The rise of cloud computing has been rapid and led to plethora of new businesses and professions, one of which is today known as a “cloud computing consultant”. Many such cloud computing consultancies may be well meaning but they may miss the value of moving to the cloud. They may have readymade solutions on offer and are likely to view moving to the cloud from an infrastructure perspective and miss core reason for moving to the cloud.
Such consultants may disregard the potential of moving to the cloud as to better support a business and likely view it simply as a change of platform. When a decision to move to the cloud has been agreed upon a company should view it as an architectural change and take the entire view of the business in mind. Moving to the cloud is more far more than simply a change in platform and should be view from the point of view of the specific business rather than simply as a change in platform. Cloud Computing should be viewed from the perspective of how such move better supports the business.
Understand IT better
A move to the cloud requires one to better understand the IT system of a business in detail. Understanding the details of how systems are separated between on site and cloud delivered platforms and how to best synergize this to the needs of the business is crucial.
Many consultants may view moving to the cloud as only an infrastructure issue without considering the whole business, its objectives or its mission statement. The core attributes of the current system, whether old or new must also be considered before shifting to the cloud. A poor cloud computing consultant may be more concerned with how you are moving and not with what you are moving and why. Some ways to spot a consultant who is more concerned with the “how” and not with the “what” and “why” is as follows.
They may mention a company which already has a presence on the cloud
If a consultant mentions any such company they may already have a readymade solution without first gaining any insight into your business and what works best for your business. Most likely they view moving to the cloud as a platform change rather than an architectural change.
They show little interest in your core business
Business needs are different across industries and within. A business cannot be supported on the cloud without being understood first.
They may show no interest in sharing core architectural artifacts
The architecture of artifacts such as governance models, security models, performance models, data models is required to make a meaningful move to the cloud. If these are not shared then the consultants may simply be interested in moving data to cloud and not in any meaningful beneficial change for your business.
Conclusion
The cloud should complement your business and not simply be a change in platform with few if any improvements in business processes or efficiency. Without a holistic view of a core business a move to the cloud may as well not be made. Consultants keen to help businesses will likely inquire about the architecture of the current system as well as learn about a business’s core model.
