Cloud Onboarding: A New Mindset For Success

Vikas Agarwal is the Director & Head of Database Services of Citizens Financial Group, a leading bank holding company.

As industries worldwide strive to embrace cloud computing, many face challenges related to cost management and operational efficiency. The core issue often lies in the mindset shift required to transition from on-premises to cloud environments.

I've been working on cloud migrations for the past 10 years with multiple large industries. During this time, I've encountered many challenges and struggles related to cloud onboarding. In this article, I discuss the biggest challenges that industries face when deciding to move to the cloud and offer solutions for overcoming these obstacles.

On-Premises Versus Cloud Computing

When operating on-premises, the primary ongoing expense is the electricity bill because the hardware has already been purchased. In contrast, cloud computing involves a different cost structure, where you pay for the resources you use—excluding the electricity bill. This shift necessitates a "running hot" approach, where resources are efficiently utilized at all times to avoid unnecessary costs.

Also, on-premises systems require careful planning for future capacity needs, as acquiring and setting up new hardware takes time. Conversely, cloud resources are readily available, allowing for instant scalability. It’s crucial to leverage this flexibility by using cloud resources effectively, ensuring you only pay for what you need.

Cloud Services: The Benefits And Challenges

The Benefits

Cloud services offer numerous benefits, particularly for organizations without a dedicated support team. By utilizing services provided by cloud vendors, businesses can enhance their infrastructure without the need for extensive in-house expertise. However, understanding these services and their advantages is key to maximizing their potential.

Cloud providers offer a plethora of services like managed databases, machine learning, data analytics and serverless computing, which can significantly reduce the time and effort required to maintain and scale applications. These services typically come with built-in security, compliance and disaster recovery features, providing a robust foundation for businesses to grow on.

The Challenges

When industries transition to the cloud, two of the most significant challenges are understanding different cost models and managing a multi-cloud strategy. Implementing a multi-cloud approach requires a thorough understanding of egress costs and ensuring that, when calculating application costs, all associated expenses are accounted for. Often, the ROI calculations performed by applications in the cloud don't include every relevant cost. As a result, organizations may initially perceive their application costs to be lower, only to later realize that the overall cost to the company exceeds that of maintaining an on-premises data center.

One of the significant drawbacks of transitioning from an on-premises data center to the cloud is the lack of easily accessible proof-of-concept (POC) environments for testing new innovations. In on-premise setups, hardware is typically available without additional costs, which encourages leaders to explore new product POCs without preconceived judgments or predefined feedback. This often leads to the discovery of products that not only save costs but also enhance productivity. In contrast, in the cloud environment, leaders are often hesitant to initiate POCs due to the associated costs. Instead, they tend to rely heavily on feedback from other organizations or leaders before making a decision. However, a product that may not have worked for others could still prove beneficial for your specific needs.

One of the most significant challenges I've consistently encountered during cloud migrations is the lack of awareness regarding upstream and downstream processes. Applications typically focus only on their own components, often failing to consider the broader ecosystem in which they operate. The impact on upstream and downstream processes can be substantial, affecting other systems and potentially disrupting the entire organization.

How To Successfully Migrate To The Cloud

Data center migrations are complex and critical undertakings, where flawless execution is essential for success. Drawing from my experience, here are the key strategies for ensuring a successful cloud migration:

Sign Up For What You Need

Perform thorough due diligence and assess all available cloud products and services. Evaluate your existing technology stack and subscribe only to the resources essential for your migration. Take the time to identify precise requirements, streamline services by eliminating redundancies and plan your migration strategy accordingly.

Migrate, Then Modernize—or Modernize, Then Migrate

A common mistake organizations make is combining migration and modernization efforts. Attempting to move to the cloud with varying versions or differing technology stacks can complicate troubleshooting and obscure the root cause of any issues post-migration. A lift-and-shift approach is recommended for cloud migrations.

Understand Data Flow

Teams must have a clear understanding of data flows between applications, including upstream and downstream processes and data requirements. Before migration, analyze how moving a specific application to the cloud will affect interconnected processes, particularly those not yet migrated. Eliminate unnecessary processes, clean up duplicate data and ensure only essential data is retained.

External SaaS Versus Cloud SaaS Versus Build Your Own

Evaluate all available cloud migration solutions to determine the best fit for your needs. Assess these solutions based on availability, cost, performance and ROI. This evaluation will help you identify whether a single solution can address all use cases or if multiple solutions are required for different scenarios.

Embrace A Cloud-First Culture

A successful cloud migration involves fostering a cloud-first culture within the organization. This means encouraging continuous learning and adaptation, as cloud technologies evolve rapidly. Significant investment in training and upskilling your current workforce is crucial for a successful transition to the cloud. Develop comprehensive internal cloud training programs and mandate role-specific training levels based on individual responsibilities. Collaborate with internal teams and cloud providers to create tailored video training materials and detailed documentation for each process.

Organizations should also adopt DevOps practices, which promote collaboration between development and operations teams, enabling faster deployment cycles and more robust software solutions.

Conclusion

Cloud migration isn't the responsibility of a single individual or team—it's a strategic and collaborative process that requires the collective effort of the entire organization. Success hinges on every stakeholder coming together to align on processes, technologies and goals. By fostering teamwork and cross-functional collaboration, organizations can ensure a seamless and effective migration to the cloud.

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