tional initiative effectively. The key here is to not take
on too much too soon. We recommend a minimal viable cloud (MVC) approach. The MVC strategy targets
a small set of workloads and allows an enterprise to
iterate through building in the necessary security,
controls and operations. This allows the company to
quickly deploy services to the cloud that create business value, without having to spend many months or
years trying to stand up the perfect cloud. With each
new MVC, the customer bolts on additional functionality and over time builds a robust, world-class cloud.
Another project killer is the inability to run a true
agile project. Many companies run what I call “wagile” efforts: waterfall projects with daily standups.
Instead of iterating through sprints and acting on
feedback loops, these project teams fall into the
sequential path of doom, where they first document
all of the potential requirements, go dark on the business while performing months of design, start constructing the cloud and then fall down when it comes
time to deploy and run their cloud services.
Successful cloud implementations require a fail-fast
approach. A true agile approach is required. Teams
should iterate through small sprints to learn and
adjust along the way. How can anyone gather all of the
requirements up front without first experimenting in
the cloud?
Unrealistic Expectations
Many enterprises go into their cloud journey with
unrealistic expectations. I can’t count how many
companies I have come across who jump into the
cloud with hybrid cloud aspirations. They start by
performing huge evaluations on hybrid cloud solutions, cloud management platforms (CMP) and other
advanced technologies, yet they have no clue on how
to build a single application on the cloud.
Why not focus on getting good at one cloud endpoint
before trying to implement multi-cloud? It will take
2-3 years minimum to become cloud competent on
one cloud vendor. Start there and worry about hybrid
later. Focus first on a goal that is obtainable. Build
cloud competency internally before venturing into
the complex world of hybrid cloud.
Recommendations
Too often, companies try to build the perfect cloud
and spend months to years spending tons of money
with little or nothing to show for it. Meanwhile, they
are still paying for all the infrastructure in the data
center. Your cloud ROI is only as good as your ability
to execute on your cloud strategy.
We recommend you take a minimal viable cloud
approach to get to the cloud quickly, one workload at
a time. The MVC approach focuses on smaller, manageable projects that show business value sooner,
while allowing staff to learn and improve their cloud
skills along the way.
There are many workload types that are good candidates for the cloud. Web applications, big data and
analytics, third party applications, productivity tools
and high performance computing are just a small
subset of workload categories that are great candidates to migrate to the cloud. Building the perfect
cloud to accommodate all these workload types at
once is a recipe for failure. A better approach is to
perform an application assessment to prioritize the
workloads, using a combination of factors such as
complexity, speed to market and business value.
Once the application portfolio roadmap is in place, a
series of MVCs should be scheduled that focus on
adding the appropriate level of security, automation
and operations in place, to transition those workloads off the current data center and into the cloud.
Remember, the sooner the applications can be shut
down in the data center, the better the overall ROI
should be.
Summary
Cloud computing offers a huge opportunity to provide substantial returns if your strategy is well executed. If the cloud strategy takes too long or the
deliverables are suboptimal, the original ROI projections will not be achieved. If you are betting your
career on the ROI that you pitched in front of the CEO
and the board, you would be well-advised to address
the ROI killers and take an MVC approach to delivering cloud services for your company.
FALL 2016 | THE DOPPLER | 7