Cloud computing, with its benefits, considerations and even risks, can be a way to transform your business. When considering your cloud strategy, it must aid and advance your business strategy with its mission, values and goals. Read on to learn more about developing a cloud strategy tailored to your business strategy.
Business Strategy Determines Cloud Strategy
Now might be a good time to closely review your business strategy, and what you hope to accomplish in the coming year. Do you plan to have workers continue remote work, for example? Then you might need to extend access to more people, which brings up bandwidth and security concerns. According to an article from Gartner, your cloud strategy “needs to align with and actively support [your] organization’s business strategy, regardless of whether your organization provides consumer services, business services, or other products.” Broad categories of considerations include:
- Risks associated with cloud computing–agility, availability, supply chain, security and compliance. Also, having a clear exit strategy (or even more than one) before committing to any project, can help you reach balanced cloud deployment strategies. Some risks may pertain more to certain industries (security risks may be the most important consideration for healthcare organizations in protecting patient data, for example).
- Route and approach to the cloud. Will your business opt for moving all applications to the cloud, or rehosting some and completely rebuilding others? And what sort of platform is the best fit, whether Software as a Service (SaaS) for rapid access or adoption of cloud infrastructure for building new functions? What will your business do about migrating current and legacy applications?
- Whether your business is aiming for cost savings with the cloud. Cloud, even with its benefits of flexible subscription models, and capacity for speed and innovation may cost more in the short run, especially if taking the rebuilding route to cloud adoption.
- Understanding of shared responsibilities between the customer organization and cloud service provider (CSP).
- How adopting cloud, at whatever level, will change your IT department. New skills and certifications for staff may be needed.
Cloud adoption–even complete digital transformation–brings with it risks and questions that must be balanced with its benefits. For help in reviewing your business strategy and developing your cloud strategy, contact us today.
