More haste, less speed: this also applies to the digital transformation of companies. Companies are often inclined to want to change as quickly as possible and use technologies and strategies that seem appropriate for this purpose. This is also reflected in cloud adoption. Today, most organizations use some form of cloud services, from on-premise solutions, proprietary applications running in the cloud to third-party applications. Some organizations are more advanced with adoption than others. The fact remains that at some point in the transition, a choice is made about what will be stored in the cloud and how this will be done. Australian Rackspace research conducted by AMR Research1 shows that 97% of CxOs say they would have made other strategic decisions during their first cloud migration, in retrospect.
While every business is unique, cloud concerns appear to be fairly universal. If these concerns are not addressed and the high expectations of the cloud are not met, they can undermine the cloud’s promise to C-level executives. The main headaches are:
- Security and privacy: 70% say they are concerned about security and privacy.
- Engaging a third party: 39% are concerned about shifting control to a third party.
- Performance, cost, and disruption: 33% are concerned about IT performance, costs, finding the right partner, and business disruption.
In addition, the research reveals an overarching problem. C-level executives are dissatisfied with the communication of risks and risk management strategies of cloud migration projects; 71% are concerned about at least one point of the organization’s strategy to address potential risks. And this isn’t the only problem with poor communication. One aspect that is often overlooked during the planning phase, but often proves to be a decisive factor in practice, is culture. Sometimes people have been used to a certain way of working for years, which has to change substantially after a cloud migration. This calls for a cultural shift, which must be a priority for every company that carries out such a project. Only when all employees see added value in working with or in the cloud can full cooperation and satisfaction be expected.
It’s clear that cloud migration involves a lot of aspects, and every choice that is made has an impact on the organization. Just think of the choice of cloud strategy. Do you go all-in for the public cloud, or do you keep some of your workloads and processes on-premise (hybrid cloud strategy)? Or do you opt for a combination of different cloud providers in order to spread potential risks and benefit from the different advantages of different parties (multi-client strategy)? Then there are countless different ways to migrate to the cloud. How do you know in advance what will be the best method for your situation? How can an organization design cloud migration projects to take full advantage of the cloud benefits and avoid setbacks? The answer is simpler than you might expect: with the right research and support. But where do you start? Sometimes the first step on the road to the perfect solution is to admit that you can’t and don’t need to know everything. Then get help from a company with knowledge of the cloud migration process and the various possibilities and options available today. A Managed Service Provider can anticipate the concerns and issues that may arise during the process and help support the overall migration and communication plan. Only then can you take full advantage of the benefits of the cloud.
Want to know more? Download Rackspace’s Cloud Migration Services Data Sheet here.
This is a submission from Lei Lei Woo, Solutions Architect at Rackspace. This link will help you find out more about the company’s capabilities.
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