Migration backup gaps open at the cutover, when the old environment’s backup is switched off before anyone confirms the new one works. They hit databases hardest, because a database restored from a full-machine backup isn’t always consistent. When we surveyed our Acronis customers this year, we asked what they protect so we could see where our guidance would help most. Migrations stood out.
TL;DR
Close migration backup gaps in three stages. Before the move, take a restore-tested backup of the source and put every database in scope. During the move, keep the source backup running and turn on continuous data protection for critical databases. After the move, confirm the target’s first backup restores cleanly before you decommission the source backup.
How often migrations go wrong
Caylent surveyed more than 300 IT leaders in 2025. On their most challenging migration, 94% missed the timeline, only 6% had zero downtime, and 46% were down for more than five hours [1]. The hardest types were on-premises to cloud, database version upgrades, and cross-cloud moves.
What causes migration backup gaps
Three causes stack on top of each other.
The first is planning. A 2023 study of IT decision-makers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland found 60% ran cloud migrations without a strategy in place [2]. Without one, nobody maps what needs protecting before the move.
The second is coverage. Most of our surveyed customers protect whole machines: virtual machines made up 64% of the workloads they named, and dedicated servers 33%. That covers the databases running on those machines, but a full-machine backup restores everything at once. During a migration, when one database fails validation, you need to restore just that database, consistently and quickly. That’s why we recommend putting every database in scope on its own before you move.
The third is sequencing. Teams cancel the source environment’s backup job once the workload moves, before the target’s first backup has completed. Around 35% of organizations wouldn’t know if a backup job had been skipped [3].
Before, during, and after the move
Migration backup gaps close in the same order they open.
Before
Take a full backup of the source environment and restore-test it. That backup is your rollback point. Set an RTO and RPO for each workload, and check that every database is in the backup scope. Granular Recovery in Acronis on Leaseweb covers SQL Server clusters, Exchange clusters, Active Directory, MariaDB, MySQL, Oracle DB, and SAP HANA.
During
Keep the source backup running until the move is validated. Turn on Continuous Data Protection for critical databases through the cutover window, so your newest restore point is seconds old instead of last night’s.
For example: an e-commerce team moves its order database, a SQL Server cluster, over a weekend. Three tables fail validation after cutover. With Granular Recovery, they restore those three tables in 2 to 5 minutes while the rest of the cluster keeps taking orders. With CDP running, the restored tables are current to within seconds.
After
Confirm the target environment’s first backup has completed and restores cleanly. Then decommission the source backup. If the new hardware differs from the old, Universal Restore adapts system settings to match it, so a backup from the old environment still boots on the new one.
If you’re holding off on migrating
Aging systems carry their own risk. Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found exploited vulnerabilities were the most common way into breaches, at 31%. Organizations fully patched only 26% of known exploited vulnerabilities, with a median of 43 days to do it [4]. Whether you move this year or next, your backup has to cover what you run today.
We also asked customers whether all their Leaseweb workloads are covered. One in five said some aren’t yet, and two in five weren’t sure. That’s common in growing environments, and it’s why we suggest starting every migration with a workload inventory. Our support team can help you map what’s covered and what isn’t.
Since 1997, we’ve built infrastructure so customers can change hardware, locations, or providers and keep running. You choose the Acronis data center that holds your backups, and Universal Restore means those backups aren’t tied to the hardware you’re leaving. For more on testing restores, read our piece on backup recovery testing.
Talk to us while you plan your next migration.
About the survey: We run this survey to understand how customers use Acronis on Leaseweb and where we can help them get more out of it. Leaseweb surveyed customers using Acronis Cyber Protect on Leaseweb in June 2026. Between 40 and 43 customers answered each question, and the workload question allowed multiple answers. With a sample this size, the results describe this group of Leaseweb customers and aren’t statistically representative of all backup users.
See how Acronis on Leaseweb handles recovery across environments