How to Use the AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) to Cut Migration Costs

Most SMBs and mid-market companies that move to AWS leave money on the table. Not because they made bad architectural decisions — but because they never claimed the AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) benefits they were entitled to.

MAP is AWS’s structured program to help organizations migrate faster, with lower risk, and at lower cost. If you are working with an AWS migration partner, MAP funding and credits may be available to you at no extra cost.

This guide explains exactly what MAP offers, who qualifies, and how to get started.

What Is the AWS Migration Acceleration Program?

MAP is a program offered by Amazon Web Services to qualified organizations that are migrating workloads to AWS. It provides three things:

1. AWS Credits — Funding to offset the cost of running workloads in AWS during and after migration
2. Partner Funding — Financial support that AWS makes available to select AWS Partners (like FactualMinds) to reduce consulting engagement costs
3. Migration Methodology — A structured, phase-based framework (Assess → Mobilize → Migrate & Modernize) that reduces risk and improves predictability

MAP is not a rebate program. It is a structured engagement model. To access MAP benefits, your migration must be conducted through an authorized AWS Partner using the MAP methodology.

Who Qualifies for MAP?

MAP eligibility depends on the size of the workload being migrated, not your company size. Generally, qualifying migrations involve:

• A minimum committed AWS spend after migration (typically $100K+ ARR on AWS)
• Workloads moving from on-premises or another cloud provider to AWS
• Engagement through an AWS Partner with MAP authorization

Smaller migrations (below the spend threshold) may qualify for MAP Lite, a simplified version with less funding but similar methodology and tooling access.

If you are unsure whether your migration qualifies, the fastest path is to ask your AWS account manager or an authorized migration partner to run a quick eligibility check.

The Three Phases of MAP

MAP breaks migration into three structured phases. Each phase has defined deliverables, timelines, and funding milestones.

Phase 1: Assess (2–4 Weeks)

The Assess phase produces a business case for migration. Deliverables include:

• Discovery report — Full inventory of servers, databases, and applications
• TCO analysis — Total Cost of Ownership comparison (on-premises vs. AWS over 3 years)
• Migration readiness assessment — Identifies skill gaps, security requirements, and blockers

This phase is often partially funded through MAP. Many organizations are surprised to find that a formal AWS TCO analysis shows 30–50% cost savings over 3 years compared to renewing on-premises hardware or data center contracts.

Phase 2: Mobilize (4–8 Weeks)

Mobilize builds the cloud foundation before the first workload moves. Deliverables include:

• AWS Landing Zone setup (multi-account structure, networking, identity federation)
• Security baseline (IAM policies, GuardDuty, CloudTrail, Security Hub)
• Migration runbook for the first wave of workloads
• Team enablement and training

A common mistake is skipping Mobilize and jumping straight to migrating servers. Organizations that skip the foundation phase almost always pay for it later — with security gaps, networking rework, and re-architecture costs.

Phase 3: Migrate & Modernize (Ongoing)

The third phase is the actual migration execution, broken into waves. Workloads move in a defined sequence, with tightly coupled systems migrating together.

AWS provides tooling for each migration type:

Modernization — moving from VMs to containers, managed databases, or serverless — typically happens in a second wave after the initial migration stabilizes.

How MAP Credits Work

MAP provides two types of AWS credits:

Migration Credits cover the cost of running workloads in AWS during the migration period, before they are generating production value. This matters because most migrations run source and destination environments in parallel for weeks or months — doubling infrastructure costs temporarily.

Modernization Credits apply after migration and are typically structured as a percentage of committed AWS spend over 12–24 months.

Credit amounts vary based on migration size and workload type. A qualified AWS Partner can provide an estimate during the Assess phase.

Getting Started with MAP

The fastest way to determine MAP eligibility and start the process:

1. Contact an authorized AWS Partner — FactualMinds is an AWS Select Tier Partner with MAP authorization. We run the initial eligibility check and business case as part of our Migration Readiness Assessment.

2. Get your AWS TAM or account team involved — If you have an assigned AWS Technical Account Manager, they can confirm MAP eligibility and connect you with the right resources.

3. Start with the Assess phase — The business case alone often justifies the engagement. Even organizations that decide not to migrate immediately use the TCO analysis to support budget decisions.

Common MAP Misconceptions

“MAP is only for large enterprises.” False. MAP Lite covers smaller migrations. An SMB migrating 10–20 servers to AWS may still qualify for meaningful credits and partner funding support.

“We have to do the migration a specific way to qualify.” Partially true. MAP requires using the phased methodology (Assess → Mobilize → Migrate). But the tooling and architecture choices within each phase are flexible — your migration plan still reflects your specific environment and requirements.

“We lose control of the migration to AWS.” False. AWS does not run your migration. Your authorized Partner runs it. MAP provides funding and methodology, not AWS involvement in day-to-day execution. You own the migration, the timeline, and the decisions.

The Bottom Line

AWS MAP is one of the most underutilized programs available to companies moving to the cloud. It reduces costs, structures the engagement, and de-risks a migration that could otherwise consume months of engineering time with unpredictable results.

If you are evaluating an AWS migration in 2026, MAP eligibility should be one of your first questions.

Talk to a FactualMinds migration specialist to check your eligibility and get a free Migration Readiness Assessment. We will tell you exactly what MAP can and cannot do for your environment — no sales pressure, just a clear picture of your options.