Top Cloud Migration Tools: What To Use & When

Introduction

Cloud migration isn’t a single product; it’s a pipeline of assessment, planning, data transfer, database moves, application/VM migration, and modernization.Use this as a practical cloud migration tools list organized by job, not hype. We’ll cover cloud migration assessment tools, cloud data migration tools, cloud database migration tools, and cloud application migration tools—including on prem to cloud migration tools and cloud to cloud migration tools.

How To Pick Fast

• Assess before you touch anything. Use cloud migration assessment tools to build an inventory, map dependencies, baseline performance, and right-size targets.Define landing zones and a wave plan up front.
• Plan the data path. Match dataset size and change rate to cloud data migration tools: online sync for steady links; accelerated or offline appliances for TB–PB moves.Run a pilot with checksums and ACL/timestamp validation.
• Choose compute per workload. Lift-and-shift for speed; replatform for quick wins; refactor only where payback fits the timeline.Document rollback steps and freeze windows.
• Treat databases as special. Prefer CDC-based replication for minimal downtime.Rehearse cutover, watch replication lag, and validate read/write behavior under load.
• Automate and secure the run. Lean on cloud migration automation tools for orchestration, tagging, guardrails, and post-cutover verification.Bake in IAM, encryption, and network policy from day one.

Assessment & Planning (portfolio discovery, wave planning)

Start here for anything beyond a handful of servers.The goal is a defendable inventory, a wave plan, and right-sized targets—before anyone touches production.

Flexera One—Cloud Migration & Modernization

Portfolio discovery, TCO/cost views, and business-service mapping (formerly RISC Networks).

Best for: multi-cloud estates where finance needs clear TCO and IT needs move-group sequencing.

Device42—Application Dependency Mapping

Agentless discovery with live dependency maps that form move groups and right-sized targets.

Best for: de-risking cutovers on tightly coupled apps and understanding east-west traffic early.

CAST Highlight—Cloud Readiness

Portfolio-scale source-code analysis that flags blockers/boosters, refactor hot spots, and containerization candidates.Best for: modernization roadmaps tied to real code signals rather than guesswork.

Corent SurPaaS MaaS

Assessment + “migration factory” orchestration with multiple migration modes and dependency mapping.Best for: MSPs or large programs that need repeatable, multi-tenant runbooks.

Google Cloud Migration Center

Unified discovery, TCO, assessments, and wave planning for GCP landing zones.Best for: GCP-leaning estates that still need an upfront business case.

Azure Migrate—Assessments

Readiness checks, performance-based sizing, cost estimates, and dependency insights for Azure landing zones.Best for: right-sizing early to avoid over-provisioned SKUs later.

AWS Migration Hub Strategy Recommendations

Automated strategy guidance (rehost, replatform, refactor) and target service suggestions across portfolios.Best for: quickly triaging large server lists into actionable paths.

How to use these together

• Pick one portfolio tool as your source of truth, then augment with one code-level analyzer (e.g., CAST) for modernization signals.
• Export move groups and a wave plan with entry/exit criteria; share it with app owners for sign-off before migration tooling is chosen.
• Produce a “migration bill of materials”: app inventory, dependency map, landing-zone requirements, right-sized targets, and TCO assumptions.

When to use: If you have 50+ servers/apps, start here.These cloud migration assessment tools prevent scope creep, mis-sizing, and expensive mid-project pivots.

Compute & Application (VMs, apps, containers)

Goal: move servers and applications with predictable cutovers, minimal risk, and a clear path to modernization using the right cloud application migration tools and cloud migration automation tools.

VMware HCX

Bulk, vMotion-style, and cold migrations with network extension for cross-datacenter/cloud mobility.Zero- or near-zero-downtime patterns for vSphere estates.

RackWare Mobility Platform

Assessment+migration+DR in one platform; supports cross-cloud moves(OCI↔GCP, etc.).A solid independent for heterogeneous estates.

RiverMeadow Workload Mobility

Agentless, hypervisor-agnostic workload migration and OS modernization; covers on-prem↔cloud and cloud↔cloud.

Hystax Acura

Fully automated live migration with continuous replication across VMware/Hyper-V/KVM/OpenStack and public clouds; supports unlimited test runs.

Nutanix Move

Migrates VMs from ESXi/Hyper-V/public cloud to AHV; handy for consolidation/exit scenarios and hybrid placements.

AWS Application Migration Service (MGN)

Continuous block-level replication and coordinated cutovers for lift-and-shift to AWS.

Azure Migrate—Server Migration

Orchestrated VM migration to Azure with replication and planned cutover.

Google—Migrate to Virtual Machines

Continuous replication and predictable cutovers from on-prem/AWS/Azure into Compute Engine.

