International authorities focus on operational resilience after high-profile supply chain and technological failures. Modern technology solutions have supported firms’ transition to a “work-from-home” operating style. Unfortunately, the recent rise in remote employment was inconceivable 10 years ago. This change was aided by virtual interaction and collaboration tools and cloud computing. Organizations with a cloud-enabled IT operating strategy were less likely to experience business disruptions during the epidemic. Cloud-centric design is vital to a smooth work-from-home shift. Some firms were able to adapt their operations to meet the deluge of demand from a world stranded at home. Others benefited margins by scaling down IT operational expenses as processing demand waned.
Running: In situations of restricted non-essential movement, keeping infrastructure operating is easier without on-premises data centers. During the epidemic, many firms who had just evaluated cloud options realized the time to act. As a result, we’ve seen a tremendous surge in cloud-enabled services in lock-down regions driven by online collaborative tools.
As the business world shifts to new paradigms of work, the requirement for the security and scalability offered by cloud technology solutions is becoming more critical than ever for organizations to maintain a competitive edge. According to IDC research performed in May 2020 on the potential impact of COVID-19 on application delivery and digital innovation strategies in Europe and the role of the cloud platform in supporting business resiliency, 59% of European organizations plan to maintain or increase spending on SaaS and 58% plan to keep or improve spend on cloud platforms (infrastructure). The path to the cloud shouldn’t be rushed, and “cloud native” isn’t always the best choice for your business. Instead, we’ve identified essential topics to Achieve The ‘Cloud Everywhere’ Vision.
1. Express Your Vision
Take time to create a vision for future cloud use in the firm, and make sure it includes business strategy objectives. Initial incursions into cloud computing may be modest (e.g., migrating from proprietary solutions to SaaS), but presenting a long-term vision of your goals and rewards can guide business decision-making and gain buy-in from key stakeholders.
2. Lay Up A Plan
After vision buy-in, a cloud strategy and road map can be created to guide short- and long-term actions. For example, 3-10 below should inform the strategy and route map.
3. Know Your Assets
A complete perspective of the business’s infrastructure and software assets will influence strategy and benefit analysis. This view should cover asset maintenance, replacement, predicted useful life, customization, and migration complexity.
4. Improve Operating Model
When shifting to the cloud, the company should adapt its processes. Unfortunately, a flawed process with superior technology is still imperfect, cloud or not; technology can’t repair process inefficiencies. Instead, always involve a wide range of stakeholders to assist in discovering cloud-based functionality and process enhancements. This avoids “lifting and shifting” systems just to modify them afterward. Balance in-house solutions and custom functionality against the strategic benefits of a cloud-native and (possibly) more uniform approach. Consider how back-office procedures might be streamlined, such as what cloud means for system interfacing and business continuity planning.
5. Procurement
Choosing the correct vendor(s) will shape your cloud strategy. Vendor due diligence ensures you have the accurate solutions, support, and cost model. Consider the vendor’s resilience and the criticality of transferred processes to ensure the future fits your risk appetite. As more enterprises transition to the cloud, authorities may advocate a multi-cloud strategy.
6. Resources
A shift to the cloud will require project-specific resources (such as project management, cloud architecture, user experience, data architecture, and developer skill sets) and new operational responsibilities post-go-live (e.g., cloud security and network specialists). Redeploy manpower from retired systems to satisfy resource requirements while onboarding new staff and third-party support.
7. Benefit-Cost Analysis
Scalability, flexibility, reduced complexity, and cost smoothing are well-known cloud benefits. For example, the business may experience short-term disruption depending on the kind and extent of the cloud implementation (from SaaS to complete platform and infrastructure outsourcing). Understanding short-term impacts (e.g., data transformation and migration) and long-term opportunities (e.g., reduced infrastructure maintenance) will help present a complete business case. Modeling savings and projected expenses might be difficult if current IT cost data is not granular.
8. Cloud Security
The cloud increases the organization’s digital perimeter and may increase the network’s attack surface. Network, data, and cybersecurity controls should be deployed in the cloud before and after migration. Regulatory and third-party data privacy standards must be considered, especially for international data. Establishing mature data governance processes and cloud-optimized data leakage measures are crucial to a secure deployment.
9. Cloud Governance
The IT governance architecture must change to guarantee cloud apps, data, security, and controls are accountable and owned. IT risk and maintain cloud environment controls (e.g., license management and capacity monitoring).
10. Operationalize
Training and awareness exercises should start quickly to help implement new methods. Cultural shifts (such as adopting agile project management) shouldn’t be disregarded. For example, consider recent audits, regulatory (e.g., cross-border data exchange), and customer due diligence needs. Finally, backup, disaster recovery, change, service, and vendor relationship management policies and procedures should be reviewed and updated.
