While many organisations are embracing cloud platforms at an increasing rate, some are hesitant. They fear of losing control of systems and data or adding additional complexity to their existing IT infrastructure.

While such concerns are understandable and need to be addressed, they are also usually misplaced. Indeed, deferring a transition to cloud platforms and services is, itself, a risky proposition. Organisations could miss out on the significant benefits on offer including efficiency improvements and cost reductions.

A business shift
It’s a mistake to think of migration to the cloud as a purely technology shift. Rather, it’s a business shift that is enabled by the ubiquity of technology.  The convergence of mobility, global network availability, easy application consumption and cost efficient computing resources, is an opportunity that can enable business in powerful ways not possible before.

From an IT perspective, you lose the control points that have been relied on for decades, but they are traded for an opportunity to help the business grow and to take advantage of all the benefits that cloud presents.

On the path toward a cloud transformation, there are mistakes that can be made, but the potential benefits far outweigh the potential pitfalls. Some of the factors to be mindful of include:

• You’re already using the cloud
  Even if you don’t officially sanction any cloud services or applications, your employees are likely to be already using them. So are your customers, suppliers and business partners.  This includes services that support file sharing, online collaboration, storage, and other daily activities.There’s no getting around the fact that data is already being generated and shared there, business transactions are happening and new business models are evolving. Since it’s too late to believe otherwise, and there is no going back, it’s necessary to broaden your understanding of the cloud and learn how you can leverage its services to support your business goals.
• Guide the way
  You can’t always be the pilot, but you can be the navigator and help the business get safely to its destination.   As you begin your journey, enlist the help of public cloud and SAAS providers, learn how they think and how they operate.It’s OK to learn as you go. Many organisations have approached a move to the cloud as they would have any major IT transition. They analysed it, tried to understand it, and gleaned as much as they could about the cloud and how it’s provisioned, managed, and secured. That’s not all bad, but the traditional vetting and risk processes slowed them down in a bad way. Ultimately, the lesson learned: Just do it.Take your low-risk apps, you probably have hundreds of them, into the cloud. The dividends in production, efficiency, and cost that followed the complete transition to the cloud will speak for themselves over time. You’ll also take that first step in the journey that is inevitable.
• Finding the silver lining
  Once you get past the initial hold-ups, the cloud opens a massive business opportunity. It makes it easier to drive efficiency into your business and cost out, especially if you have been dependent on legacy infrastructure. You will need to hire talent that eats, sleeps, and breathes cloud to supplement your current workforce, but you will no longer be locked in competition with the likes of Amazon, Microsoft or Google for infrastructure and networking talent.Fast forward five or ten years and ask yourself if you really believe being the best in networking and data centre operations is going to differentiate your company and help them grow.  If the answer is no, how do you expect to attract and retain the best people in those technology areas?

Step-by-step process
An organisation doesn’t have to make the entire jump to the cloud at once. Instead, cloud services and applications can be merged with your existing infrastructure over time. It’s important to trust those who understand the cloud, both inside your company and third-party cloud vendors. Also, take the time to hire people that know how to take advantage of the cloud and who have done it before.

Indeed, a few key people can have a multiplier effect, but just ensure that they are apprised of the future strategy of your business. In the end, it’s all about trust, but that trust can only happen through the understanding you’ll gain by diving in. You can try to figure it all out all internally, but you’ll be too late to the party.  You’d do better to meld the knowledge you have of your business and where it wants to go with people who have done this before.

Cloud is a business transition fuelled by technology. By taking the time to get the transition right, your organisation will be best place to tackle the challenges of the future.

ABOUT SEAN KOPELKE//

Sean Kopelke is ANZ country manager of Zscaler.