Cloud transformation is a term used to describe moving an enterprise from a traditional IT environment to a cloud-based one.
It is the evolution of your business from a traditional IT model to a new way of thinking about IT. This can include moving to cloud-based applications and services, or it can be about creating new business models that move away from traditional software licensing models.
Cloud transformation can involve a single application or multiple applications, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), human resources (HR), and other functions.
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The Difference Between Cloud Transformation and Cloud Migration
Cloud transformation is a much more complex process than simple cloud migration. It is also far more critical for businesses to consider when making their cloud strategy.
Cloud transformation encompasses all aspects of the business, from strategy to operations. It requires a complete understanding of what your business needs from its IT infrastructure, from a technical perspective, and an operational one.
Cloud migration is simply moving workloads from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud. It doesn’t consider how the new cloud environment will be used or what changes will be made for it to be used effectively.
Benefits of Cloud Transformation
The benefits of cloud transformation include the following:
Improved security
Cloud computing is inherently more secure than traditional software because it’s located off-site in data centers rather than on individual machines. With cloud services like Office 365 and G Suite for Education, you don’t have to worry about keeping up with patches or antivirus software. Instead, you can rely on Microsoft or Google’s experts to protect your data from hackers.
Lower costs
Cloud services are more affordable than ever, thanks to economies of scale and the ability to pay only for what you need at any time. So, for example, if you only need 10 gigabytes (GB) of storage space right now but plan on using 100 GB in six months, you can start with just 10 GB and upgrade later when needed without having to pay for 100 GB all at once upfront. This makes it easier for small businesses with limited budgets to start with cloud computing without breaking the bank upfront.
Scalability
The ability to scale up or down as needed gives companies more flexibility than ever when it comes to hiring staff, expanding or downsizing their operations as needed without having to invest in costly infrastructure that might not be used regularly. This also means that businesses can handle traffic spikes without worrying about spending thousands of dollars on equipment they won’t need again until next year’s holiday season rolls around!
Cost savings
Cloud computing offers significant cost savings over traditional IT solutions. The biggest savings come from reduced hardware costs — you don’t have to buy or maintain any servers or other equipment. You also don’t have to hire and train staff to manage these systems and networks. That means you can focus on running your business instead of maintaining technology infrastructure.
How to Develop a Cloud Transformation Strategy
Cloud transformation is a journey; there are many steps to get you there. But how do you know where to start? Here’s how to develop a cloud transformation strategy to help your business transform its infrastructure into the cloud.
Step 1: Conduct a Benchmarking Exercise
The first step is to conduct a benchmarking exercise to identify your strengths and weaknesses against competitors and best practices. This will give you an understanding of where you currently stand and what areas need improvement. For example, if your company does not have an ITIL-compliant service catalog or a clearly defined scope of services, this is an area where you can improve before moving forward with the transformation.
Step 2: Integrate IT and Business Goals and Strategies
Before you begin building out your cloud strategy, it’s crucial to ensure that IT and business leaders have established goals and strategies for your organization. These goals should align with each other — if they don’t, it will be challenging to progress toward them. Developing these goals together allows both teams to understand what is most important for each side of the equation, which makes it easier for them to prioritize the workload and tasks associated with cloud transformation efforts.
Step 3: Choose the Right Cloud Hosting Platform
You can’t just go out and pick any hosting platform. It needs to meet all of your business needs. For example, if your company depends on video streaming, you’ll want a host that supports live streaming, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS).
If you’re considering one of the other popular platforms like Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure, it’s essential to take their integration capabilities into account as well. Consider how well these platforms integrate with other tools within your organization — for example, how easy is it for employees to access them from their mobile devices?
When looking for a cloud provider, make sure that it offers all the services you need and integrates seamlessly with all your existing systems.
Step 4: Establish Analytics for Monitoring and Optimization
The fourth step in developing your cloud transformation plan is establishing monitoring and optimization analytics. This can be done in two ways: firstly, by using software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools like New Relic, Google Analytics, or MixPanel, or by using an on-premises solution like Splunk or Tableau.
The goal here is to identify bottlenecks in performance, anomalies in usage patterns, security breaches, and other potential problems before they become serious.
Step 5: Leverage a Data Governance Solution
Data governance is an essential component of any cloud transformation strategy. It’s key to ensuring that your organization gets the most value from its data and that everyone uses it correctly. It also helps you ensure that your data is secure and compliant with regulations like GDPR.
Step 6: Cloud security and compliance
Cloud security and compliance are essential considerations that shouldn’t be overlooked.
When you move to the cloud, your data is stored on someone else’s servers. This means that you are responsible for your data and the data of all your customers and employees. If someone were to gain access to that data, it could be disastrous for your business.
Conclusion
The typical benefits of transitioning to the cloud are cost savings, flexibility, and the ability to focus on data and IT strategy instead of infrastructure. The cloud is a powerful tool for transformation. It allows you to focus on your business goals instead of worrying about the underlying infrastructure that supports them. The transition will not be easy, and many steps are involved, but the benefits are worth it.
