Maximize Business Value with a Clear Hybrid Cloud Strategy

The Hybrid Path to Cloud Value

Enterprises initially approached hybrid cloud adoption cautiously, often implementing it in a piecemeal fashion. According to the SolutionDot COVID-19 Business Impact Survey, only 27% of organizations have core enterprise systems on the cloud. This fragmented adoption often resulted in disjointed strategies, with each business function collaborating with different cloud vendors. This led to siloed initiatives, higher costs, and minimal ROI.

To correct this, leaders should adopt an effective hybrid cloud strategy, which ensures optimal cloud management and delivers superior results.

Consider a leading beverage company headquartered in New York with over 300 related businesses worldwide. To streamline its IT for mergers and acquisitions amid rapid growth, the company implemented a hybrid cloud solution that combined scalable public cloud and flexible private cloud. This approach allowed the company to consolidate, optimize, and standardize its IT infrastructure, unifying its operations across multiple countries under a single, flexible hybrid cloud system.

Similarly, a global shipping enterprise needed to enhance its IT infrastructure overnight to enable remote working for over 2,500 employees when COVID-19 struck. By leveraging Citrix’s virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), the company managed a seamless transition without disrupting its global supply chain operations.

Four Steps to a Robust Hybrid Cloud Strategy

A future-proof hybrid cloud strategy is essential for maintaining a competitive edge, enabling continuous business evolution, and meeting changing needs. Here are four steps to ensure a strong, adaptable hybrid cloud strategy:

1. Make It Scalable and Agile:

To leverage advanced technologies like AI, analytics, machine learning, blockchain, and IoT, you need a flexible and scalable strategy. A scalable solution can lead to more efficient processes and significant time savings, as demonstrated by a Dutch multinational HR consulting firm that used a hybrid cloud to reduce infrastructure provisioning time by 80% for 38,000 employees across 5,000 offices.

2. Define Your Industry-Specific Business Needs:

Each industry has unique needs. Your cloud solution should integrate seamlessly with these needs. For instance, a retailer’s cloud strategy might focus on supply chain management, while an airline might prioritize online customer experience. Partnering with a provider with contextual expertise can expedite value realization. For example, a global aerospace and defense company managed a smooth cloud-based transition for its IT assets and applications after separating its business portfolio into two enterprises within a year.

3. Have a Clear Roadmap:

Define your hybrid cloud goals and what success looks like for your company. Your cloud journey should be unique and aligned with your growth objectives. Support your roadmap with a well-aligned strategy and IT plan that accommodates emerging technologies, data privacy, and evolving security needs.

4. Focus on Economic Sustainability:

Aim for cost predictability and economic sustainability. Plan meticulously to avoid ad hoc expenses during and after the transition. Utilize cloud FinOps services for hybrid multi-cloud cost optimization to prevent uncontrolled cloud service consumption that can lead to rising costs.

Having a strategic partner to guide the entire cloud journey is crucial. Relying on multiple managed service providers (SPs) can lead to redundant costs and inefficiencies due to disparate data centers, operations centers, and tools.

5. From Strategy to Execution

Once you have defined your hybrid strategy, the next step is implementation. Here’s how to ensure a smooth process:

1. Analyze Your Digital Strategy: Ensure your strategy extends to the entire business ecosystem. Identify and address any potential issues with the help of an expert partner.
2. Collaborate and Communicate: Increase adoption rates by including all stakeholders. Ensure critical communications reach everyone involved.
3. Measure Cloud Strategy Effectiveness: Evaluate short and long-term goals and measure progress to continuously refine your strategy. Key parameters to track include agility, modernization, sustainability, and resilience.

Your Cloud, Your Journey

Clearly understanding your company’s business strategy and its position within emerging and industry ecosystems is crucial for determining the right cloud architecture and partner. This approach will enable you to move confidently into the future.