Seven Steps to Succeed with a Cloud Strategy

Transcription

1 Seven Steps to Succeed with a Cloud Strategy An Executive Brief Sponsored by October 2017 Lynda Stadtmueller Vice President Cloud Services Stratecast Frost & Sullivan

2 Seven Steps to Succeed with a Cloud Strategy Sponsored by TCS FOREWORD We are fortunate to live during a time when innovation is endless due to technology. It happens so frequently that I rely on analyst research to stay current with oncoming trends, such as cloud adoption. When Frost & Sullivan started collecting data on cloud adoption seven years ago, companies were hesitant, less informed and had a completely different idea of what the cloud meant. Year after year, Frost & Sullivan s data has shown the evolution of the business and technology manager mindset over time, they ve embraced the brave new world of cloud technology. Working with Fortune 500 companies that partner with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), I have experienced firsthand how cloud adoption has progressed from experimenting with specific applications to pushing the boundaries with enterprise-wide adoption. With the growth of digital transformation and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and IoT, organizations see the cloud as strategic to reinventing their business models by providing better customer experiences and gaining visibility across the supply chain. Now, organizations are reframing the question from should we migrate to the cloud? to what is the best use of cloud for my organization? Defining a cloud strategy is important to leveraging the full power of the cloud. Organizations that seem to get this right follow two universal rules: 1) define and adhere to your cloud strategy; and 2) plan for pitfalls that may impact success, and devise ways to avoid them. Given that this topic is not discussed enough (in my opinion), Lynda Stadtmueller s observations on the hurdles to implementing a cloud strategy, and her recommendations to address these, will help you plan, prepare for, and execute your next cloud move successfully. Akhilesh Tiwari Global Head, Enterprise Application Services, TCS 2

3 Stratecast Frost & Sullivan SEVEN STEPS TO SUCCEED WITH A CLOUD STRATEGY As businesses transform to compete in the digital era, the cloud provides a foundation for the implementation of new technologies and business models. However, many enterprise IT leaders are discovering that it is easier to deploy a cloud application than to implement a cloud strategy. Don t jeopardize your business on an unsound cloud implementation. Here are seven tips to help ensure that your cloud initiative goes smoothly. 1. Do your due-diligence. Reliance on cloud is growing. Seventy-five percent of large enterprises see cloud as important to supporting strategic business goals; up from 42% just two years ago. Yet, the ease of procurement and lack of term or volume commitments lead many businesses to short-cut normally rigorous procedures for technology purchases. As more workloads are moved to the cloud, a casual approach can result in escalating costs, security risks, and app performance challenges. Recommendation: Build a roadmap for your cloud journey that establishes characteristics for cloud-suitable workloads, as well as a timeline for assessing and migrating legacy workloads. For each new and legacy workload under consideration, implement formal processes to assess the optimal cloud service and provider. 2. Continue to manage cloud workloads. With traditional technology purchases, once the decision is made, it is not revisited for several years, until the contract expires or hardware requires upgrades. Not so with cloud. Dynamic workloads, changing business needs, and new service offerings mean that you need to continually monitor and reassess your cloud deployments to achieve business goals. This is especially important as businesses, including 35% of large enterprises, become more open to placing sensitive and critical workloads in the cloud. Ongoing management can help contain cloud budgets and maintain application performance. Recommendation: Implement processes to regularly assess cloud workloads for optimal deployment. Collaborate with Line of Business (LoB) colleagues to determine how to define optimal for each workload, based on its function and business priorities. In a hybrid cloud, the optimal choice may be to split workloads across multiple deployment options. Sixteen percent of large businesses say they split their ERP workloads across environments; 25% split their CRM workloads; and 22% split their HR workloads. 3. Focus on business value rather than costs. Stratecast Cloud User Survey To gauge the changing perceptions and behaviors regarding cloud services, Frost & Sullivan conducted its seventh annual Cloud User Survey of U.S. based IT decision makers, via Web, in March A total of 410 valid responses were returned, providing a +/ 5% margin of error at a 95% confidence level. In this Stratecast Executive Brief, Frost & Sullivan includes results from large business respondents to the 2017 Cloud User Survey. Cost reduction is the top driver for cloud adoption, as noted by 83% of large enterprises; and the shared cloud model is generally a cost-effective alternative to capital-intensive deployments in the company data center. But this is not always true: some steady-state apps may be less expensive to run on premises. And the pace of new, business-enhancing technologies and data growth mean that you can expect your budget will continue to increase. 3

