Enterprise Cloud Architecture Checklist

A comprehensive checklist for designing and implementing enterprise-grade cloud architecture, focusing on multi-cloud strategy, high availability, scalability, cost optimization, and cloud-native best practices. This checklist covers essential cloud architecture principles while embracing modern cloud services and patterns.

Cloud Strategy

Required

Multi-Cloud Strategy
Define multi-cloud strategy including provider selection and workload distribution.
Cloud Governance Model
Establish cloud governance framework including policies and standards.
Service Selection
Define criteria for cloud service selection and evaluation.
Migration Strategy
Develop comprehensive cloud migration strategy and roadmap.

Suggested

Cloud Center of Excellence
Establish Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) team and practices.
Cloud Maturity Model
Implement cloud maturity assessment and improvement framework.

Infrastructure Design

Required

Network Architecture
Design cloud network architecture with proper segmentation and connectivity.
Identity Architecture
Implement cloud identity and access management architecture.
Security Architecture
Design comprehensive cloud security architecture and controls.
Storage Strategy
Define cloud storage strategy including data lifecycle management.

Suggested

Edge Computing
Integrate edge computing capabilities into cloud architecture.
IoT Integration
Design architecture for IoT device integration and management.

High Availability

Required

Multi-Region Design
Implement multi-region architecture for high availability.
Load Balancing
Design global and regional load balancing strategies.
Auto Scaling
Implement auto-scaling for applications and services.
Failover Strategy
Define and implement failover procedures and testing.

Suggested

Chaos Engineering
Implement chaos engineering practices for resilience testing.
SLA Monitoring
Implement comprehensive SLA monitoring and reporting.

Cost Optimization

Required

Cost Monitoring
Implement cloud cost monitoring and reporting tools.
Resource Optimization
Implement resource optimization strategies and automation.
Reserved Capacity
Plan and implement reserved capacity purchases.
Budget Controls
Implement cloud budget controls and alerts.

Suggested

FinOps Practices
Implement FinOps practices and tooling.
Cost Attribution
Implement detailed cost attribution and chargeback.

Security & Compliance

Required

Cloud Security Controls
Implement comprehensive cloud security controls and monitoring.
Data Protection
Implement data protection and encryption strategies.
Compliance Framework
Implement cloud compliance framework and controls.
Access Management
Implement cloud IAM policies and procedures.

Suggested

Security Automation
Implement automated security controls and remediation.
Threat Detection
Implement cloud-native threat detection and response.

Operations & Management

Required

Monitoring Strategy
Implement comprehensive cloud monitoring strategy.
Automation Framework
Implement cloud automation and orchestration framework.
Backup Strategy
Implement cloud backup and recovery procedures.
Change Management
Implement cloud change management processes.

Suggested

AIOps Integration
Implement AIOps for cloud operations.
Service Catalog
Implement cloud service catalog and self-service portal.

Performance & Optimization

Required

Performance Monitoring
Implement cloud performance monitoring and optimization.
Capacity Planning
Implement capacity planning and forecasting.
Resource Optimization
Implement resource optimization and right-sizing.
Caching Strategy
Implement cloud caching and content delivery strategy.

Suggested

Performance Testing
Implement cloud performance testing framework.
Optimization Automation
Implement automated performance optimization.