Cloud migration costs vary widely based on complexity and scale. This guide provides realistic cost benchmarks for UAE businesses planning migration.
Cloud migration costs for UAE SMBs range from AED 50,000–300,000 for straightforward lift-and-shift projects to AED 300,000–2 million for complex enterprise migrations involving application modernization. Key cost drivers include the number of servers, application complexity, data volume, compliance requirements, and whether you're re-hosting, re-platforming, or re-architecting.
Cost Breakdown
Assessment and planning: 10–15% of total budget. Migration execution: 40–50% including tooling, testing, and cutover. Post-migration optimization: 15–20% for right-sizing and cost management. Training and change management: 10–15%. Ongoing management: monthly cloud spend plus 15–25% for managed services if outsourced.
Hidden Costs to Budget For
Data transfer fees (egress charges), temporary parallel infrastructure during migration, application refactoring for cloud compatibility, security and compliance reconfiguration, and productivity loss during transition. Budget a 20% contingency for unexpected issues. Bayden provides fixed-price cloud migration assessments and transparent cost estimates for UAE businesses of all sizes.
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