Cloud Migration Strategy for Small and Medium Enterprises in Ibadan: A Professional Framework

Cloud computing adoption among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ibadan, Oyo State, South West Nigeria, presents a significant opportunity to reduce IT infrastructure costs and improve operational scalability, yet migration journeys among local businesses are poorly structured and frequently unsuccessful. This study develops a professional cloud migration framework for SMEs in Ibadan, drawing on interviews with 18 IT managers at manufacturing, retail, and professional service SMEs, supplemented by analysis of three documented migration case studies. The research evaluates migration readiness using the Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) dimensions of business strategy, platform, security, and operations. Findings reveal that the majority of Ibadan SMEs attempting cloud migration lack formal readiness assessments, resulting in unexpected downtime, data loss incidents, and cost overruns. The study identifies internet reliability, data sovereignty concerns, and staff cloud skills gaps as the primary migration barriers in the South West SME context. A five-phase migration framework is proposed, covering assessment, proof of concept, pilot migration, full migration, and optimisation, with specific checklists for Nigerian SME conditions. Professional recommendations include engagement of certified cloud migration consultants and phased workload prioritisation to minimise operational disruption. Keywords: cloud migration, SME, Ibadan, Cloud Adoption Framework, Nigeria