AWS App2Container/Google Migrate to Containers

Extract app artifacts from VMs and generate deployables for ECS/EKS or GKE/Cloud Run—useful cloud migration automation tools ****for quick containerization.

When to use: If “time-to-exit” is the priority, rehost with HCX/RackWare/Hystax/MGN/Migrate to VMs. Now or later, modernize with App2Container/Migrate to Containers.

Data & Files/Objects (unstructured and object storage)

Goal: move large unstructured datasets with integrity preserved—filenames, ACLs/permissions, timestamps, and metadata—while keeping production calm.

Cirata Data Migrator (formerly WANdisco)

Continuous, at-scale migration for Hadoop/HDFS and related metadata—even while data is changing.Handles active workloads and long-running cutovers well.

Best for: petabyte-scale HDFS→cloud moves and hybrid phases where you can’t pause writes.

Datadobi DobiMigrate

Distributed engine for large NAS/object migrations with throttling, detailed reporting, and integrity verification.Agnostic across vendors and protocols.

Best for: complex vendor-to-vendor or NAS→cloud transitions where auditability and predictable waves matter.

Komprise Elastic Data Migration

Analytics-first approach to identify cold vs.hot data, then parallel, policy-driven transfers with verification.Reduces cutover by moving the right bytes first.

Best for: multi-petabyte estates that need data classification plus fast, parallelized migration.

AWS DataSync/Google Storage Transfer Service

Managed online cloud data migration tools for NFS/SMB/S3/Blob/GCS with scheduling, monitoring, and bandwidth controls.Great for ongoing pipelines and cloud to cloud migration tools scenarios.

Best for: steady, resumable online transfers where you want managed agents, jobs, and metrics.

AWS Snowball

Rugged offline appliances for TB–PB moves when bandwidth, distance, or security constraints rule out online sync.

Best for: data-center exits and remote sites where shipping the bytes is faster than sending them.

When to use what

• Active Hadoop/HDFS at scale: Cirata.
• Heterogeneous NAS/object with audits and reports: Datadobi.
• Classify first, move fast in parallel: Komprise.
• Managed online pipelines (on prem to cloud or cloud to cloud): DataSync/Storage Transfer.
• Petabytes or constrained links: Snowball.

Databases & Warehouses (CDC, heterogeneous)

Goal: move relational/NoSQL/analytics stores with minimal downtime while preserving schema, constraints, users/privileges, and data integrity.

Qlik Replicate (Attunity)

High-throughput, heterogeneous CDC across major databases, data warehouses, and Hadoop with flexible topologies.

Best for: near-zero-downtime migrations spanning multiple engine types or mixed sources→multiple targets.

Striim

Real-time CDC streaming from on-prem databases to cloud targets (e.g., Cloud SQL, managed Postgres/MySQL) with built-in observability.

Best for: phased cutovers, ongoing sync to keep legacy and cloud in lockstep, and event-driven pipelines.

AWS Database Migration Service/Azure Database Migration Service/Google Database Migration Service

Native CDC-based migrations into managed services; pair with each platform’s assessment/precheck tools to surface blockers early.

Best for: same-vendor targets (e.g., SQL Server→Azure SQL, Oracle→RDS/Aurora, MySQL/Postgres→Cloud SQL) when you want tight platform integration.

BigQuery Data Transfer Service

Scheduled, governed loads for analytics hydration into BigQuery; complements CDC by handling batch files and recurring feeds.

Best for: analytics use cases where you bulk-load from Cloud Storage/SaaS and keep CDC for operational DBs.

When to use what

• Complex, heterogeneous topologies or multi-target fan-out: Qlik Replicate.
• Phased cutovers with ongoing streaming/analytics taps: Striim.
• Same-vendor managed targets with built-in checks: AWS DMS/Azure DMS/Google DMS.
• Analytics hydration and recurring batch loads to BigQuery: BigQuery Data Transfer Service.

Tip: Treat database migrations as their own wave with dedicated runbooks—separate from file/object moves—to keep risk bounded and rollback simple.

Field tips

• Wave the work. Group tightly coupled services and run rehearsals with real change rates; your assessment tools support move-group planning and dependencies. (Device42)
• Prove integrity early. For file/object migrations, enforce checksum verification and ACL/mtime preservation—Komprise/Datadobi document these practices. (Komprise, Datadobi)
• Prefer CDC for DBs. Stabilize replication lag before DNS cutover; Qlik Replicate/Striim and native DMS are built for this. (Qlik, Striim)
• Modernize opportunistically. Rehost now with HCX/RackWare/Hystax if clock is ticking; containerize later with App2Container or Migrate to Containers. (VMware, Rackware Project, Hystax)

Final word

There is no single “best cloud migration tool.”There’s the best tool for your workload and constraint.Start with assessment, plan the waves, choose the right movers, and reserve refactoring for where it pays back.That’s how migrations get predictable—and stay boring in the best way.