By: Vikas Bhonsle, CEO, Crayon Software Experts India
The one broad objective that is expected from any implementation of technology or solution is that the initiative proves to be successful. This applies to Multicloud and Hybrid cloud solutions too, which have now become the de facto mode of digitalization. Gartner predicted that in 2021 – 90% of enterprises will adopt a Multicloud strategy.
Three factors play an important role for the successful implementation of any Multicloud solution – the right knowledge, strategy and partners in place.
Multicloud: A makeover of culture and discipline
Adding Multicloud solutions mean having different cloud vendors, who will have their own unique processes, billings, systems and solutions. The goals and the concepts of each vendor are the same, but with multiple vendors, you will be addressing different demands, apps and processes. Multicloud offers innovations and opportunities suited to applications and business requirements, but this also requires a very serious level of insight and visibility – not to mention technical expertise.
From the outset, you will require agile cloud experts and an informed management team. If you start buying and consuming cloud services without the proper framework and governance in place, you will only end up spending more time and resources in sorting out the complex cloud entanglements, which might prove to be a very costly affair.
A Multicloud Center of Excellence (CCoE)
One of the best practice methods of ensuring the success of your Multicloud journey is to build an internal Cloud Center of Excellence. This is the name given to a centralized, cross-discipline team that will manage and implement the entire process.
A CCoE team is usually small and consist of experts in different areas of your digital estate, which are mostly the cloud infrastructure, architecture, app development, licensing, security, data analysis. It is very useful to include members from Non-IT functions, especially those from finance, security and operations. Lastly, from the outset, it should have a significant buy-in from the executive team as well.
A CCoE has the ability to take a holistic view of where your business is now and where it wants to go. It will look at the governance, planning, and architecture of your IT system and the critical aspects of using Multicloud services efficiently.
A CCoE promotes organizational change
Before you embark on the process, it is worth contemplating that the switch to a Multicloud environment will entail structural and cultural change. With a Multicloud deployment, purchasing and procurement move out of the finance arena and enter the operations arena. The rapid evolution of services means that old-school CIOs and IT teams are not enough. Your business will be best served by an expert team that consists of cloud architects, engineers, data scientists and security engineers.
An expert adviser can accelerate the change
Building a CCoE can be done by internal resources. However, inviting external resources can expedite the process with respect to required structure and expert knowledge. Choose a partner, who has comprehensive relationships with all the leading hyper-scale vendors and deep experience in helping clients migrate to the cloud.
The best way to begin building a Multicloud center of excellence is by taking the following steps:
- Ensure the goal and strategy are well defined
- Build the team with organizational buy-in and ensure they have the authority to make changes
- Create minimum viable standards and governance
- Get operational teams to use the defined governance by supporting the initiatives and projects
- Keep building culture by delivering training and evangelism
- Use a partner to speed up deliverables & enhance the efficiency
