Gartner has created a guide to 10 mistakes to avoid in a cloud strategy which, in the consultant's opinion, must contain an objective view of the role that the company wants to see cloud computing play in its organization and which must be designed together by IT and the business.
"A good cloud strategy should be a short, usable document of 10 to 20 pages or slides”, argues Marco Meinardi, vice president and analyst at Gartner.
In the same document in which he lists these 10 mistakes to avoid, the person responsible adds that “Furthermore, the enterprise strategy must drive the cloud strategy and provide guidance to those who will implement it”. Furthermore, “coexist with other strategic efforts and not try to remake them".
No Lessfios Office Today, we show the 10 mistakes to avoid in a cloud strategy for Gartner.
Assuming that cloud strategy is a (only) technological topic
The consultant emphasizes that defining a cloud strategy must be a shared responsibility between those responsible for the business and the technology area of the company, because this is a topic that goes far beyond technology and affects the entire organization. Outside the IT department, there are skills and knowledge critical to the success of a cloud strategy, argues Gartner and, as such, the big mistake to avoid in this matter is to define a strategy centered on technology and then try to sell it to the rest of the company .
Not having a plan B
"It's difficult to devise an exit strategy for cloud providers, which is one of the reasons many leaders don't create one.”, admits Gartner. Many companies even believe that they will not be missed, because they have no plans to abandon the cloud. The consultant says that, even so, it is prudent to have a plan B and know what to do if it is no longer possible or advantageous to use current services. “It's like having an insurance policy in your drawer that you hope you never need to use.".
Combining or confusing a cloud strategy with a cloud implementation plan
Strategic plan and implementation plan are two different things. The strategy must come first and be the moment when business and IT department leaders define what role the cloud will play in their organization. Implementation is the next step, which puts the strategy into practice.
Believing that it is already too late to define a cloud strategy
It's never too late and skipping this step could have disastrous consequences, warns Gartner. “If companies advance to the cloud without a strategy, they will face resistance from people who are not aligned with strategic principles and objectives” of change. This will be a threat to the pace and success of the project.
Approach cloud strategy as a total move to the cloud
The companies that look at the topic with this vision find it an inhibitor of change, as they consider that it implies a transformation that extends to all their business processes. This is not necessarily so and this is precisely an important point in the approach to the cloud: understanding what makes and what does not make sense to migrate to the cloud, highlights Gartner.
Confusing cloud strategy and data center strategy
Many companies put “all in the same bag" when "must keep them separate although aligned with each other”, because this will affect the role that the cloud will take on in the organization. Cloud strategy decisions have to do with workloads, different from decisions inherent to managing a data center.
Seeing a higher order to invest in the cloud as THE strategy
Many companies decide to invest in the cloud because the CEO or CIO is a fan of the model, says the consultant, and there is an opportunity to save costs. This superior indication ends up taking the place of strategy, which should precede investment decisions. This strategy, which has also been mentioned, must align with business priorities and make it clear to all stakeholders which workloads should be migrated to the cloud and why.
Believing that buying solutions from the supplier means having a cloud strategy
The cloud will increasingly enter the daily lives of organizations and in the most diverse areas of business and as such it is essential to know the market and its proposals, recommends Gartner. Any company will end up having to deal with different solutions and different suppliers, but also with different environments, cloud and non-cloud, and must be prepared for this.
Outsource the development of the company's cloud strategy
"Outsourcing the definition of a cloud strategy may seem attractive, but it shouldn't be an option – it's too important to do in outsourcing”, argues Gartner. External collaboration should be left until implementation.
Believing that saying “we have a cloud first strategy” defines the company’s entire cloud strategy
A cloud first approach means that when an investment decision is made, the cloud will be the first option to consider, which does not mean that it will have to be the only one. Those responsible for technology and business must keep the possibility of exceptions open and analyze each decision on a case-by-case basis and in line with the defined strategic objectives.
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