Welp MagazineRemote working is only one of the many advantages of cloud implementation services, and as organizations shift to a new work paradigm, cloud-based resilience, security, and scalability are becoming more vital. In 2020, 59% of European enterprises aim to maintain or grow expenditure on SaaS, and 58% on cloud platforms (IaaS and PaaS).
Moving all company functions to the cloud is not always the best choice. We’ve provided critical issues to consider and methods to help you develop a cloud strategy that benefits your company.
1. Develop a strategic vision
It’s critical to capture your organization’s future cloud use vision and ensure it aligns with your entire business plan. Identifying long-term views and related advantages can assist drive company decision-making and garner support from important stakeholders.
2. Outline of strategy and plan
Once agreed, the strategic vision should be translated into a cloud-based company plan and roadmap. Preparing these two papers requires the processes outlined in paragraphs 3-10.
3. View the assets
To justify and evaluate your approach, you must fully comprehend the company’s infrastructure and IT assets. This will need calculating the cost of maintenance and replacement, as well as the estimated usable life of the assets, as well as their customization and migration complexity.
4. The operational model is improved
Moving to the cloud necessitates process modernization. Remember that no matter how advanced the technology, process issues will still remain in the cloud. Also, get feedback on how to improve cloud services and practices. As a consequence, unnecessary cloud migration efforts will be avoided.
Compatibility between cloud-based solutions and a (potentially) more standard approach will be tricky. It’s not only about workers and customers; the back office must be optimized as well.
5. Supplier selection
Choosing the correct cloud vendor is the first step. Due diligence should be done on the counterparty to verify they can provide the appropriate solutions, support, and pricing model. It’s also vital to assess the provider’s resilience and the criticality of the processes being transferred to guarantee the destination state is safe. Given the systemic risk of cloud disruption, authorities may advise some enterprises to adopt a multi-cloud approach.
6. Resource management
Moving to the cloud will need new talents in project management, cloud architecture, user experience, data architecture, and software development, as well as new operational positions (cloud security and network experts). Finding the ideal balance between reassigning workers to maintain abandoned systems and bringing in new staff and third parties to satisfy resource needs should be prioritized.
7. Benefits-costs
Cloud benefits include scalability, flexibility, reduced complexity, and affordability. This varies by cloud deployment type and size (from SaaS to full platform and infrastructure outsourcing). In any situation, the business may be temporarily halted. Understanding the short- and long-term implications of change is critical (e.g. data transformation and migration requirements). Estimating savings and costs might be challenging without current IT spending data.
8. Cloud security
By expanding the digital perimeter, the attack surface increases (that is, the number of entry points). Controlling cloud networks, data, and cybersecurity is critical both before and after migration. Data confidentiality requirements, especially for data stored or processed abroad, must be addressed. Managing data efficiently and securely in the cloud is essential.
9. Managing Clouds
The IT governance model will need to be modified to account for cloud apps, data, security, and controls. Cloud monitoring (such as licensing management and download tracking) should be used to reduce the danger of shadow IT activities.
10. Application
A training and awareness campaign must be established to assist the transition to new methods of functioning. Be aware that any changes in business culture (for example, moving to flexible project management approaches) will take time and effort. Consider the need for frequent inspections, including regulatory obligations (for example, cross-border data sharing) and methods for recognizing clients in the new context. Finally, policies and procedures for backup, disaster recovery, change, service, and vendor relationship management should be reviewed and updated.
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