cloud-alignment

# Cloud Alignment

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

- Check alignment with Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF)
- Validate against AWS Well-Architected Framework pillars
- Identify cloud architecture gaps
- Get cloud-specific best practice recommendations

**Keywords:** cloud adoption framework, caf, well-architected, azure, aws, landing zone, governance, security pillar, reliability, cost optimization, sustainability

## Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF)

CAF provides comprehensive guidance for Azure cloud adoption through 7 methodologies:

### CAF Methodologies

| # | Methodology | Purpose | Key Activities |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **Strategy** | Define business justification | Motivations, outcomes, business case |
| 2 | **Plan** | Create adoption plan | Digital estate, skills, timeline |
| 3 | **Ready** | Prepare environment | Landing zones, governance baseline |
| 4 | **Adopt** | Migrate/innovate workloads | Migration waves, modernization |
| 5 | **Govern** | Manage cloud governance | Policies, compliance, cost management |
| 6 | **Secure** | Implement security | Zero trust, identity, data protection |
| 7 | **Manage** | Operate cloud estate | Monitoring, optimization, resilience |

### CAF Alignment Checklist

#### Strategy

- [ ] Cloud motivations documented
- [ ] Business outcomes defined
- [ ] Financial considerations addressed
- [ ] Technical considerations documented

#### Plan

- [ ] Digital estate assessed
- [ ] Skills readiness evaluated
- [ ] Cloud adoption plan created
- [ ] Azure readiness confirmed

#### Ready

- [ ] Landing zone deployed
- [ ] Governance baseline established
- [ ] Network topology defined
- [ ] Identity management configured

#### Adopt

- [ ] Workload assessment complete
- [ ] Migration/modernization approach selected
- [ ] Testing and validation plan
- [ ] Cutover plan documented

#### Govern

- [ ] Governance policies defined
- [ ] Cost management implemented
- [ ] Compliance requi