Cloud Strategy: A Decision-based Approach to Successful Cloud Migration

“Strategy is the difference between making a wish and making it come true. Stop having cloud wishes.”

Cloud computing is an amazing resource that can provide fully managed platforms, auto-optimizing and even auto-healing operations, per-second billing, pre-trained machine learning models, and globally distributed transactional data stores. Cloud is also a critical enabler for organizations to compete in economies of speed. So, it’s no surprise that most enterprises are engaging in a cloud migration or cloud transformation, as it’s often called.

Migrating a whole enterprise to the cloud isn’t as easy as pushing a button, though. Simply lifting and shifting legacy applications is unlikely to bring the anticipated benefits whereas re-architecting applications to run optimally in the cloud can be cost prohibitive. Enterprises thus need a more nuanced strategy than simply proclaiming “cloud first!”

A strategy isn’t something you can copy-paste from a recipe book or from another organization. Diverse starting points, objectives, and constraints imply different choices and trade-offs. In addition, a cloud strategy doesn’t just consider technical change but also includes close alignment across business, organization, and technology.

Unfortunately, most books on cloud computing either stay at a very high level or are limited to specific vendors and products. This book closes this gap by questioning existing assumptions and presenting technology-neutral decision models ideally suited to defining and communicating a well-thought-out migration journey.

NOTE: This book is available only as a print book on Amazon. For the DRM-free ebook in all formats and more information see CloudStrategyBook.com

This book is a valuable guide and a comprehensive reference for:

• Enterprise architects who are tasked with defining and communicating a comprehensive and balanced cloud strategy
• Cloud architects who seek to understand the trade-offs embedded in cloud platform architectures
• IT executives who want to harvest the full benefits of cloud computing and anticipate the ramifications of product and architecture choices
• Business executives who are looking to align organizational changes with the technical transformation

30 chapters guide an organization along its journey to the cloud, focusing on options, decisions, and trade-offs — the core elements of a sound strategy.

• Part 1: Understanding the Cloud – Cloud is very different from traditional IT procurement, so you’ll have to rethink the way your IT works.
• Part 2: Organizing for the Cloud – Cloud impacts more than your tech landscape.
• Part 3: Moving to the Cloud – There are many ways to the cloud; please choose wisely.
• Part 4: Architecting the Cloud – Look beyond products and buzzwords and instead use rational decision models.
• Part 5: Building for the Cloud – The cloud is a formidable platform, but applications running on top of it need to do their part, also.
• Part 6: Embracing Cloud – To reap the full benefits of cloud, you need to go all in.