
Why it matters, good-answer signals, red flags, follow-up questions, how to verify the answer (a demo step, a test or a document), and a suggested priority and weight for scoring.
Can I edit the questions?
Yes. The workbook is an ordinary Excel file. Change, add or remove questions, and change the weights; the scorecard recalculates.
Which license do I need?
The Enterprise License covers any number of evaluations inside one organization. The Consultancy License covers use with any number of clients. Neither allows reselling or republishing the questions.
