The rise of cloud has dramatically transformed the role of the CIO – shifting and outdating certain job responsibilities and reinventing IT departments around the world. For years, CIOs have been responsible for setting budgets for the purchase and maintenance of hardware and software critical to the running of the business. The person in this role oversaw massive square footage of servers required to keep the company running.
Today, the CIO is less concerned about data center logistics and more concerned about data management and computing power. With the introduction of cloud technologies, software as a service and IoT, the role of CIO is shifting to focus more on business intelligence and data security.
If your organization is looking to make the transition to the cloud, check out this blog on the first three steps you should take in migration planning.
1) Take Stock
The first step in migration planning is to take inventory of your IT real estate. The transition from on-premise to any cloud option is no easy feat so getting your ducks in a row will save time and make your integration easier. Cloud migration will change your entire IT department structure, so you need to consider what existing components will be impacted by a move to the cloud. As you determine your model, what goes to the cloud and what stays local, be aware that your cloud service must continue to meet the compliance regulations specific to your industry. It can be said that some data is too sensitive to be placed into the cloud, and there may be legal restrictions in your industry that prohibit data (such as social security numbers, HIPPA, etc.) from being put into a cloud service.This may also a good time to reexamine and modify your security parameters and user access levels for your business.
2) Understand Future Needs
A second step in planning for a cloud migration is to get every department in your business on board and on the same page. Start by creating a preparation team involving senior leadership from each department. Be prepared to explain some aspects of cloud computing in layman’s terms and educate them on how the infrastructure will change and what will remain the same. This is where you may need to put on your sales cap and ‘sell’ the benefits for each stakeholder. Bearing in mind a seamless integration, a CIO needs to become involved with (and understand) every aspect in a business in order to align technology needs and capabilities with business initiatives. This is the time to evaluate what technological capabilities need to look like going forward and to best elevate business operations as a whole. By pulling every department into the planning process, you are able to prioritize what happens when and establish a logical migration strategy that will limit potential downtime.
3) Identify the Right Partners
With a better understanding of the “big picture” of your business and where you want to go, a CIO can better select a cloud provider to meet those requirements. You will need to decide if you need a hosting only solution or if including managed services like monitoring and reporting and performance testing help to support your team. Make sure the cloud provider you partner with has the skills and expertise you need. You will have to evaluate your cloud model options and decide if it makes the most business sense to move to public, private, or hybrid cloud. Like with any job opening, you should interview multiple providers and select the best fit for your demands. As CIO, you know how best to operate your system so ask questions about their experience and how they run their infrastructure – What industry certifications do they have? How much data replication and backup do they provide? How frequently do they run updates and patch? How much control will you keep over your data? How do they monitor activity or respond to emergencies? What do their security services look like? By asking the right questions, you are able to find service providers who will work with you to meet your needs and make your decisions easy.
Ultimately your cloud provider is an extension of your department, which means you need to be confident in your “virtual” employee.
Thinking about moving to the cloud? Contact us today to learn more about our cloud assessment service offering.
