Define Your Cloud Vision
Make the most of cloud for your organization.
- The cloud market is exploding: 95% of organizations are experimenting with or running applications in Infrastructure-as-a-Service, and a slew of software vendors are pushing their customers toward Software-as-a-Service offerings.
- Executives are crying for cloud-first strategies and championing lofty digital transformation initiatives.
- Executives often see the cloud as an outsourcing opportunity, which doesn’t take into consideration its true value proposition.
- Organizations jump to the cloud before defining their cloud vision and without any clear plan for realizing the cloud’s benefits
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Base migration decisions on cloud characteristics.
- Address the risks up front in your migration plan.
- The cloud changes roles and calls for different skill sets, but Ops is here to stay.
Impact and Result
- Evaluate workloads’ suitability for the cloud using Info-Tech’s methodology to select the optimal migration (or non-migration) path based on the value of cloud characteristics.
- Build a roadmap of initiatives for actions by workload and risk mitigation.
- Define a cloud vision to share with stakeholders.
Define Your Cloud Vision Research & Tools
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should define your cloud vision, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.
1. Determine the value of cloud for your organization
Align organizational goals to cloud characteristics to provide a framework for assessing the value of cloud. List and group organizational goals, map organizational goals to cloud drivers, and map cloud drivers to cloud characteristics.
2. Determine cloud value and action plan for workloads
Assess the value and risks of cloud for each workload and evaluate potential action plans.
3. Address risks and roadblocks
Tackle potential risks front and center in your cloud vision and execution by creating a risk register and developing mitigations.
4. Clarify vision and roadmap initiatives
Plot your cloud project initiatives on a roadmap and distill your vision into a three-slide presentation.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.4/10
Overall Impact
$295,499
Average $ Saved
26
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Denver Water
Workshop
10/10
$495K
50
Canadian Blood Services
Workshop
8/10
$95,000
23
National Cooperative Bank NA
Workshop
10/10
N/A
10
University of Kansas Hospital Authority
Workshop
10/10
N/A
20
State of Delaware, Department of Technology & Information
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
City of Virginia Beach
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
20
Segal
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Alfa Mutual Insurance Company
Guided Implementation
10/10
$11,159
5
Brethren Benefit Trust
Workshop
10/10
$123K
N/A
FortisTCI Limited
Workshop
10/10
$30,999
60
Association of American Medical Colleges
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
60
Lifestyle Solutions ( AUST ) LTD
Guided Implementation
8/10
N/A
10
Barrington Consulting Group
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
CAA South Central Ontario Systems and Services Inc.
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
State of Wyoming
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
New Mexico Department Of Health
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
City of Surrey, The
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
2
City of Alexandria, VA
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
City Of Mesa
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
10
Peabody Investments Corp.
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
Breakthrough
Guided Implementation
6/10
N/A
N/A
University of Lethbridge
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
SAF- Holland
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
Pacific Dental Services
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
City of Moreno Valley
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,733
10
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agencies
Guided Implementation
8/10
$9,000
5
Ulster BOCES/MHRIC
Guided Implementation
10/10
$1.27M
120
UCLA
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
20
Kenan Advantage Group
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
City of Colorado Springs
Guided Implementation
9/10
$63,667
10
Onsite Workshop: Define Your Cloud Vision
Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Align Organizational Goals to Cloud Characteristics
The Purpose
Align organizational goals to cloud characteristics.
Key Benefits Achieved
An understanding of how the characteristics particular to cloud can support organizational goals.
Activities
Outputs
List organizational goals.
- Organizational goals
Determine cloud drivers.
- Cloud drivers
Match drivers with characteristics.
- Organizational goals, mapped to cloud drivers, mapped to cloud characteristics
Select workloads for analysis.
- List of workloads for analysis
Module 2: Evaluate Workloads
The Purpose
Evaluate workloads for cloud value and action plan.
Key Benefits Achieved
Action plan for each workload.
Activities
Outputs
Assess workloads for cloud value.
- Cloud value assessment for each workload
Evaluate workloads with 6Rs framework.
- Action plan evaluation for each workload
Module 3: Assess and Address Risks
The Purpose
Identify and plan to mitigate potential risks in the cloud project.
Key Benefits Achieved
A list of potential risks and plans to mitigate them.
Activities
Outputs
Assess cloud risk by workload.
- Risk analysis for each workload
Review risks and roadblocks.
- Cloud project risks and roadblocks
Develop mitigation strategies and work items.
- List of mitigation plans and work items
Module 4: Refine Vision and Roadmap
The Purpose
Clarify your vision of how the organization can best make use of cloud and build a project roadmap.
Key Benefits Achieved
A clear vision and a concrete action plan to move forward with the project.
Activities
Outputs
Determine cloud archetype.
- Cloud archetype
Plot initiatives on a roadmap.
- Cloud roadmap
Draft action plan summary statement.
- Action plan summary statement
Draft goal statement.
- Goal statement
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst
Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 7 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation #1 - Determine the value of cloud for your organization
- Call #1 - Align organizational goals, cloud drivers, and cloud characteristics.
Guided Implementation #2 - Determine cloud value and action plan for your workloads
- Call #1 - Review cloud value assessment.
- Call #2 - Review 6Rs assessment.
- Call #3 - Review risk assessment.
Guided Implementation #3 - Address risks and roadblocks
- Call #1 - Review risk register and mitigations.
Guided Implementation #4 - Clarify vision and roadmap initiatives
- Call #1 - Review action plan summary statements and goal statement.
- Call #2 - Review initiative roadmap.
Contributors
- Issy Ben-Shaul, CEO & Co-Founder, Velostrata
- Vishal Ganeriwala, Senior Director – Product Marketing, Citrix
- Kenneth Libutti, Chief Information Officer, Palm Beach State College
- Eric Montagnino, Network Manager, Palm Beach State College
- Carisa Stringer, Director – Product Marketing, Citrix
- Nabeel Yousif, Executive Consultant