4 Seven Steps to Succeed with a Cloud Strategy Sponsored by TCS Recommendation: Gain support for your cloud strategy by educating key stakeholders, from the C- suite to LoB managers, on its strategic business value. Implement cloud management tools that allow stakeholders to track costs and usage for particular workloads. Seventy-seven percent of large businesses cite visibility into costs as a top criterion in selecting a hybrid cloud management platform. 4. Don t ignore your legacy workloads. Thirty-nine percent of large enterprises have adopted a cloud first policy, in which new applications are deployed in the cloud, while legacy systems languish in the premises data center. The problem with this bimodal approach is that some of your most critical and complex business systems for example, ERP are likely to fall into the legacy camp. Doing a rip and replace on such systems poses too great a risk of disruption for many businesses, and so the business leaves them alone, foregoing the benefits of cloud delivery. Recommendation: You don t have to choose between your trusted systems and the cloud. Interest in managed cloud application services is growing, with 35% of large enterprises currently using managed cloud services, and 38% planning to implement them in the next 2 years. A managed services partner can help you modernize your legacy workloads without disrupting the business. Work with a services provider to integrate new cloud-based technologies with legacy workloads. 5. Assist IT technicians to become more collaborative and innovative. For many IT leaders, the greatest challenge to implementing a cloud strategy is changing processes and organizational roles. Businesses are increasingly counting on their cloud strategies to drive business transformation. In fact, the percentage of large businesses that expect their cloud implementation to free up staff to focus on innovation has increased from 44% in 2015 to 71% in But expectations don t translate to results. For technicians to collaborate effectively with LoB to uncover new business opportunities, they require new processes, and likely need to build new skills. Recommendation: Sixty-three percent of large enterprises say they are challenged to reorganize their IT departments as they deploy their cloud strategies. Don t wait until your technical implementation is complete to start focusing on the team. Work with your HR organization to help establish new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for team members whose jobs have changed; and offer sufficient communication and training to bring them on board. You may want to turn to the leader of your company s customer care organization to assist in developing a training plan for building service skills to facilitate collaboration. 6. Curtail shadow IT. LoB employees wield growing influence over the technology purchases they need to do their jobs. Thanks to the ease of procuring cloud services (no purchase order required), LoB can sidestep IT processes they perceive as too slow or cumbersome, and implement their preferred cloud applications. However, without IT oversight, this practice can introduce business risks related to security, compliance, and even costs. As a result, IT leaders say their top challenges to implementing their cloud strategies include controlling unauthorized cloud purchases (cited by 34% of large businesses) and meeting LoB expectations (cited by 32%). Recommendation: Enlist LoB leaders to help develop and enforce a simple cloud procurement policy that supports LoB needs while protecting the business. To support LoB choice, consider offering a private marketplace of approved applications. 4

5 Stratecast Frost & Sullivan 7. Enlist an expert partner. You can t blame the C-suite for assuming cloud is easy a decade of enthusiastic industry reports has fostered that impression. But as an IT leader, you know it is extremely challenging to integrate multiple deployment options (premises and multiple clouds); to optimize infrastructure utilization; to leverage new technologies, such as microservices, artificial intelligence, containers; to continually enhance applications with innovative solutions while fending off disruptive competitors and increasing shareholder value. Few organizations have cloud experts on staff, and fewer still can spare resources to take on the transformation initiative while continuing to run the business. Recommendation: Join the 93% of businesses that have engaged a third-party expert to help with some portion of the hybrid cloud implementation (e.g., design, assessment, migration, deployment, ongoing management). You can easily build a business case that cost-justifies the value associated with a non-disruptive, fast deployment and ongoing management delivered by an expert. In the digital future, businesses will need to leverage the latest technologies and best practices to survive. Give your business the greatest chance of success, today and tomorrow, by implementing a strong cloud foundation. Lynda Stadtmueller Vice President Cloud Computing Services Stratecast Frost & Sullivan lstadtmueller@stratecast.com About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 385,000 of the world s best-trained consultants in 46 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of U.S. $17.6 billion for year ended March 31, 2017 and is listed on the BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited. For more information, visit 5

6 Silicon Valley 3211 Scott Blvd Santa Clara CA, Tel: Fax: San Antonio 7550 West Interstate 10, Suite 400 San Antonio, Texas Tel Fax London 4, Grosvenor Gardens, London SWIW ODH,UK Tel 44(0) Fax 44(0) GoFrost ABOUT STRATECAST Stratecast collaborates with our clients to reach smart business decisions in the rapidly evolving and hypercompetitive Information and Communications Technology markets. Leveraging a mix of action-oriented subscription research and customized consulting engagements, Stratecast delivers knowledge and perspective that is only attainable through years of real-world experience in an industry where customers are collaborators; today s partners are tomorrow s competitors; and agility and innovation are essential elements for success. Contact your Stratecast Account Executive to engage our experience to assist you in attaining your growth objectives. ABOUT FROST & SULLIVAN Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today s market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the Global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies? Contact Us: Start the Discussion For information regarding permission, write: Frost & Sullivan 3211 Scott Blvd Santa Clara CA Auckland Dubai Moscow Silicon Valley Bahrain Frankfurt Mumbai Singapore Bangkok Iskander Malaysia/Johor Bahru Oxford Sophia Antipolis Beijing Istanbul Paris Sydney Bengaluru Jakarta Rockville Centre Taipei Buenos Aires Kolkata San Antonio Tel Aviv Cape Town Kuala Lumpur São Paulo Tokyo Chennai London Sarasota Toronto Colombo Manhattan Seoul Warsaw Delhi / NCR Miami Shanghai Washington, DC Detroit Milan Shenzhen