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Reimagine IT Operations for a Cloud-First World
You can’t afford to ignore the fast-changing infrastructure landscape.
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Contributors
Five Anonymous Contributors
Your Challenge
- The Business plans to increase its use of cloud services.
- Both the Business and IT are buying cloud services, but Operations isn’t involved until the services break.
- Operational activities aren’t clearly defined or assigned, and things slip through the cracks.
- Operations staff are unsure of their role in your organization in a cloud-first world. Cloud abstracts away many day-to-day operational tasks.
- There is no unifying vision to meet cloud-related operational challenges.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Cloud isn’t NoOps! Well-implemented cloud infrastructure reduces tedious, repetitive tasks, and gives operations teams time to take a greater role in planning, management, and governance.
- Form follows function. Structure your operations team to effectively deliver important capabilities that support organizational goals.
- There’s more than one way to change. Find the type, pace, and scope of change that works for your organization.
Impact and Result
- Define the role of Operations in the IT organization, and how Operations will support key cloud initiatives.
- Create a high-level design sketch of the future-state operations team.
- Identify high-importance, low-maturity activities that must be improved to adequately support the new environment.
- Consider whether any activities should be insourced, outsourced, or co-sourced.
- Identify action items and projects that support the transition to the future state design.
- Clearly communicate the rationale for any major changes.
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should prepare Operations for a cloud-first world, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.
1. Assess required operational changes for cloud services
Develop a mission statement for IT operations and identify key operational capabilities and activities to support cloud services.
2. Outline prerequisites for changes to operations
Finalize organizational changes to support cloud services and develop a communication plan.
Guided Implementations
This guided implementation is a five call advisory process.
Guided Implementation #1 - Cloud Strategy and Action Plan Review
Call #1 - Review the organization’s plan to leverage cloud services, and identify expected opportunities and pain points.
Guided Implementation #2 - Operations Mission Statement
Call #1 - Summarize Operations’ mission statement for the end-state IT department.
Guided Implementation #3 - Activities Assessment
Call #1 - Draft an organizational sketch, and work through the Cloud Operations Activities Assessment.
Guided Implementation #4 - Implementation Considerations
Call #1 - Consider what next steps are required to make any changes to the organization.
Guided Implementation #5 - Final Check and Communication Plan
Call #1 - Identify the key message to each stakeholder group.
Book Your Workshop
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: Review Your Cloud Strategy and Create a Mission Statement
The Purpose
Establish the need for change.
Key Benefits Achieved
Create a mission statement and end-state design to guide the rest of the workshop.
Activities
Outputs
Review the IT strategy and cloud strategy & action plan.
Identify key operational capabilities
Develop a mission statement for IT Operations aligned with IT strategy and initiatives.
- IT Operations mission statement
Create an end-state organizational sketch.
- End-state organizational sketch
Module 2: Conduct an Operational Activities Assessment
The Purpose
Clarify operational roles and responsibilities, and identify action items to ensure cloud readiness.
Key Benefits Achieved
Clarify operational roles and responsibilities, and identify action items to ensure cloud readiness.
Activities
Outputs
Review cloud operations activities.
Identify cloud operations roles.
Conduct a RACI analysis.
- Identified roles, responsibilities, and accountability for operational activities in the new cloud environment
Perform a maturity assessment on key activities.
- Maturity assessment
Identify opportunities to improve key operational activities.
- Prioritized improvement roadmap
Module 3: Finalize the Design Sketch and Create a Communication Plan
The Purpose
Ensure changes are well-defined, supported, and communicated.
Key Benefits Achieved
Confidently approach key stakeholders to make the project a reality.
Activities
Outputs
Identify needed tools, skills, and knowledge.
- Draft a training plan based on needed skills and knowledge
- Identify needed tools
Review decision rights, accountability, and individual authority against the design sketch.
Perform quality control on the working group’s recommendations.
- Review and finalize design recommendations
Structure the role of the Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE).
- The CCoE is aware of its responsibilities related to this project and beyond
Create a communication plan.
- Project outcomes are clearly communicated
Identify key project and initiative metrics.
- Metrics to track success are identified
