Database Migration to AWS by Firemind

Overview: Database migrations are judged on one thing: whether the data, and the applications on top of it, behave the same afterwards. Conversion tools do much of the schema and code work. The bottleneck is proving the result and cutting over without losing a transaction. Built on Firemind's IT Operations Engine, this service runs the migration as governed code in your AWS account, and the same Engine runs each workload once it lands.

Four stages, contracted together or separately

• Assess. Schema and code complexity assessed with DMS Schema Conversion, run in your AWS account under your control, alongside the estate-level portfolio. Aligned to the Assess phase of the AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP): a readiness assessment based on the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework, a migration path for every workload, a business case with an AWS Pricing Calculator estimate, and a wave plan.
• Mobilize. Landing zone readiness, detailed discovery and planning for the first waves, a pilot migration, and MAP tagging set up so migrated workloads are tracked from day one.
• Migrate. Databases moved with AWS Database Migration Service using full load and change data capture, converted with DMS Schema Conversion where the engine changes, and cut over once validation passes, with a tested route back.
• Operate. The Engine runs the migrated workloads: monitoring, incident remediation, patching and decay management such as end-of-life runtimes, with high-risk changes held for a named approver. Each wave lands in operations the day it passes acceptance.

Validated and governed

Every wave starts with acceptance tests agreed with your team: functional checks, performance baselines and data comparisons wherever data moves. They run before and after cutover, and every wave has a tested rollback. The Engine plans each change, raises it as code and runs it under your change rules. Low-risk, reversible steps run automatically. Cutovers and other high-risk changes wait for a named approver. Every action is recorded in an immutable audit trail and in your own AWS CloudTrail.

What is in scope

• Target design for Amazon Aurora, Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon DocumentDB
• Schema and code conversion with DMS Schema Conversion, with remaining items listed and agreed
• Validation by row counts, checksums and query comparison before cutover
• Change data capture to keep source and target in step until cutover
• High availability, backup and monitoring in place from the first day on AWS

What stays out of scope

Firemind delivers and governs the conversion and migration code, and proves the result by validation. Hand-rewriting large volumes of proprietary database code stays out of scope unless agreed in the private offer. Data warehouse migrations are scoped separately.

AWS programmes: Firemind holds the AWS Migration and Modernization Competency. Eligible migrations may qualify for MAP funding, and Firemind prepares the MAP documentation with your AWS account team. Database and analytics migrations may qualify for additional MAP incentives. Eligibility and funding are confirmed by AWS.

How it starts: After the private offer is accepted, you grant read-only access to the platforms that host your databases and deploy an IAM role in your AWS account using AWS CloudFormation. A full description of the role and its policy statements is provided before deployment. The Engine uses temporary credentials, and every action is recorded in your own AWS CloudTrail. Scope, acceptance tests and named approvers are agreed at the start of each stage.

Deployment: Pilot scopes run from Firemind's AWS environment. In production the Engine runs inside your own AWS accounts. Running the Engine, and the migrated workloads, may incur AWS infrastructure charges, for example Amazon Bedrock, compute and storage. These are billed separately from this AWS Marketplace transaction and are your responsibility.

Pricing: Delivered through an AWS Marketplace private offer, scoped to your estate. The four stages can be contracted together or separately. Contact hello@firemind.com  to scope.

About Firemind: AWS Premier Tier Services Partner with the AWS Migration and Modernization Competency. 200+ clients since 2018, ISO 27001 certified, in partnership with AWS, NVIDIA and Anthropic. Core markets: UK and Ireland, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands.