Moving from the strategy to the execution is mapping your cloud design specifications to the cloud adoption framework. For every company, a cloud strategy may look different such as:
- The cloud strategy is mostly focused on adoption, migration and implementation.
- The cloud strategy is more a data center strategy.
- The cloud strategy is different from adoption, migration and implementation.
- No formal cloud strategy in place.
Most companies struggle with where to start with a cloud implementation and how to keep the process moving. It is mission critical to secure a mandate from the top executives. Translating the cloud strategy is more than a technology change. It is a transformation on how the business operates. If a company has a decentralized approach, there is a risk that there is not enough simplifying and eliminating complexity and they will not be able to quickly take advantage of new technologies and tools when they become available. Global Process Owners (GPO’s) should be empowered to make decisions.
Companies that have heavily customized their applications will see a lot of benefit from standardizing and simplifying their business processes, which they can do either before (fix and shift), during or not during their move to the cloud (lift and shift). Multinational companies which standardized their processes have an easier cloud strategy execution as they reduce complexity, increases scalability, and make onboarding of acquired companies or demergers easier.
The focus on end users must not be underestimated. While the cloud promises new features and modern technologies, there is no guarantee that users perceive them as a benefit but perceive them as too complex and will not use the new SaaS features. It is easier to address issues in cloud systems as it takes less time to update compared to on premises applications.
By now, you should know which workloads will move to the cloud. The mapping exercise will help you translating the cloud strategy into actions.
| Cloud Design Specifications | Translate | Cloud Adoption Framework |
| Executive Summary | ► | Skills and applications, vendor selection, architecture, cloud services and risk mitigations. Costs, estimations, policies and procedures. Provision and automated cloud services. Operating cloud environments at scale.
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| Cloud Generic Baseline | ► | Cloud vendor selection per cloud layer. Conduct cloud layer evaluation workshops with different vendors and concrete showcases to demonstrate for IaaS, PaaS and SaaS.
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| Business Baseline
& Financial Baseline
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► | Estimate the costs and benefits based on future SLA’s with the vendors, define policies and procedures to have a governance in place.
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| Cloud Services Baseline | ► | Before you order the first cloud services create scenarios with the vendors which cloud services are automated and how cloud workloads are managed. This is also a part of the SLA’s.
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| Cloud Principles Baseline | ► | As part of the vendor selection process, create different architecture scenarios for the private, public, hybrid and multi cloud solutions following your business goals.
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| As-Is Analysis | ► | Create and manage the inventory of systems and applications to assess readiness for the cloud. Identify your shadow IT, technology adopted by business units independently of the IT department.
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| Security Baseline | ► | For each scenario create risk mitigations, security assessments, business continuity and exit scenarios to avoid vendor lock-ins.
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| Cloud Pilot Project Baseline | ► | After map / gap analysis, design a pilot project which fits a specific business goal and use case to build and deliver a Minimally Viable Product (MVP) that can scale later when first benefits have been reached.
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| Supporting Functions | ► | Build the required skills for IT and business team members to be part of the cloud team.
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| Exit Baseline | ► | Go through a future state when the cloud environments are in the operational mode. How are cloud deployments managed? How are the services consumed monitored and measured? This is also a part of the SLA’s with your vendors. |
Conclusions and recommendations
Most companies have a cloud adoption framework or a cloud strategy with a cloud first approach. Others do not follow the cloud first approach but do have a cloud strategy of framework in place. Two out of ten companies do not have a cloud strategy or adoption framework.
Executing a cloud strategy has a profound impact on IT processes and the underlying technical infrastructure. Coming from heterogeneous system landscapes, which are very complex and not transparent, companies need to have the full overview and understanding of their systems before the cloud strategy is executed.
Recommendations:
- Follow cloud design specifications to building a cloud strategy.
- Establish a strategic cloud excellence panel with key stakeholders from across the enterprise and include business units.
- Separate cloud strategy from an implementation plan.
- Cloud strategy is not the same as a data center strategy or an implementation, adoption and migration plan.
- If you have no formal cloud strategy in place, it is never too late to start.
A cloud strategy might seem that it is about IT architecture such as platforms, tools, applications and technologies. It’s not. Cloud strategies are always interrelated with other aspects such as organizational impact, processes, policies, legal requirements and business goals. Companies should adjust their cloud strategy on those aspects.
Top 10 mistakes and myths for a cloud strategy
It is better not having a formal cloud strategy then building a strategy with misunderstandings. The following mistakes should be avoided when formulating a cloud strategy:
- Assuming it is an IT only strategy, not involving business
- Not having an exit strategy
- Combining a cloud strategy with a cloud adoption, migration and implementation
- “It is too late – we are already executing”, redoing everything
- We are moving everything to the cloud
- It is a data center strategy, it is “all in” or nothing
- By executive mandate
- We use SAP (or Oracle or Microsoft) so SAP (or Oracle or Microsoft) will be our single vendor for cloud services
- Outsource our cloud strategy
- Cloud first is our strategy
Companies should look out for the following myths before formulating a cloud strategy:
- Cloud is always about cost savings
- You have to be cloud to be good
- Cloud should be used for everything
- “The CEO said so” is our cloud strategy
- We need one cloud strategy or vendor
- Cloud is always more secure than on premises capabilities
- Multi cloud prevents vendor lock-in
- Once we have moved to the cloud, we are done
- Enterprises are moving back from the public cloud
- We have a cloud (implementation, adoption and implementation) strategy