I contributed to a Cloud Strategy and Cloud Readiness Assessment for a major luxury hospitality and gaming resort property. The engagement covered the client's VMware estate across two on-premises datacenters, using RVTools exports as the primary infrastructure discovery vehicle. An application inventory was developed from the server data, and Azure and GCP were evaluated as the primary cloud platforms for the migration strategy.
The engagement produced a Cloud Strategy proposal document, an executive Cloud Strategy presentation, and a CRA deliverable. TCO analysis was conducted using the Microsoft Azure TCO Calculator alongside a custom pricing model, and the preliminary migration estimate was developed from the two-datacenter VM inventory. A whiteboard strategy session with senior leadership helped shape the cloud direction, and both Azure and GCP solution architects were engaged for platform-specific input.
Primary Datacenter (DC1)
VMs inventoried
vInfo records
vDisk records
- RVTools export captured: VM inventory, host sizing, datastore utilization, disk and network details
- August 2022 re-export captured post-remediation state after initial May 2022 baseline
- Oversized VM analysis produced — rightsizing candidates identified
Secondary Datacenter (DC2)
VMs inventoried
vInfo records
vDisk records
- Larger VMware estate — production workloads, gaming systems, and guest-facing infrastructure
- Oversized VMs identified in both datacenters and exported for rightsizing analysis
- Combined RVTools export merged with application data for migration scoping
Azure Evaluation
- Microsoft Azure TCO Calculator used for 3–5 year cost modeling — on-premises vs. Azure comparison
- Custom pricing model (VLV pricing model workbook) built with per-VM Azure instance mapping
- Cloud Cost Summary workbook produced for executive-level cost comparison
- Software hosting and maintenance cost baselining: existing on-premises licensing and support costs inventoried for total cost comparison
- Google vs. Azure spend analysis (May–July 2022) tracked actual cloud trial costs during the assessment period
GCP Evaluation
- GCP Solution Architect engaged for platform-specific input and architecture review session
- GCP review session notes documented — platform capabilities, pricing model, and migration tooling assessed
- Strategic alignment analysis: GCP evaluated against the resort's data analytics, IoT, and guest experience technology requirements
- Dual-platform assessment framework enabled side-by-side comparison of migration complexity, support model, and long-term cost for both platforms
Assessment Methodology
- RVTools infrastructure data as primary discovery input — VM specs, OS, datastore, host configuration
- Application survey questionnaire distributed to app owners to capture business context and criticality
- Best-fit cloud decision matrix developed for applications and critical components with migration recommendations
- Cloud effort questions with client-provided answers used for migration wave sequencing and complexity scoring
- iSeries (AS/400) upgrade notes produced — legacy platform migration considerations documented separately
Strategy Workshop
- On-site cloud strategy whiteboard session with senior leadership — "Why Cloud? Yes/No" framing captured in working session photo artifacts
- Cloud Strategy Workshop: Jonathan Thomas (VP Strategics), Greg Stroike (Sr. Dir. Strategic Engagements), Joey Meijer (Client Executive), Matt Richins (Sr. Mgr. Solution Architecture), Kevin Wise and Brian Mirise (Lead SAs), Todd LeBlanc (Sr. Architect ProServ), Jens Jorritsma (GCP SA)
- Preliminary migration estimate produced — labor, tooling, and wave-level cost breakdown
Infrastructure Discovery
Processed RVTools exports from both VMware datacenters — consolidating VM inventory, identifying oversized VMs, and building the combined infrastructure dataset used for cloud sizing and TCO analysis.
TCO Financial Modeling
Built the custom pricing model and cloud cost summary workbooks — mapping VM inventory to Azure and GCP equivalents and producing the 3–5 year TCO comparison alongside the Microsoft Azure TCO Calculator output.
Application Inventory
Developed the application inventory (315 records) from server data and client-provided application datapoints — categorizing workloads for migration wave sequencing and cloud decision matrix scoring.
CRA Deliverable
Contributed to the Cloud Readiness Analysis deliverable — best-fit cloud platform recommendations, application disposition analysis, migration strategy, and executive readout deck (draft and RC versions).
Cloud Strategy Proposal
Produced the Cloud Strategy Proposal document and executive presentation — capturing the cloud direction from the leadership whiteboard session, aligning it to the TCO analysis, and presenting the migration roadmap and platform recommendation.
| Deliverable | Description | Format |
|---|---|---|
| RVTools Infrastructure Exports | VM inventory from both VMware datacenters — May 2022 baseline and August 2022 re-export for both DC environments | XLSX ×4 |
| Oversized VM Analysis | Rightsizing analysis for both DCs — oversized VMs flagged with recommended cloud instance sizes | XLSX ×2 |
| Application Inventory | 315-record application inventory built from server data and client-provided application datapoints — workload categorization for migration planning | XLSX |
| Cloud Strategy Slides | Executive Cloud Strategy Workshop presentation — approach, TCO outputs, cloud platform comparison, and migration roadmap | PPTX |
| Cloud Strategy Proposal | Cloud Strategy Proposal document — cloud direction, business case, platform recommendation, and strategic alignment | DOCX |
| CRA Deliverable (Draft + RC) | Cloud Readiness Analysis — best-fit cloud decision matrix, app disposition, migration strategy, and executive readout (v2.2 draft and RC 1.0) | PPTX + PDF |
| TCO Pricing Model | Custom VM-level pricing model and Cloud Cost Summary workbook — Azure and GCP cost comparison over 3–5 year horizon | XLSX + PDF |
| Preliminary Migration Estimate | Professional Services migration cost estimate — labor, tooling, and wave-level cost breakdown for the two-datacenter estate |