5 Tips for Going Cloud Native and Getting the Most Out of Your Cloud Investment

Myles Brown | Thursday, January 14, 2021

5 Tips for Going Cloud Native and Getting the Most Out of Your Cloud Investment
5 Tips for Going Cloud-Native

The transition to a cloud native environment might seem impossibly ambitious, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right plan and the right training, your cloud native organization can start realizing additional advantages that go well beyond cost savings. The case for cloud adoption is becoming more and more common. According to a recent report from Flexera, 93 percent of enterprises now have a multi-cloud strategy, and 87 percent have signed on for a hybrid cloud approach. If you’re among this vast majority, you’re probably already realizing at least a few of the benefits of cloud adoption, such as lower infrastructure costs and better business agility. But you’re probably also wondering if you’re getting the maximum value from your investment. Unfortunately, until you become cloud-native, the answer will probably be no.

Typically, the move to the cloud begins with a “lift and shift” transfer of certain operations or software deliverables to the public or private cloud. While this solution works, it doesn’t provide the game-changing impact of a completely cloud native start. To be cloud native is to experience better system resiliency and manageability while also being empowered to make frequent, high-impact changes with minimal risk. 

But if you didn’t start out with a cloud native environment, how are you supposed to get there now? Does your organization use any of the top technology brands including AWS, IBM, VMware, SAP, or others? The following five key pieces of advice can help your organization make the transition.

Accelerate Your Modernization Efforts with a Cloud Native Strategy

In this ExitCertified whitepaper, learn about the key technologies and practices required to leverage a cloud-native architecture. When fully leveraged and combined with robust automation, cloud-native architectures provide for better system resiliency and manageability, allowing your teams to make high-impact changes frequently and predictably while minimizing risk.

cloud strategy whitepaper

Tips for Going CloudmNative

1. Consider How Fully You’re Ready to Commit

The complete list of cloud-native choices might appear daunting, but not everything on the list is mandatory to get started. Instead, think of each element as a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. The more pieces you’re able put together, the more successful the final result will be. There are nine basic cloud native components that span three areas of any organization, and it’s possible you’re already using some of them:

  • Culture: DevOps culture, test-driven development, microservices architecture
  • Practices: Agile methodologies, automated configuration management, containerization
  • Technologies: DevOps tools, public cloud vendors, platform-as-a-service

To learn about all nine components of a cloud-native environment, download the whitepaper, “Accelerate Your Modernization Efforts with a Cloud Native Strategy.”

 2. Realize That the Biggest Change Might be Attitudinal

If your organization transitioned to the cloud through a “lift and shift” move, you may be overspending on cloud architecture. Getting the full benefit of the cloud starts with a new way of thinking — one that breaks down the silos so common in traditional companies. To be cloud native is to share openly in a spirit of collaborative innovation that spans the entire enterprise. In short, it means embracing the DevOps way of thinking. But achieving that change in attitude takes more than an all-staff email. Rather, it requires new knowledge and skills at every level of the organization — from entry-level team members to management and directors all the way to your C-suite.

 3. Learn the Technologies Before You Buy Them

This piece of advice may sound counterintuitive, but it can be crucial to your success. Cloud technology is evolving so rapidly that you’re going to need your own subject-matter experts (SMEs) to assess your needs and recommend the best way forward. With upfront training, your SMEs will be able to choose the right products at the right time, and they’ll be ready support you in planning, budgeting and implementation. Professionals in the IT space should educate themselves on all aspects of the cloud. The Oracle cloud training ExitCertified offers, equips individuals with the skills required to embark on a journey of assessing their current on-premises environment, defining the IT and non-IT goals for migrating to the cloud, understanding the operational targets, deciding the cloud topology, planning the migration tasks, and conducting the migration process.

4. Train Beyond the Technologies

Being cloud-native involves more than technology, and so does cloud-native training. Your leadership will need to understand DevOps and the principles of digital business transformation. Your team leads will have to be ready to work with agile methodologies. Your finance teams will need to understand the pricing models associated with platform-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service solutions. To achieve full cloud native status, your entire organization should receive training in cloud computing essentials. And to get the most benefit from your training investment, you should insist on a vendor-approved training provider.

5. Stay Competitive with Ongoing Training Opportunities

Being cloud native also involves more than just occasional training. The speed at which cloud technology is changing makes this point obvious. Cloud native success is most likely to come to fruition in organizations that embrace and celebrate the status of every employee as a lifelong learner. By making ongoing training a natural and necessary part of every position, your company will be that much closer to the full benefits of a cloud-native future.

ExitCertified is a leading worldwide provider of award-winning, vendor-approved IT training. Since 2001, we’ve been helping our customers build the skills they need to thrive in an era of non-stop digital transformation. 

For a free consultation to learn how ExitCertified can help your organization become fully cloud native, please click here.