Cloud Migration Series (Step 5 of 5): Manage & Iterate

This is part 5 of a 5-part series on best practices for enterprise cloud migration. Released weekly from the end of April to the end of May 2021, each article has covered a new phase of a business’s transition to the cloud, what to be on the lookout for, and how to ensure the journey is a success.

Check out the rest of the series here:

• Part 1 – Define Your Strategy
• Part 2 – Start Planning
• Part 3 – Assess Readiness
• Part 4 – Adopt a Cloud-First Mindset

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Get tactical

At this point in your journey, the goals are clearly defined, the business is operating on cloud infrastructure, and the organization is bought in across the board. That doesn’t mean your work is done. Now is the time to constantly examine your original KPIs, measure performance, and make the move toward continuous improvement.

Look for opportunities for additional cost savings and optimizations. Your goals may have changed a bit since your journey began, but they should generally be the same. Tap into department heads to better understand how your company’s shift to the cloud has saved time and money for specific business capabilities. Then, report those positive results to prove ROI to leadership and discuss how to continually optimize them.

Adjust accordingly

Modern enterprises — especially those with cloud infrastructures — move fast. While the KPIs you originally set up should still be relevant, now is the time to reexamine and get more granular. Think about other ways you can leverage the cloud and grow the business, and still prove ROI.

Focus on key metrics, i.e., latency, network availability, and overhead costs. These areas of focus affect both the customer experience and the commercial performance of the business, meaning they appeal to all stakeholders. Keeping a finger on the pulse of your cloud configuration is essential for ongoing cloud management and iteration.

Provide ongoing education

Companies are moving fast because the technologies that power them are moving faster. That’s what makes managing a tech team so difficult. If left alone, there is simply no way individuals can keep pace with every new software update, product release, or programming language — especially if they are working a full-time job.

Invest in continuous, always up-to-date upskilling. The best way to recognize new ways to create value on your cloud transformation journey is to empower those who work on and with your systems every day. Leverage an enterprise training platform that is built for the modern digital age. Keeping everyone in the know and speaking the same language will mobilize your workforce to thrive in a world of continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD).

Ready, Set…Cloud!

If you’d like an abridged version of what this blog series has covered in-depth, this guide is a great start. We share some best practices and insights gained from our experience helping many organizations on their journey to cloud success.