Building a Cloud-First Strategy to Future-Proof Your Organization

Migrating to the Cloud today is a must for businesses to embrace digitalization, improve collaboration, and provide instant access to their services. The post-pandemic years have also witnessed a significant increase in migration projects. However, Cloud migration is easier said than done. Every successful migration begins with the development of a “cloud-first strategy” that enables organizations to develop and scale applications directly in the Cloud.

We sat down with Ashish Taman, Datametica’s Architect – Professional Services to discuss the challenges and opportunities in developing a cloud-first strategy.

Datametica Marketing Team [DMT]:

 A lot of changes have happened in the industry due to the pandemic. First of all, why do we need a cloud-first strategy?

Ashish Taman:
The most common and prevalent reasons for adopting a cloud-first strategy are cost and value. Being cloud-first enables the organization to enjoy a variety of advantages, such as decreased overheads due to reduced equipment and maintenance costs compared to their existing on-premise servers, cost-effective upgrade options that enable the organization to upgrade when necessary, access to robust software and platforms with a lower initial investment, and fixed costs or fees, and so on.

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But beyond the traditional reasons above, there have been some other tectonic shifts in the industry. The rate of innovation has increased significantly as a result of greater access to powerful products and technologies. Businesses can scale their software more efficiently with the Cloud. The commissioning and decommissioning of servers dynamically based on requirements and load results in cooling periods, which saves enormous amounts of money when the resources are not in use. Another great advantage, and potentially one of the greatest advantages, of migrating to the cloud is the availability of detailed dashboards, which improves organizational visibility.

However, developing an effective cloud-first strategy is complex, and requires careful consideration of the challenges that most organizations face and adhering to best practices to achieve the desired results.

[DMT]:

What are the challenges and what aspects should one consider when devising a cloud-first strategy?

Ashish Taman: When developing a brand-new cloud-based project from scratch, adopting a cloud mindset is relatively easier. However, adopting a cloud-first mindset during migration is significantly more challenging! This is especially true for large organizations with numerous on-premises applications. For instance, due to their continued reliance on legacy security protocols established in pre-cloud environments, security is a major paradigm shift for organizations when developing a cloud-first strategy.

Aligning the organization with the shift to a cloud-first mindset is among the most tricky challenges to overcome. Another challenge is obtaining the approval of stakeholders and convincing employees to adopt changes in business process execution requires considerable persuasion and perseverance. People are resistant to change, and even more so when the change requires a substantial investment, is not adequately explained, or is imposed upon them.

Many other factors such as unanticipated complexities, delays in migration, rigid legacy systems, higher costs of hiring experienced cloud personnel, and so on may result in significant difference between the predicted costs and the actual expenses.

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[DMT]:

So, is there a list of things organizations can do and techniques they can apply to be successful in adopting a cloud-first strategy?

Ashish Taman:
Through our years of experience in helping organizations migrate to the Cloud, we have developed a list of best practices that organizations can (and must) follow to develop a strategy that’s comprehensive and future-proof. The best practices cover the following critical aspects of migration:

Organizations must understand that when shifting to a cloud-first strategy, they must select features with simplicity and security in mind. They should strictly adhere to the requirements thus maximizing cost savings. In addition, it is essential to determine whether the migration is to a cloud-only platform or a hybrid solution, as this will significantly alter the migration strategy.

To ensure the longevity of the solution, the infrastructure must be designed to be cloud-agnostic. A cloud-agnostic strategy enables your organization to easily adapt to new innovations and integrations with other cloud platforms.

Utilizing cloud-native tools of the cloud platform you are migrating to improves cost optimization, performance, and productivity. Multiple proofs of concept (POCs) must be implemented and validated prior to the actual implementation to ensure an accurate understanding of the costs, appropriate approach, and complexities.

Building a good governance policy is equally essential. The frameworks for governance should be adaptable enough to accommodate varying implementation requirements and risk profiles.

Lack of expertise often causes cloud projects to be delayed or canceled, causing expensive failures. An organization that opts for a cloud-first strategy will benefit greatly from developing the competency in-house. With internal competency, the organization better understands cloud operations, has more control and flexibility to adapt to business changes, and most importantly, can implement security best practices easily.

[DMT]:

So, it looks like organizations have a good number of things to consider as they think about becoming a truly cloud-first company. Any final thoughts?

Ashish Taman:
Developing and implementing cloud-first strategy in any organization requires thorough planning and evaluation of the organization’s needs and resources. One must evaluate cloud platforms and services thoroughly and develop a clear migration and maintenance strategy for their applications and data. Cloud-first strategy can drive the organization’s success in the digital age if it is designed and implemented correctly. But there are some serious pitfalls one must avoid!

[DMT]:

Thank you, Ashish!

Ashish Taman: Thank you.

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A cloud-first strategy is focused on enhancing the organizations’ modernization capabilities and allows organizations to achieve their goals, grow their businesses, and prioritize innovation.

Datametica is an experienced migration partner that has helped multiple businesses migrate to the cloud using its state-of-the-art automation product suite, and is well-placed to help you devise and implement your cloud-first strategy. Reach out to our experts to get your hands on the best practices of adopting a cloud-first strategy and learn more about implementing it.