When it comes to the cloud, organisations have many challenges to overcome, especially in selecting the right provider (or providers) that can assist them in meeting their strategic objectives. Improving the time to market has become essential, with customers demanding a tailored approach. This requires not only a level of agility that is unfamiliar to many businesses, but it also needs to happen with things like security, data governance, cloud interoperability, and workforce mobility being considered.
We all know the pressure companies are under to introduce new services as quickly as possible. And while the cloud and its associated high computing processing capabilities are enabling this to happen, it also introduces new complexities into the value chain. As more businesses start to adopt private, hybrid, and multi-cloud deployments, invariably, they get stuck micro-managing their environments, and a single cloud ecosystem is challenging to manage. Introduce more cloud environments, and things can quickly spiral out of control if not handled effectively.
It is hardly surprising that many companies still want to stick with the traditional way of doing things and owning their on-prem environments. But finding a trusted cloud provider means the business can leverage the experience of a specialist in enabling the transition to the multi-cloud, app-driven world.
Beyond the technology
Of course, the technology of the cloud is important. But beyond that, it requires embracing solutions that address business challenges as cost-effectively and efficiently as possible. The right cloud partner can provide business and technology leaders with support when it comes to managing costs, improving the customer experience, and helping navigate the minefield of distributed work.
These cloud provider partners also play a key role in taking care of regulatory compliance, delivering cybersecurity, managing the distributed data, and aiding in the digital transformation efforts of the business.
Not copy and paste
The ‘modern’ cloud partner must be cognisant of the concerns of its business customers. Things like downtime, technical debt, and the balancing act of innovating whilst maintaining a legacy footprint are all aspects that must be examined prior to rolling out solutions regardless of the environment in which they are hosted. Unlike popular perception, the cloud is not something any company can simply ‘lift and shift’ to.
Instead of rebuilding the plane while flying it, a company must consider building a new aircraft while still flying the old one. The transition is not going to be easy, and there will be challenges to overcome. But working with a cloud provider who understands this, and does not simply sell ‘hosted services’ for their own sake, can help make this a more manageable prospect.
We have entered the era of the hybrid cloud environment. Businesses can no longer ignore the potential of going digital and making data and systems accessible from the cloud to their workforce regardless of their geographic location. The past 18 months have shown how important it is to have data available from anywhere for employees to remain operational. The cloud and the applications built around it to deliver insights will only increase in importance as data grows. Those businesses looking to deliver the solutions their customers want need to work with cloud provider partners to achieve these goals.
Interested in using VMware Cloud Verified services? Need a cloud – a good cloud? Or want to enquire about being a VMware Cloud Partner? You can contact us here: https://govmware.co.za/cloud-journey
