5 Reasons Why Top Consulting Firms Fail at Multi-Cloud – And How to Fix It

Tech and cloud computing pain points are all-too-common problems for most companies, and major players in the consulting realm aren’t immune.

These organizations — those expected to be the experts of the industries they serve —  also struggle to keep up with the pace of change, largely due to an absence of cloud-specific competence and understanding when it comes to multi-cloud solutions.

The result?

Many firms don’t have a clear strategy for tackling cloud computing challenges and often face costly mistakes or missteps in their cloud adoption and migration efforts, leading to increased costs, decreased efficiency, and the potential significant loss of revenue. 

In this blog, we’ll explore five tech and cloud pain points consulting organizations experience and how to address them, plus the benefits of total cloud immersion (above and beyond cloud adoption).

Pain point #1: Lack of technical expertise

Many firms are missing the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively use and maintain emerging technology, which can lead to costly mistakes and major cloud overspend.

Plus, it can be difficult to find or retain cloud practitioners with the right skills and experience because the technology landscape is in a constant state of flux and marketplace competition is fierce.

How to fix it

To effectively address the issue, leaders need to find ways to develop and implement efficient strategies that leverage the latest technology across multiple cloud platforms.

But because many teams don’t already possess satisfactory in-house knowledge to make the most out of that investment, it’s also vital to prioritize ongoing training on multi-cloud solutions and other digital transformation initiatives. Keeping employees (and in this case, the experts) current on training ensures they have the skills they need to tackle complex cloud projects while staying ahead of disruption trends within their industries.

Pain point #2: Cost of tech solutions

Thanks to the notoriously ever-evolving tech landscape, tech leaders are often blindsided by increasing costs associated with the need to upgrade or adopt cloud systems.

And some leaders are guilty of overestimating savings they’ll achieve in time while underestimating the intricacy and amount of work required for successful cloud initiatives, leading to — you guessed it! — even more overspend on unnecessary tools and services that ultimately provide disappointing returns on investment.

How to fix it

Before starting any new initiatives, assign costs to specific cost centers to stay within budget. Assess cloud infrastructure to determine which areas need to be optimized in order to reduce costs, then measure value and performance on an ongoing basis to figure out which solutions are paying off. Also consider renegotiating vendor agreements well in advance of contract expiry to ensure spend doesn’t exceed current market value.

Pain point #3: Complexity of cloud migration

While the cloud offers a multitude of benefits, like improved scalability, flexibility, and cost savings, the process of migrating data to the cloud is complex and time-consuming. Around nine out of ten CIOs have experienced unsuccessful cloud migration initiatives and cited complexity as a key reason for failure.

How to fix it

But with the right pre-migration strategy, organizations can break down IT functions into digestible, manageable tasks. For a strategy to work as planned, though, leaders should prioritize getting the right resources and skills in place — whether that means reskilling existing employees or sourcing a great candidate externally.

Pain point #4: Cloud sprawl

Cloud sprawl, which happens when organizations don’t have centralized visibility into and control of cloud infrastructure components, is a frequently cited barrier to progress for high-powered teams. According to a study from IDC, it impacts over 90% of enterprises — making it a huge hurdle for IT leadership.

It’s problematic for a couple of big reasons: it’s a financial black hole, and it can lead to cybersecurity risks.

How to fix it

Prevent or fix cloud sprawl by conducting a thorough IT function audit with support from senior leadership, ideally before a scheduled migration, to better understand in-place roles and business processes. Identify and document any in-motion initiatives, as well as their stakeholders and any related spend. Bonus: This step will help prevent analysis paralysis during later migration stages.

Pain point #5: Security

In a study of 800 companies conducted by Accenture, 41% cited security and compliance risks as top points of contention.

Security is — and should be — a concern for any company when it comes to cloud solutions; because data isn’t stored on premises, it’s even more important to be confident that the cloud infrastructure is secure and any data is protected from unauthorized access.

How to fix it

Investing in cyber defense is the obvious remedy. But thanks to the cybersecurity talent gap, even finding the personnel resources to invest in can prove to be yet another obstacle. Tech leadership should consider non-traditional hires to find highly trainable, similarly skilled workers — even if they don’t hold a preferred degree.

A final look

Leading consulting firms are held to an even greater standard than the typical tech business. Their clients pay beaucoups bucks for their expertise, so the consequences of underperformance are high.

To keep ahead of the competition and maintain high levels of trust, these consultancies should embrace change and invest in training staff on emerging technologies and multi-cloud solutions — or risk losing or missing out on millions of dollars in revenue.