Cloud Strategy Approaches

In our previous blog we discussed cloud strategy development and today our goal is to explain the different approaches to cloud strategy adoption. Once an enterprise cloud strategy is adopted, the implementation of those strategies requires transformation in the IT organization. Some common approaches and stages to developing an enterprise-wide cloud strategy include: 

Cloud aware
Enterprise users and IT staff are aware of broad cloud trends but are not yet prepared to adopt public-cloud solutions. These institutions may choose to build on-premises solutions in a way that prepares them for an eventual move to the cloud. 

Cloud experimentation
The IT organization begins to learn about the various cloud services available to them in the forms of SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. The organization may begin deploying some common SaaS solutions (such as Office 365), which sometimes grows into testing IaaS deployments.

Opportunistic cloud
The IT organization begins to actively seek out cloud solutions that meet new business requirements. Services may remain as traditional on-premises deployments, but cloud solutions are considered and deployed when reliability, scalability, or other benefits are perceived. 

Cloud first
This strategy places cloud at the top of the decision-making chain. The default assumption within the enterprise is that cloud services will fulfill the majority of the enterprise computing needs. 

In order to evolve into the role of cloud enabler, MITCON's focus is to carefully consider the value we bring with each individual organization's cloud service adoption and ensure we have the correct approach to serve our members. ​