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People, Process and Technology: The Perfect Combination for Successful Cloud Implementations

While there is no one right approach, having the right balance of people, process and technology can help you adopt a holistic view of the entire organization, to make right choices in your cloud deployments.

From being a buzz word, cloud computing has transitioned to become a critical and strategic component for businesses across sectors. The hybrid cloud market alone was valued at $21.18 billion last year, with Asia Pacific (APAC) making significant contributions to the revenue. Many organizations have already embraced the shift towards clouds, and for many more who have yet to do so, the decision on whether or not to implement cloud services is not even discussed. Their questions are instead on how best to build a complete cloud implementation that can lead to total business transformation marked by expedited product delivery and reduced IT costs.

While there is no one right approach, having the right balance of people, process and technology can help you adopt a holistic view of the entire organization, to make right choices in your cloud deployments.

Put simply, people, process and technology are all important aspects of IT, and clouds cannot be implemented successfully until the challenges you face in each of these three components are addressed.

A 'people challenge' organizations could face is their staff having outdated skills and knowledge of new business process methodologies or newer architecture, design and implementation skills related to the cloud.

Rigid, process-laden approaches to platform delivery within an organization constitute as a 'process challenge' that often leads to delays in product delivery. 'Technology challenges' include implementing technology options that are not congruent with your organization's goals and challenges, for example, choosing proprietary vendors instead of open source solutions when your organizations often needs to quickly mobilize and scale across multiple cloud deployments.

While moving to the cloud can bring your organization unprecedented levels of functional and business benefits, it involves new IT skill-sets and processes, new service and deployment models, and new technologies. Without delicate management of people, process and technology, you could find yourself disappointed with the promises of cloud; but you should not be!

So start defining a clear cloud strategy; one that takes into consideration the constraints of all aspects of your organization, and watch your cloud deployments deliver unmatched value for your business.

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