Cloud Strategy - The dynamic foundation for your business. ​

A jointly developed and documented cloud strategy is not just a guide – it's the core of your digital transformation. It provides clear guidelines within which all employees can make informed and autonomous decisions. Instead of being set in stone, this strategy lives and grows with the changes and advancements in technology. In the following sections, you'll learn why this ongoing adaptability is so valuable and how you and your team can develop such a dynamic cloud strategy.

Bird's Eye to Ground Level - Step by Step to a Cloud Strategy ​

Setting the Basics ​

The first step in developing a cloud strategy doesn't have to be complicated. Resist the impulse to immediately search for the perfect tool. Use what you already have on hand, whether it's Confluence, GitLab Markdown, or another documentation system in your company. Open a new page and start. What you record there – be it the current status quo, your vision, or specific goals – is more important than the tool itself.

Before you embark on this journey, it's crucial to understand where you currently stand. What technologies and systems is your company currently using? How satisfied are you with the current situation? What challenges are ahead? This inventory forms the basis from which you can continue thinking and planning.

Why Cloud in the First Place? ​

1. What drives your consideration towards the cloud?

• How does the cloud fit into the long-term vision and strategic goals of your company?
• What market trends or technological developments might influence your decision to use the cloud?
• What cloud approach do you want to pursue?

2. Is a "Cloud-First" approach right for your company?

• Are you aiming to develop and utilize "Cloud-Native" applications?
• Do you see a need for a "Hybrid-Cloud" approach or even for a "Multi-Cloud" strategy?
• What are your main reasons for opting for the cloud?

3. Are you looking for better scalability for your services and applications?

• Do you expect cost savings and efficiency gains from the cloud?
• Do you want to enhance the flexibility and agility of your company?
• Would you like access to innovative technologies available in the cloud?
• Are you looking for advanced security features or ways to simplify compliance in certain areas?

Stronger Together: Refining the Initial Draft Collaboratively ​

With the initial draft in hand, the key now is not to look at it in isolation. The cloud affects many areas of a company, and the main goal is to ensure a holistic and practical strategy.

1. Involve the right people ​

• Development: Technical requirements and challenges are at the forefront here.
• Operations: They provide insight into the daily implementation and management of cloud resources.
• Finance: A focus on the financial aspects and the ROI of the cloud strategy.
• Product: Viewing the cloud from a product development and delivery perspective.

2. Review as a team ​

A meeting is essential to ensure that each area shares its perspective and raises potential concerns. It serves as a review of previous assumptions and an opportunity to delve deeper into considerations.

3. The next step is clear ​

Decide if the current draft has enough substance to delve into details or if adjustments are needed.

C-Level Engagement: While the initial spark for a cloud strategy often comes from the C-level, such as the CTO, the long-term responsibility should be passed to a team well-versed in the subject matter. If a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) or a similar team exists, now is the time to engage them exclusively. They need to not only understand the strategy and the vision behind it but also champion and implement it.

Making Success Measurable ​

To quantify and make the success of the cloud strategy transparent, KPIs are indispensable. They enable continuous monitoring of performance and, if necessary, adjustments to the strategy.

Here are the three central indicators that should be the focus:

KPI #1 - Allocation: Clear Responsibility for Resources ​

It's essential to know exactly who is responsible for which resources. Clear allocation of responsibilities leads to more efficient use and management of cloud resources.

KPI #2 - Forecast Accuracy: Trust Enables Good Decisions ​

The ability to accurately predict future needs for cloud resources is crucial. An accurate forecast allows the company to make informed decisions and adapt better to market changes.

KPI #3 - Efficiency: Sustainability through Resource Optimization ​

Optimizing cloud resources plays a central role in increasing efficiency and sustainability. Efficient use of resources ensures that they are deployed not only cost-effectively but also in line with the company's sustainability goals.

For a deeper insight into the topic of KPIs in cloud strategy, I recommend the article: KPIs in the Cloud.

