A key mistake many organisations make in their cloud adoption journeys is assuming that a move to cloud impacts just an application or the IT department. In reality, cloud journeys impact every area of the business, so the cloud migration process has to be planned strategically and must involve every stakeholder in the organisation.
This is according to Naseem Ahmed, cloud enablement practice lead at Synthesis Software Technologies, who was speaking ahead of a roundtable on cloud adoption.
“Most of the problems encountered within an organisation when they try to migrate or scale in the cloud are due to the fact that their journey was not built on a strategic foundation. Many organisations don’t realise that going to the cloud is not just about moving an application to the cloud – it’s about moving the entire business to the cloud.”
Ahmed notes that Synthesis Software Technologies runs strategic planning workshops for customers who are beginning their move to the cloud. The company’s consultants often find that organisations have not properly considered some of the potential impacts of this move.
“For example, cloud changes procurement processes,” he says. “Where traditionally, you might have required a six-month procurement and approval process to acquire a new on-premise server, the cloud makes it possible to acquire one in five minutes, skipping all the checks and balances. Bill shock in the cloud is a very real challenge, so organisations need to plan how they will manage this environment in which you’re putting IT spend into the hands of everyone in the business.”
Another area organisations may overlook when planning their cloud journey is the role of people in the process, he says.
“The technology is the easy part – it’s the people that are the problem. Organisations need proper change management because everything about how the business functions changes when it moves to the cloud.”
Bill shock in the cloud is a very real challenge... you’re putting IT spend into the hands of everyone in the business.”
Naseem Ahmed, Synthesis.
For example, Ahmed says, if internal communications is poor and reskilling programmes are not in place, staff whose jobs will become redundant will actively try to prevent the move to the cloud. “Your entire staff, from finance to IT and to project managers, must be reskilled. This is not a process that can be completed in a year – organisations must be methodical about how they integrate people, processes and procedures and move the entire business forward.”
Ahmed says this is why Synthesis helps organisations take a holistic approach to cloud migration, supporting strategic planning, training, development, migration, cost management and running of the cloud environment. Because the company is an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner with numerous AWS competencies and designations, it is also able to help organisations benefit from exclusive AWS special offerings and discounts.
Synthesis and AWS in partnership with ITWeb, will host a roundtable entitled Cloud adoption made easy on 30 June. This practical online session will outline the most common problems in migrating, scaling and integrating in the cloud, and how to overcome them.
For more information, go to https://www.itweb.co.za/webinar/synthesis-cloud-adoption-made-easy/
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