For a decade, outsourcing was the only option in the cloud computing world, but in the last few years, things have improved.
Now it’s not just hosting an office or arranging backup of office data anymore, it’s about providing complete private network infrastructure capable of managing services on a utility basis.
It’s simple, take what you need, when you need it, and pay for only what you use.
Therefore, the company that succeeded in the market is doing these three things very well:
- Anticipate where the market is going
- Make a full proof plan
- Execute the plan
Now here we will discuss a few pointers that you can implement in your business to improve your organization’s agility, competitiveness, and profitability even when you are a non-technical leader.
It can happen by helping you to understand the benefits and risks of the cloud, prepare a plan that suits your business, and execute it.
#1 Change Your Thinking About Cloud
The main problem is that small and mid-sized businesses keep their distance to grab the advantage of the cloud coming from the big or top businesses: presidents, CEOs, or business owners. Business leaders are delegating IT-related decisions to the IT team. The problem is that the decision to adopt a cloud strategy is the business strategy, not the technical strategy.
Therefore, the first step you have to develop a cloud strategy is to change the way you think about cloud technology.
#2 Learn the Benefits of the Cloud for Your Organization
If your team and you have decided to adopt a cloud strategy then before implementing it learn about its benefits. There are many benefits of cloud strategy. For instance: invest more in cloud strategy, Increase your competitiveness and margins, Improve IT security, and many more. This can be done by setting your IT team free so they can reach out to your business goals by reducing duplication of data, and increasing team productivity, and others.
In return, you will get the hands of the operational service and provide the back-end infrastructure which also includes the data centers.
#3 Mark and Rank Your Goals
Next, you need to figure out the objective of the organization and determine which process, technology, and system are currently used by the organization to achieve it. Now, you need to collect information about your organizational goals, unmet needs, who are your stakeholders, and the main drivers for adopting the cloud.
Then the representatives of affected business units brainstorm and document the objectives. When you have done this, have each member rank the goals and justify their ranking in the silent voting process.
#4 Select the Right Cloud Deployment Model
Now, the next step in building a cloud strategy is to determine how you want to deploy the cloud strategy and which cloud strategy is good for your organization. The best way to select the right cloud model is to determine where your data and systems will live.
The cloud models are still evolving, but organizations will have scalable access to the public, flexible, private, or even hybrid clouds.
#5 Move Selected Services to the Cloud
By now, you must have analyzed the technology and the processes that are used in the organization and why. And, also you know which ones are the most critical for your organization. Evaluate the benefits of shifting these services to the cloud. To determine which service you should migrate, use quantitative and qualitative criteria for instance; improved operational efficiency, potential cost savings, and staff resourcing.
This will help you evaluate if the effort and risk of moving your data and services are worth it or not.
It’s Your Turn Now
You have learned what are the benefits of the cloud, its potential risks, an understanding of different used technologies, and the steps you and your team need to take to create a cloud strategy.
Now you have the tips on what it takes to start developing your cloud strategy.
If you found these helpful tips valuable then please leave a comment below or share it with your team or network.
