What are the best practices for initiating a cloud strategy?

In my opinion, to initiate a cloud strategy, align it with your business goals and assess your current IT infrastructure. Choose the appropriate cloud model (public, private, hybrid, or multi-cloud) based on your needs. Prioritize security and compliance, (the most important factor) and develop a detailed migration plan. Implement governance policies for cost management and security. Adopt DevOps practices, including automation and Infrastructure as Code (IaC), to enhance efficiency. Finally, invest in training and certification for your team to ensure they have the necessary cloud skills. These steps will help you effectively leverage cloud technology to meet your business objectives and growth. -

Morning,

We have done this recently; here are some key steps to consider:

Stakeholder Engagement
Engage with key stakeholders to understand their needs, challenges, and expectations from IT services.

Current State Analysis
Conduct a comprehensive review of existing IT service delivery processes, governance structures, and performance metrics.

Team Evaluation
Assess your team's skills, strengths, and areas for development. Identify any gaps that need to be addressed.

Quick Wins
Identify and implement quick improvements that can deliver immediate benefits, such as process optimisations or enhanced communication channels.

Establish Governance Framework
Develop or refine governance policies to ensure compliance, risk management, and accountability.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Ta,

Andy

Before you come up with a strategy I would make sure you 100% understand where you are - so how does your IT business look like, what are the objectives and requirements and where you are happy with the current status/where do you see room for improvement. The next step from my perspective would be to plan long-term and work with OKR's. Start with small activities and read about some implementations, listen to IT folks from other companies that already went ahead. There is no 'one fits all' that is totally clear to me. 

The most important aspect is - if you really want to have a significant cloud usage rate - you have to adopt your working style, use modern methods and adopt process. That was a hard learning for many of us.

A few best practices to guide the process:

- Define Business Objectives to ensure alignment between cloud adoption and organizational goals.
- Assess Current IT Infrastructure, including a thorough review of security and compliance readiness.
- Select the Appropriate Cloud Model (Private, Public, Hybrid, or Multi-Cloud).
- Refactor Legacy Systems and focus on Cloud-Native Solutions to optimize performance and scalability.
- Establish a Comprehensive Governance Framework that includes compliance, cost management, and adherence to regulatory standards such as HIPAA and GDPR.
- Develop a Detailed Cloud Migration Plan, if transitioning workloads to the cloud.
- Implement DevOps Practices from the outset, incorporating Infrastructure as Code (IaC), monitoring, and automation.
- Training and Certification Programs to ensure your team is equipped with the necessary cloud skills.