The most expensive business mistakes often start by using the "default" setting.

It's natural—we obsess over the things everyone sees, but then we leave so much on autopilot. In cloud migrations, compute gets 99% of the attention. CPU sizing, infrastructure mapping, and immediate performance wins are heavily scrutinized.

But then? Basic block storage is often accepted as a given.

For Systems Integrators (SIs), Global Systems Integrators (GSIs), and Managed Service Providers (MSPs), this default mindset is the silent killer of migration ROI. Generic, manual assessments inevitably lead to over-provisioning. Unforeseen performance bottlenecks start throttling databases. Suddenly, clients are spending again just to retrofit a fix in a live environment, and partner credibility takes a hit.

It is time to update the playbook.

Start with a Comprehensive, AI-Driven Baseline

To deliver a truly optimized cloud strategy, you cannot afford to guess. You need an assessment platform that evaluates the entire ecosystem to establish an accurate, data-driven baseline.

Matilda Cloud’s AI-powered discovery maps the full environment, analyzing complex VMware architectures, database dependencies, and exact, observed workload behaviors. This comprehensive visibility ensures that every piece of the infrastructure puzzle is accounted for before a single byte ever moves.

The Storage Unlock: Modeling FSxN

While holistic discovery is the foundation, the real differentiator—and the ultimate project unlock—is how that baseline is applied to enterprise storage. We have to stop treating enterprise storage features as post-migration afterthoughts.

Matilda evaluates more than just those default cloud disk options. We use AI to map your exact workload behaviors directly to NetApp's enterprise multiprotocol solution: Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP (FSxN).

This makes the VMware migration wins bigger and more predictable for your clients:

• Massive Cost Advantages: Identify up to 40% cost advantages versus alternative AWS storage options.

• Intelligent Data Tiering: Automated policies ensure high-performance storage is reserved for active data, pushing cold data to capacity tiers.

• Native AWS Synergies: As a first-party service, FSxN brings native AWS synergies right out of the gate, allowing clients to utilize existing AWS credits.

How Partners Drive High-Margin Services Revenue

By moving beyond the default settings, SIs and MSPs can elevate the strategic value of their engagements and build a highly profitable, funded pipeline.

• Leverage MAP-Certified Funding: Matilda Cloud is the only AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) certified assessment solution that covers FSxN. Partners can leverage this to deliver fully funded, high-value assessments that reduce the barrier to entry for enterprise clients.

• Create Long-Term Modernization Engagements: Migration is a journey, not a destination. FSxN serves as the robust underlying storage foundation that accompanies customers through relocating, rehosting, and replatforming on AWS. This creates a clear pathway to deliver continuous, high-margin modernization services.

• Deliver Seamless Delivery: By leveraging native tools like SnapMirror replication, you can migrate complex datasets to AWS with minimal downtime, ensuring a non-disruptive transition that builds client trust.

The channel is already taking notice. Forward-thinking partners like Apps Associates are actively partnering with Matilda Cloud to deliver these AI-driven AWS storage assessments and cloud migrations, helping their customers right-size deployments from day one.

Stop guessing. Start modeling. Leverage Matilda Cloud’s MAP-certified assessments to build a highly optimized, AWS-funded migration roadmap for your clients.