A global specialty insurance company with $4B in annual revenue and ~$23M in annual IT spend engaged Rackspace to answer a board-level question: should we migrate to cloud, which platform, and what does it cost? The engagement was catalyzed by aging on-premises hardware approaching end-of-life across US and UK datacenters — the client needed a financially validated answer before committing to a multi-million dollar hardware refresh cycle.
We delivered a two-phase advisory engagement: Phase 1 produced the Cloud Readiness Assessment and executive Business Case — a data-backed, CFO-ready financial model comparing AWS, Azure, and multi-cloud paths across 226 applications and 1,127 servers. Phase 2 translated that into a detailed migration roadmap, CCOE operating model design, and wave-by-wave execution plan. The engagement closed with AWS as the recommended path (12-month payback vs. 18 months for Azure), full stakeholder alignment, and a Transformation POV that scoped the next SOW.
The engagement model illustrates the Rackspace advisory playbook at its best: a fixed-scope, high-credibility consulting engagement that builds the financial justification for a transformation program, positions Rackspace as the trusted advisor, and creates the commercial logic for $16M+ in follow-on professional services and managed operations.
A global specialty insurance company was operating a sprawling on-premises IT estate at unsustainable cost — ~$23M in annual IT spend split across datacenter and hardware (~$10.3M), a large labor base (~$12.8M), and ADM support (~$17M). End-of-life hardware was approaching a mandatory refresh cycle within two years, threatening a significant unplanned capital outlay if the cloud migration decision was delayed.
The deeper operational issue was structural: ~50% of on-premises servers were overprovisioned across compute, memory, and storage (average utilization <20%), yet ~25% of production servers were simultaneously strained (>80% utilization). Teams were siloed, delivery was primarily waterfall, DevSecOps maturity was low, and the existing vendor ecosystem — Cognizant (~70), Mindtree (30–40), Infosys (~10) operating on multi-year contracts — added coordination overhead without meaningful cloud-native capability. The client needed a defensible financial case and a prioritized migration strategy before the next hardware refresh decision point forced their hand.
- Infrastructure and application discovery across 1,127 servers and 226 apps using Flexera data and CloudScape dependency mapping
- 6Rs application rationalization (Rehost / Refactor / Repurchase) with SOX vs. non-SOX classification and Business Impact scoring
- Stakeholder discovery across 8 strategic value dimensions — translated into the platform evaluation criteria for the Cloud Decision Matrix
- Cloud Decision Matrix: AWS vs. Azure vs. Multi-Cloud evaluated across Business Strategy, FinOps, Infrastructure, Security, Data, and Talent dimensions
- CFO-ready 5-year Business Case with on-prem cost elimination by category, per-platform TCO, migration credits, and NPV / payback for each path
- 3-stage migration roadmap covering 1,197 VMs over 24 months — wave sequencing, dependencies, and priority workloads defined
- Cloud Foundation design: Landing Zone architecture, CCOE governance framework, and Target Operating Model aligned to cloud-first IT ops
- Per-platform 5-year financial model (AWS, Azure, Multi-Cloud) incorporating hyperscaler credits, BYOL assumptions, and CCOE build costs
- Transformation POV (Nov 2023): Transitional Support for Operations advisory — warranty period coverage, MVP governance, and First Mover application framework
| Deliverable | Description | Phase | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud Business Case | Executive-ready business case with 5-year TCO model, on-prem cost elimination by category, NPV, payback period, and savings forecast for AWS, Azure, and multi-cloud paths | Phase 1 | PPTX |
| 6Rs App Rationalization | Disposition analysis across 226 applications — Rehost, Refactor, Repurchase recommendations with SOX vs. non-SOX classification and Business Impact Calculator | Phase 1 | XLSX |
| Value Stream Mapping | Current state and future state VSM for key delivery value streams — hand-off points, waste identification, and future-state automation opportunities mapped to cloud migration outcomes | Phase 1 | PPTX + JPG |
| Cloud Decision Matrix | Structured AWS vs. Azure vs. Multi-Cloud evaluation across 8 dimensions: Business Strategy, FinOps/TCO, Infrastructure, Networking, Security, Applications, Data, Talent | Phase 1 | PPTX |
| Phase 2 Executive Summary | 3-stage migration roadmap with AWS and Azure cost tables (2023–2027), migration credits breakdown, CCOE operating model costs, and Stage 1 IHUB priority wave detail | Phase 2 | PPTX |
| Migration PODs Planner | Wave-level resource and timeline planner — POD structure, workstream assignments, milestone schedule for the 24-month lift-and-shift program | Phase 2 | XLSX |
| Multi-Cloud Risks & Implications | Strategic risk register for AWS, Azure, and multi-cloud paths — vendor lock-in analysis, operational complexity, licensing risk, and talent availability by platform | Phase 2 | XLSX |
| Cloud Transformation POV | Post-Phase 2 advisory on Transitional Support for Operations: CTOM recommendations, Incremental vs. big-bang migration approach analysis, MVP backlog, ESLZ design, and Day 1 Readiness Checklist | Follow-on | PPTX |
| Strategy Scorecard | Cloud strategy maturity scoring framework — aligned to the 8 Value Dial dimensions captured in stakeholder interviews, used to track readiness and validate cloud adoption milestones | Phase 2 | XLSX |
The Phase 1 CRA + Business Case engagement was designed from the outset as the entry point for a multi-phase relationship. The financial case was built to be defensible to a CFO — quantified by category, stress-tested against both AWS and Azure credit programs, and presented alongside a structured TOM that made Rackspace the natural execution partner. Phase 2 deepened that dependency through the migration roadmap, CCOE design, and PODs Planner, which are artifacts that require Rackspace expertise to execute.
The November 2023 Transformation POV — produced after the original SOW closed — demonstrates the consulting leverage model: each engagement creates artifacts that naturally generate the next SOW. The Transitional Support for Operations proposal directly references the migration warranty period, MVP governance, and First Mover application support as scoped Rackspace-delivered workstreams.
Phase 1 — CRA & Business Case
- Led infrastructure and utilization discovery — Flexera data analysis across 1,127 servers, overprovisioning quantification, and rightsizing opportunity identification
- Owned the 5-year financial model — on-prem cost elimination by category mapped to migration timeline, AWS vs. Azure NPV and payback comparison
- Conducted executive stakeholder discovery and synthesized findings into the Cloud Decision Matrix and strategic value dial framework
- Led 6Rs application rationalization and Value Stream Mapping sessions with client delivery teams
Phase 2 — Strategy & Forward Engagement
- Built the per-platform 5-year financial model (AWS / Azure / Multi-Cloud) incorporating hyperscaler credits, BYOL assumptions, and CCOE operating costs
- Produced the Phase 2 Executive Summary — 3-stage migration roadmap, per-path NPV analysis, and Stage 1 priority wave detail
- Authored the November 2023 Transformation POV — positioned Transitional Support for Operations as the natural follow-on SOW with scoped Rackspace-delivered workstreams