A strategic and systematic approach is key for organizations transitioning workloads to the cloud, and such an approach can ease IT complexities in decisions about services, according to a new Info-Tech Research Group publication “Define Your Cloud Vision.”
As cloud offerings are becoming more complex, the group recommends a workload-approach for organizations to reap all of the cloud’s benefits. IT leaders and organizations should hone in on three major areas when considering migrating to the cloud: external and internal motivations for transitioning, the cloud’s value for the organization, and a cloud vision and strategy.
Rather than making the cloud transition based on external pressures or monetary promises, focusing on a strategy is necessary for organizations prior to full cloud adoption. The research group’s findings suggested that many organizations jump to the cloud prematurely, making it “challenging to create an effective cloud transition strategy.”
"The cloud isn't magic; it's not necessarily cheaper, better, or even available for the thing you want it to do," said Jeremy Roberts, research director at Info-Tech Research Group. "It requires a bit of effort and thoughtful decision making to develop a systematic and structured approach to using cloud services."
Obstacles and building blocks
There are several barriers organizations must consider when transitioning workloads to the cloud. For organizations jumping to the cloud prematurely, securing expertise proves remarkably difficult. Almost half (44%) of organizations surveyed report themselves as under-skilled in the cloud management space, according to Info-Tech Research Group.
Organizations who fail to define their cloud vision may end up in a scramble between traditional and cloud workloads — meaning some workloads that belong in the cloud are kept on premises or with hosted services providers, and vice versa. Organizations cannot reap the cloud’s full list of benefits without a defined path, and 30% of all cloud spend is self-reported as waste, according to Info-Tech.
Moreso, many workloads that end up in the cloud don’t belong there or workloads that do belong there are not properly migrated.
Once an organization assesses their cloud compatibility and strategizes a consistent framework, Info-Tech recommends the following strategies for successful cloud migration (see chart).
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