The No. 1 Challenge to Avoid When Moving to the Public Cloud

[ServicesExperts]

By Erik Vogel, VP HPE Pointnext

Lately I’ve been sounding what I hope is a clarion call for a more systematic approach to planning when companies embark on IT transformations. If you were to pin me down as to the single biggest reason why so many cloud initiatives founder, this would be it: the lack of a solid plan with clear goals from Day 1.

The apparent simplicity of the public cloud option masks some significant challenges. Without a plan that coordinates the various elements of cloud governance, your initiative can become unmanageable – you may find that:

• Cloud sprawl drives up your costs. This can happen quicker than you might think. As Robert Christianson pointed out in a recent post, the acceleration of consumption is “much, much faster with cloud than with the classic model, with all its POs, contracts, legal involvement and so on. Within a very short time, you can end up with uncontrolled, unmonitored usage and zero visibility.”
• On-premises processes and practices are carried to the cloud, resulting in inefficient cloud operations. Bill Gates once said that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency – and automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency. It’s a principle worth keeping in mind as you plan your cloud journey.
• Risk and compliance issues accumulate. Inadequate security controls result in unnecessary exposures.

To help companies build a plan that addresses these challenges and many others, HPE has developed a comprehensive, holistic framework for the cloud transition. We can help you design the infrastructure components, of course, but we can also help you connect those elements to the overarching business strategy, as well as the security, organizational, and governance elements. We can help you achieve full transparency into cloud costs and manage them better, for example by avoiding over-provisioning and its associated costs.

 I’ve described some potential pitfalls for cloud projects in a recent InformationWeek article, but I’ll be delving into a lot more detail in my session at HPE Discover 2018 Madrid:

Five Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Moving to the Public Cloud (Session ID: B6897)

Most important, I’ll be talking about how businesses can apply tried-and-true best practices and holistic approaches to dodge the most common cloud traps. And I’ll look at some examples of companies that have scored impressive successes with their public cloud initiatives.

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I hope to see you there!

About the Author

Erik has spent his career helping clients succeed through relationship-focused engagements and by developing innovative and industry leading approaches and methods. He strives to help clients realize successful business outcomes for their critical IT transformations. His proven track record has been driven by his in-depth understanding of his customers and domain expertise across multiple areas of IT.

As the global leader of HPE's Hybrid IT COE, Erik is responsible for following industry trends, understanding clients’ needs, identifying areas of opportunity, and investing to create innovative solutions. He is also responsible for enabling delivery teams and partners to scale solutions.

Erik's teams have developed solutions aimed at modernizing legacy enterprise applications, migrating to cloud, developing private clouds, and implementing container solutions. His teams are developing software tools for cloud migrations that integrate custom and partner based solutions. Erik also created the Hybrid IT Framework that helps clients approach their transformations holistically while addressing the inhibitors to success.

Erik frequently presents at industry events on defining, implementing and managing technology solutions to accelerating business objectives. He holds a B.M.E. degree from Villanova University, an MBA from Carnegie-Mellon University and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Erik is a member of the Utah Bar and holds CPIM and PMP certifications.