Cloud Strategy and Action Plan

The cloud is more appealing than ever, but cloud strategies (where they exist) often lack critical information about skills and roles, governance, and financial controls.
Not all clouds are created equal, and the value propositions across service models can differ dramatically.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

You shouldn’t move a workload to the cloud unless you expect to benefit from cloud-specific features. If your justification for the migration is “it won’t be here anymore,” think again.
Clouds have different benefits – align your workload to the right one. Host with IaaS; build with PaaS; consume with SaaS.
The cloud changes roles – it doesn’t eliminate them. Even if you stick everything in SaaS, you’ll need someone to manage vendor relationships.

Impact and Result

Creating and employing a comprehensive framework for evaluating workloads’ suitability for the cloud using Info-Tech’s methodology will allow you to select optimal cloud service models (or colocation, on-premises, or managed solutions) and provide the high-quality service end users expect from IT.
Codifying risks tied to workloads’ cloud suitability and tying them to mitigations that can be employed to improve the likelihood of a successful cloud project.
Designing a cloud strategy to ensure that any cloud migration initiatives are successful in terms of governance, monitoring and reporting, financial controls, success factors, focus, people, and processes.

Cloud Strategy and Action Plan Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise executive brief to understand the components of a successful cloud strategy and how such a strategy can benefit you. Own the cloud or find yourself left behind!

Cloud Strategy and Action Plan – Executive Brief

1. Harness the cloud’s full potential

Evaluate and understand the strengths of different cloud service models. Use this information to optimally match workloads to service models – both cloud and non-cloud.

2. Develop a cloud strategy

Identify and mitigate the risks you will face as part of your cloud migration project. Outline the seven elements of a cloud strategy and populate the cloud strategy document.

3. Communicate your strategy and roadmap

Use the results of your cloud strategy exercises to plot initiatives on a roadmap. Proceed to create a consumable executive presentation to highlight the outputs of your cloud strategy project.

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.

Client

Experience

Impact

$ Saved

Days Saved

Testimonial

American Bankers Association

Guided Implementation

9/10

$40,800

Great insights, materials and forward thinking

City Of Fort Collins

Guided Implementation

9/10

$61,200

I love tapping in to some one else's expertise. I hate that I don't have the time I want to devote to this work.

General Dynamics Land Systems Inc.

Guided Implementation

7/10

$34,000

Jeremy was great in leading us through the content. In addition, he took the lead on creating some documents for us that really helped with our tim... Read More

Vancouver Island University

Workshop

10/10

N/A

Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation

Guided Implementation

9/10

N/A

The best part of my experience is the quick response time for feedback. No areas for improvement at this time.

CPS Energy

Guided Implementation

9/10

$9,520

The degree of knowledge on the topic from the analyst on the call.

Spartan Controls Ltd.

Guided Implementation

10/10

$30,000

National Life Holding Company

Guided Implementation

10/10

$2,040

EOH Mthombo (Pty) Ltd

Guided Implementation

9/10

$29,172

Best - the sample strategy document sent after the call. It supported the info shared during the call. Best - ability to ask questions & get immed... Read More

General Dynamics Corporation

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

Analyst was extremely knowledgeable and helped identify area to consider as we begin to develop a cloud strategy and roadmap

Load More Testimonials

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.