Cloud Series: Obstacles to Cloud Transformation

An organization may encounter several obstacles and roadblocks as they digitally transform to the cloud. Adoption is not easy, and with new opportunities also come new challenges. Organizations are boarding a fast-moving train that is headed towards a digitalized market. As data sciences and cloud computing continue to rapidly advance, organizations will continue?to find ways to utilize these tools?and maintain a?competitive edge with their customer engagement and innovation. ?

So, when a company is undergoing a migration to the cloud, they should be ready to take on these obstacles: ?

Not having the right talent. ?

When migrating to the cloud, having the right people with the appropriate skills should be?a priority. Failed?delivery of projects and dispositions of applications may occur as a result of an IT gap that has stemmed from members not having the right skill sets. For example, a?person?who can use Azure may not necessarily be familiar with AWS and vice versa. When provisioning a new instance, the concepts are similar, but the execution is different. ?

Furthermore, if the right leadership is not in place to keep heads focused on the bigger goal, then expect delayed delivery of projects. Companies may know where they want to be but are not equipped with the right people to get them there. The talent?aspect may be the hardest part in the adoption to cloud, but with a new mindset an organization can overcome this hurdle - a digital transformation to the cloud is also a talent transformation. ?

Inability to be agile. ?

In a previous installment of our Cloud Series, we briefly discussed how embracing agility can increase an organization's flexibility and scalability. The inability to adopt agile practices in the transformation process can further risk delays in?implementation.?An organization’s culture and practices should shift towards agile in order to foster better experimentation. Having a culture that is not afraid, but rather, safe to try things and fail can only increase cooperative cooperation. Attempting to adopt new technology with old methodologies can prove costly and counterproductive towards the goal of digital transformation to the cloud. ?

For further reading on agile: Cloud Series: Agility in the Cloud Transformation | LinkedIn

Cybersecurity?

Among the most discussed challenges to adoption is cybersecurity. With the migration of applications and data to the cloud, comes the risk of potential security threats. Cyber attackers will aim at new vulnerabilities presented as a result of poor security integration. Therefore, it is important for a company to safeguard their cloud environment as they take the cloud adoption journey. Ensure that responsibilities are defined and understood by those managing the data security. It ties back to having the right talent that understands the CSP's security model as they are more complex than standard on-prem security.

Summary?

The digital transformation to cloud is growing and as more organizations?continue to adopt the new technologies, they must be ready to encounter new challenges. Setting up the right team to execute?projects with new cultural practices can be the first of many obstacles to overcome. There is no single yellow brick road that leads to a successful transformation. As cloud technologies evolve, differentiated approaches to adoption will need to be conducted to cater for an organization's existing IT skills, requirements, and IT environment. With thorough planning, these common challenges to adoption can be avoided. ?