Draft for Tamir's review. Not published.
Start with what you would actually move
List your customizations, integrations and reports. For each one, decide whether the cloud version covers it, whether it must be rebuilt, or whether you can drop it. That list drives most of the cost and the risk.
Separate the vendor's date from your own need. Ask what really ends on that date, such as support for your version, and what only becomes less convenient.
Compare what it costs to run
The subscription price is only part of it. Compare what you pay today to run the system, including your own staff and hosting. Set that against the subscription plus the integrations and changes you would keep paying for.
Read what the cloud contract changes. Upgrades come on the vendor's schedule, and leaving later may be harder. Check the exit terms, who owns your data, and in what format you get it back.
Move or stay
Staying is a real option if your version is still supported and your customizations carry the business. Moving is easier to justify for modules that are already close to standard. Either way, decide on your own reasons and timetable.
Asking me is free. You get my initial view and the question I think matters most. A full review runs under a short agreement, and the first one includes a no-value, no-fee clause.
What to check before you decide
- Ask the vendor in writing what ends on their date for your current version, and what continues.
- List every customization and integration, and mark each as covered, rebuilt or dropped in the cloud version.
- Compare today's full running cost with the cloud subscription plus integrations, over the same period.
- List what the cloud contract changes about upgrades, exit and data ownership.
- Ask how you would get your data out, in what format, and at what cost.
- Check which reports and controls rely on direct database access that the cloud version may not allow.