Planning for Cloud Integration: Pitfalls and Advantages - Deploying and Managing a Cloud Infrastructure - page 393

Do automate infrastructure; buy instead of reinventing the wheel. When a company
embarks toward a journey of cloud-based operations, it should focus on automating its
infrastructure. Automation saves time, effort, and costs. Another very important thing is to
set aside any ideas of reinventing the wheel. If standard solutions or products are available
off the shelf (whether paid or open source), then it is much more advisable to use those
instead of spending time and money on making something customized.
Do solve business problems. Addressing business demands and solving related problems
trumps the traditional motto of achieving greater efficiency, higher utilization, agility, and
flexibility During the earlier stages of transitioning toward a cloud-based model, the focus
should be entirely on business demands.
Improving efficiency, utilization, and so on, should be secondary concerns and must be
addressed only when a transition to the cloud has been fortified to some extent. However,
it is not recommended at all to ignore these things. Instead, the key is to focus on transi-
tion and only when it looks promising, start including other important issues as well.
Do retool, retrain, restaff. Because the transition is a change, organizations will need to
arm themselves with new resources, including new tools and products for their business.
They will need to retrain their staff for future cloud operations and probably even restaff
to acquiring new human resources for task relevance.
Do be inclusive. Include all the appropriate stakeholders early in policy making and culture
evolution. Also, include stakeholders often for major or critical decision-making routines.
Do be realistic. Even though all the bases might be covered, there might be delays and
lower-than-expected outcomes. A good management team evaluates and reevaluates its
expected outcomes against a realistic frame of reference. This avoids not only unnecessary
expenditures and unfocused and uncompounded efforts but also a hierarchical chain of dis-
appointment. Moreover, it maximizes the chances of success as a sequence of small steps
rather than large leaps in a short time.
Don't jump in before certain level of readiness. Readiness is important before taking
the next step. This requires a certain level of refinement in an organization's procedures
and tools and how it goes about its daily processes.
Don't forget people, policies, and processes. It is not certain that a cloud migration
will definitely succeed for an organization if it has a sound technical platform. What
the organization offers might not be ready for the cloud. This is where people (employ-
ees), organizational policies, and business processes become relevant. They should be
considered before the organization leaps onto any major endeavors.
Don't be impatient. Once an organization nears the completion of the transition, it
should allow time for people and processes to have an effect and become mature. It is
easy to mistake process immaturity for failure.