Planning is the key to a successful migration to the cloud

This article focusses on the PLAN phase of the Cloud Adoption Framework for Microsoft Azure (CAF).

In our last blog we discussed the Strategy phase of the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF), an invaluable and comprehensive methodology that LA NET is adept and confident of delivering for your business.

How to plan for the cloud

Abraham Lincoln once said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Wise words and completely applicable to the journey of moving your infrastructure to the cloud. The key is in the planning, preparing your people and organisation to adapt to a business and technology transformation.

The planning phase of the CAF is crucial for the cloud adoption lifecycle with very specific workloads and activities designed to align to the strategy and planned business outcomes.

Convert aspirational goals

The adoption plan’s purpose is to convert the aspirational goals of a cloud adoption strategy into an actionable plan.

There are four clear steps to complete a CAF plan for your organisation, starting with a deep dive into your digital estate.

Digital estate:

• Every organisation today has some form of digital estate, which is similar to a physical estate, but focused on a collection of owned assets such as Virtual Machines (VMs), servers, applications, data etc. It is the collection of IT assets that power business processes and support operations.
• Inventory and rationalise your digital estate based on assumptions that align with motivations and business outcomes.
• You will hear about ‘the five Rs of rationalisation”: Rehost, Refactor, Rearchitect, Rebuild and Replace.

Initial organisational alignment:

• For a plan to be effective it will require an understanding of the people elements.
• Establish a plan for initial organisational alignment to support the adoption plan.

Skills readiness plan:

• Adapt existing roles, skills and processes for the cloud. Recognise that in every IT transformation through history, roles evolve and change, giving new opportunities, but also some fear to current employees.
• Create a plan for addressing skills readiness gaps.

Cloud adoption plan:

• A cloud adoption plan is an iterative project plan that helps a company transition from traditional IT approaches to transformation over to modern, agile approaches. It starts with a well-defined strategy.
• Develop a cloud adoption plan to manage change across the digital estate, skills and organisation.

At LA NET, our experience in using Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework gives you the trust that each step will be managed thoughtfully and effectively to maximise the success potential of your transformation.

For a deeper discussion on your Cloud Adoption strategy, contact LA NET here.