Choose a review that answers a business decision
A useful consulting engagement answers a specific question: which workloads are ready to move, what the target architecture needs, how operating responsibility will work, or which costs need investigation. Agree that question, the evidence available and the decision owner before treating a review as an implementation project.
| Engagement | Useful inputs | Deliverable to define |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud readiness | Application inventory, dependencies and priorities | Readiness findings and a phased roadmap |
| Architecture review | Current design, access, networking and recovery requirements | Options, trade-offs and a decision record |
| Migration planning | Workloads, data, constraints and outage tolerance | Migration waves, acceptance checks and fallback criteria |
| Cost review | Billing exports, usage and commitments | Documented findings, assumptions and change options |
| Operating model | Support ownership, monitoring and recovery procedures | Responsibilities, reporting and operational gaps |
Agree deliverables and exclusions before implementation
Specify access requirements, stakeholder time, deliverables and review checkpoints. Separate consulting fees from cloud consumption, software licenses, implementation and ongoing support. Recommendations should identify what was observed, what remains uncertain and what must be tested. A cost review cannot promise savings before the billing and technical evidence are assessed.
Review published plans and pricing and record missing proposal details in the free MSP comparison worksheet.
How to plan the engagement
- Define the business decision, its owner and any deadline or renewal constraint.
- Review the agreed inventory, architecture, billing or operational evidence.
- Document findings and options with assumptions, dependencies and required approvals.
- Agree acceptance of the consulting deliverables and any separately scoped implementation.
Questions buyers ask
Does cloud consulting include implementation?
Only when the proposal includes it. A review may result in a roadmap or architecture decision, with migration, configuration changes and continuing support scoped separately.
Can you assess Azure or AWS before we choose a platform?
Yes. A platform discussion starts with workload needs, existing skills, security requirements, commercial commitments and operating responsibilities. There is no universally best platform for every business.
Can a cloud review guarantee lower costs?
No. A review can investigate spending and document options, but savings depend on the evidence, commitments, approved changes and ongoing usage.
What determines the consulting fee?
The defined questions, number and complexity of workloads, evidence required, deliverables and stakeholder involvement determine the proposal. Cloud consumption and implementation costs should be shown separately.
Related services and decision guides
Technical references
Microsoft's strategy guidance connects cloud decisions to business objectives and accountable owners. It provides planning context, not evidence of CloudTechForce results. Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework: strategy.
Page updated 2026-09-28. CloudTechForce is based in Columbus, Ohio; other listed locations are service areas. Company details and team information are available for your review. Service coverage and commitments are defined in the written agreement.
Discuss a cloud consulting project
The business decision, current cloud platform, workload inventory, architecture or billing summary, stakeholders and target date.
Tell us which published plan you are considering, or describe the project you need quoted. We will use your requirements to discuss the appropriate scope.