Integrated and Measured Cloud Strategy ​

A successful cloud strategy is not just based on technology but also on integration and measurability. By strategically connecting all departments and consistently monitoring key metrics, companies ensure they fully harness the potential of cloud architecture. With a clear and coherent strategy, efficiency is not only enhanced, but a foundation for sustainable growth and innovation is also established. To achieve this goal, every department must have the same understanding of the strategy. They should not only provide feedback but also actively participate in shaping and further developing the strategy.

1. Cross-departmental Collaboration ​

• Goal: A cloud strategy known and applied in every department.
• Actions: Regular meetings between departments ensure consistent sharing of current cloud initiatives. Training tailored to individual teams' needs boosts understanding and implementation.
• Recommendations: Platforms like Confluence offer a central place for updates and promote transparency. Regular sharing of best practices establishes a shared knowledge base.

2. Uniform Governance and Compliance ​

• Goal: Consistent compliance and governance aligned with company and external guidelines.
• Actions: A clear structure arises through a cloud governance committee and defined compliance guidelines. This supports consistent application and oversight.
• Recommendations: Cloud management tools provide automated compliance audits and foster an overview of governance.

3. Cost Management and Budgeting ​

• Goal: Optimal use of cloud resources within the set budget.
• Actions: Cost tracking tools and budget reviews allow for continuous insight into expenditures. An understanding of unit economics clarifies the value per used unit.
• Recommendations: A dedicated role or team for cloud cost management can enhance focus on efficiency. The difference between general expense monitoring and specific unit economics should be recognized.

4. Training and Competence Development ​

• Goal: Safe and efficient use of the cloud by all employees.
• Actions: Regular cloud training and provided training materials elevate expertise. This links the KPI of resource allocation with employee qualifications.
• Recommendations: Partnerships with cloud providers or training vendors deliver tailored training programs.

5. Process Integration and Automation ​

• Goal: Seamless integration of cloud services into existing processes.
• Actions: Recognize automation potential and continuously improve processes through DevOps practices. This directly correlates with the KPI of efficiency.
• Recommendations: Investments in specific platforms and tools minimize redundant tasks and optimize integration.

6. Feedback and Continuous Improvement ​

• Goal: A current and adaptable cloud strategy.
• Actions: The strategy remains dynamic and adaptable through regular feedback sessions and dedicated feedback channels.
• Recommendations: Dashboards with real-time metrics enable quick adjustments and correlate with the KPI of forecast accuracy.

Zusammenfassung ​

Die beschriebene integrierte und gemessene Cloud-Strategie dient als robustes Gerüst, um technologische Investitionen optimal zu nutzen und den größtmöglichen Wert für das Unternehmen zu generieren. Durch aktive Einbindung aller Abteilungen und konsequente Messbarkeit wird nicht nur sichergestellt, dass alle im gleichen Takt arbeiten, sondern auch, dass die Strategie stets den aktuellen und zukünftigen Anforderungen entspricht. Mit dieser Grundlage ist das Unternehmen bestens gerüstet, um die nächste Stufe zu betrachten und zu meistern.

Operational Level ​

After setting the overarching strategic direction, it's essential to integrate the cloud strategy into daily operations. This involves not just optimizing technical processes and procedures but also bringing along employees and providing them with the necessary tools. At this level, strategic directives become tangible and manifest in specific tasks and results.

1. Technical Implementation ​

Goal: Create a stable, adaptable, and measurable technological infrastructure that meets the strategic directives.

Actions:

• Implementation of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools like Terraform.
• IaC allows for purposeful, repeatable, and efficient infrastructure adjustments.
• Through a consistent tagging strategy in IaC, resources can be effectively allocated and monitored, optimizing efficiency (KPI #3) and resource allocation (KPI #1). Recommendations:
• Regular reviews of the IaC code ensure its quality and relevance.
• Through consistent tagging, forecast accuracy (KPI #2) can be indirectly enhanced by making organizational adjustments easier to implement and track.

2. Automation and Consistency ​

Goal: Efficient, consistent, and repeatable application and infrastructure deployment using DevOps and GitOps.

