Cloud Change Management

What are the main issues that should be tackled in structuring a cloud project?

Following are the key aspects and issues of a cloud project that should be considered for risk mitigation,
speeding adoption, and maximizing savings.

1. Inadequacies in alignment of initiatives with enterprise objectives

Cloud computing does not scale if initiatives do not align with enterprise business goals and fails
to contribute to overall organizational success.
2. Inadequacies in CCOE assessments
A CCOE manages and coordinates the various steps of the cloud adoption process. The
importance of the CCOE is often underrated. The failure to assess the CCOE could lead to
unreliable and unsecure architectures that require redeployment of the implementation.
3. Inability to identify the right workloads for the right cloud service provider
In order to determine which workloads are ready for the cloud, a comprehensive assessment
must be performed by Change project Manager, which examines not just the technical feasibility,
but also the location and Business factors.
4. Failure to evolve the governance and management
For cloud management to be successful, self-service enablement needs to be balanced with
governance.

There are seven adoption issues in cloud change management these include:
1. Outage (availability)
When cloud services fail, there is an almost immediate and worldwide impact.
2. Security
It is possible to have security problems when sending a large amount of data electronically or
physically. User’s firewall and full root access are some solutions to this.
3. Performance
One of the biggest problems in cloud services is the delays which occur in communications
between the client and Web server.
4. Private clouds
Both public and private clouds require the same hypervisor, chipsets, and file system if a
workload is moved
5. Compliance
Cloud computing would violate these regulations is unclear. In US regulations such as HIPAA
were drafted without considering cloud computing
6. Cost
Maintaining a desired performance level requires the use of more communication bandwidth,
which increases the cost
7. Integration
Cloud computing requires integrating data and applications between the public and private
clouds
2. What steps need to be included in a cloud change management project?
Step 1. Planning
 Review the business case for moving to a cloud platform as a change leader.
 Identify the effects of cloud technology on the way things are done
 Identify the technical knowledge required to handle the change
 Planning for Data migration from the old technology to new technology
 Cost estimation
 Analyzing the user interface from customer and employee perspective
Step 2. Finding executive sponsorship
CEOs and leaders should champion the initiative and use the new technology or tool to reassure
employees.
Step 3. Continuous Communication
Communication is a critical step in change management, and it must be an ongoing effort
throughout the organization. Highlight the business goals and help people make the connection
between change and value and benefits by engaging marketing team.
Step 4. Analyze readiness of employees for change
Be sure that organization is prepared for the switch to a new technology, as well as employees
will embrace it and start using it immediately when the switch is made.
 Identify the early adopters
 Identify the individuals who might not be as open to change, but will probably accept it
 Confront the individuals resisting change by strong top-down communication
Step 5. Training
It is imperative that IT organization knows and understands new governance structure and
processes, and they follow them in a consistent manner.
Providing all employees with a clear understanding of how to use the technology or tool is
crucial.
Step 6. Developing a self-service help desk
Set up a central repository filled with quick tips, training videos, FAQs, troubleshooting articles,
and anything else that will help employees understand their tasks.

3. What are the main indicators to measure the success (or failure) of a cloud or cloud
change management?
Ensure the cloud strategy and the business strategy are aligned by using these key indicators
 Cost per customer ($)
 Cloud spend as a percentage of revenue (%)
 Reduction in Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) over time (%)
 Cost of revenue over time ($)
 TIme to bring new services to market (time)
 Compliance issues open (n)
 Mean time to detect (time)
 Customer satisfaction (typically using Net Promoter Score)