I work on cloud infra (mostly data, but also Linux infra and networking on Azure, since I’m a Solution Architect at Microsoft).

And I agree with you in that one critical aspect, and would like to contribute my viewpoint: Every single successful move to the cloud I’ve witnessed hinged on the people who did it _really_ understanding their software stack.

For them (usually clients and not contractors or integrators doing the move for them) the key aspect of the learning curve was understanding cost drivers in cloud infra (or PaaS), weighing them against their current situation, and _measuring_ alternatives.

I’m often hassled by peers and salespeople for spending “too long talking to the techs” rather than doing pretty PowerPoint pitches, but I’m proud of the engineering work that makes those migrations viable, because a) it is truly full-stack and b) I learn at least as much as the techs I work with as we drill down into their stack and figure out how best to move it to the cloud.

Alas, this kind of depth work happens too seldom (see my other comment).