Actions:

• Integration of DevOps Principles: This promotes collaboration between development and operations, enabling faster and more reliable cloud application deployments.
• Adoption of GitOps: Infrastructure and applications are defined as code. This facilitates automated, consistent, and repeatable deployment of environments and services. It also allows changes in infrastructure to be transparent and traceable.

Recommendations:

• Promotion of a DevOps Culture: Introducing a DevOps culture is more than just using tools. It's about creating an environment of collaboration, continuous learning, and improvement.
• Training and Continued Education: Team members should be trained in GitOps and relevant tools to ensure the benefits are fully realized. This not only leads to improved deployment quality but also to higher forecast accuracy (KPI #2) and efficient resource allocation (KPI #1).

3. Unified Security Policies ​

Goal: Ensure that all cloud applications and services meet company and industry standards for security and compliance. Actions:

• Introduction of central security policies: By creating clear and consistent security policies, it is ensured that all teams apply and adhere to the same standards.
• Automated compliance checks: Using cloud-native tools, compliance checks can be automated and carried out continuously to ensure that all applications and services meet the set standards. Recommendations:
• Ongoing Training: The cloud landscape and security requirements are constantly changing. Therefore, it's crucial for teams to receive regular training and stay up-to-date with best practices and compliance requirements.
• Feedback loops: Establish feedback loops between security, development, and operations teams. This ensures that security policies are practical and support daily work, rather than hindering it.

Adhering to security policies helps to minimize the risk of security breaches and simultaneously promotes efficiency (KPI #3) since security incidents often mean costly downtimes and corrections. It also supports forecast accuracy (KPI #2), as compliance violations can often incur unforeseen costs.

Of course, load tests and integration environments are critical components for modern development processes. Here's an expanded version of the previous point:

4. Diverse Cloud Environments ​

Goal: Establish different environments for various development and operational stages. This serves to test, integrate, and ultimately transfer changes in a controlled and quality-assured manner.

Actions:

• Isolated Development, Testing, and Integration Environments (Dev, QA & Integration): Developers can ensure in integration environments that their components correctly interact with other system parts. In the QA environment, all changes are checked before going live.
• Specialized Load Test Environments: To ensure that new releases and features run stably even under peak load, dedicated environments for load testing are set up.
• Automated Transfer Between Environments: Tools and practices such as Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) ensure smooth transfer of code and configuration changes from one environment to the next.

Recommendations:

• Strict separation of the environments: Resources between the environments should not be shared to avoid contamination and ensure each environment serves its intended purpose.
• Establish feedback loops: Regular reviews in the QA and integration environment provide quick feedback, helping the team implement improvements promptly. The introduction of specialized environments improves forecast accuracy (KPI #2) and efficiency (KPI #3). Proper management of these environments also ensures optimized resource allocation (KPI #1).

Summary: Navigating the Levels of Cloud Strategy ​

Developing a cloud strategy requires a layered, nuanced approach - much like a journey from a bird's-eye view down to the grassroots.

• Bird's Eye View: At this level, it's all about the bigger picture. Here, the essential foundations and orientation of the entire cloud strategy are established. The decisions and guidelines made here have long-term effects and set the course for the whole organization.

• Integrated and Measured Cloud Strategy: This level focuses on collaboration among different departments. The overarching goal is to create a common understanding and consolidate efforts to achieve the objectives defined from the bird's-eye view. This level focuses more on measurability, feedback, and continuous adaptation.

• Operational Level: This is the most practical, action-oriented level. Here, the tactical measures and processes that guide daily cloud operations are defined. The methodologies and tools mentioned drive efficiency, security, and innovation capabilities.

With each deeper level, the level of detail and the necessary effort increases. However, this elevated effort is an investment in clarity and efficiency. It pays off in the form of better-informed teams capable of making more autonomous decisions, ultimately leading to higher value for the entire company. It's a balancing act, but with the right planning and appropriate tools, it's manageable.

Begin the journey, find allies in your team, and share your insights and successes, even with us. Even if the start seems challenging, after the first step, each subsequent one becomes easier. If you need support or have questions, we're always here to help.