Cloud transformation is one of the hottest trends influencing IT decision makers over the past several years. The media will have you believe, if you're not fully embracing cloud, you're doomed to fail. That is simply not true. Cloud provides some exceptional business value, but organizations and CIO's need to be aware of the potential pitfalls cloud can bring.
Cloud is certainly not a "One size fits all" solution, and organizations should take the time to understand what business solutions best fit into a cloud strategy versus which services should stay within your data center. Gartner, in their 2019 report, 6 Steps for Planning a Cloud Strategy" notes that a “Cloud first” strategy does not mean “cloud always.”
"For some organizations, the long-term goal may be to move all applications out of their data centers. For others, cloud-first may mean moving a subset of applications to the public cloud. 'Regardless of the approach, it is important to prioritize investments to advance the organization’s use of cloud services.'"
Implement a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) structure to define the operating standards for your cloud environment. Flexera’s, 2021 State of the Cloud Report, notes that
"As organizations adopt cloud-first strategies, many are creating a central cloud team or a cloud center of excellence (CCoE) tasked with providing centralized controls, tools and best practices. The purpose of these teams is to accelerate cloud adoption by centralizing expertise while reducing costs and risk."
The primary cloud providers available in the market today are Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud, and due to differences in market focus and adoption, they all have varying levels of maturity and customer success. Computer World's 2020 article, AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud: What's the best cloud platform for enterprise, highlights the key differences between the three providers as well as alternative options including hybrid and multi-cloud.
CTM Technology Group will partner with your organization to navigate the many available options to identify the right cloud provider for your organization.
If you're having difficulty in developing a cloud strategy, we are ready to help. Contact us for more information on our Cloud Transformation Services.
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