Accelerate Your Public Cloud Migration the Right Way

To effectively implement public cloud at scale, I&O leaders should learn from those who have successfully navigated this journey. IT leaders who have mastered the process follow these principles:

• Use business (versus technical) drivers to propel your cloud strategy.

• Set clear expectations within your executive stakeholders by contrasting the strengths and cautions of the project.

• Address resistance by demonstrating transparency, reassuring staff and tapping influential “first followers.”

• Balance a people-centric view with a focus on cloud for access to innovation.

• Invest in a cloud training program for staff.

Organizations often migrate to the cloud to reduce infrastructure costs, but without proper planning, they may face unexpected expenses. Gartner has identified four cost traps:

• Poorly conceived cloud migration with unrealistic ROI. Develop a detailed business case for cloud migration; define your success metrics; identify specific opportunities to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO); enlist support for the program; set realistic time frames; and balance risk, value and cost.

• Inexperienced partner or internal resources. A well-executed migration that stays on budget requires effective program management, migration-related intellectual property (IP) and the support of experts. 

• Inefficient cloud purchasing. Make sure cloud architects work with sourcing managers on long-term contracts with a cloud provider and negotiate discounts linked to long-term spending. Purchase reserved instances (RIs) for long-term predictable compute resources and savings plans for other predicted compute resources.

• Failure to transform I&O for cloud-optimized operations. Convert IT service management with an automation-first approach; use a platform-based model to enhance the cloud provider’s value and ease adoption; use a product management approach to tailor cloud operations into “product lines”; and cloud-optimize workloads.

To combat the challenges of transitioning to cloud-enabled IT, establish a governance team to oversee cloud services and define clear principles and goals. Balance autonomy with control by setting up guardrails and creating usage policies. Regularly assess and refine governance practices to address gaps and prevent noncompliance, ensuring a secure and agile cloud environment.