Cloud-Driven Enterprise Transformation on AWS - Cloud-Driven Enterprise Transformation on AWS
AbstractIntroduction

Cloud-Driven Enterprise Transformation on AWS

Publication date: May 11, 2021

Abstract

Enterprise customers often request advice and learnings from Amazon Web Services (AWS) on how to accelerate the velocity of their cloud transformation. This document describes an integrated approach to achieve speed and accelerate time to value while maintaining control and corporate guardrails. This approach enables teams, delegates decision rights, promotes experimentation, and leverages a continuous improvement mindset. The approach provides IT and business leaders with a mechanism to tailor and scale their value-driven cloud transformation programs.

Introduction

This whitepaper describes an integrated approach to accelerating the velocity of cloud transformation based on agile principles to couple speed with control and accelerate time to value, while empowering decision rights, experimentation, and continuous improvement across teams.

Business transformation objectives can be met with the following five levers:

  • Expand business / IT partnership with clear executive ownership

  • Initiate a multi-layered cloud migration strategy that accelerates simple migrations, begin tackling complex application design on AWS, and identify workload dependencies

  • Implement a consistent enterprise AWS design decision support process

  • Define and launch a “factory model” to accelerate migrations to AWS, focusing on activating delivery teams to move their business applications to AWS

  • Scale out the cloud transformation program and expand foundational capabilities, automation, and re-usable assets based on prioritization of highest value and re-use

Successful transformation programs are business-driven. They have clear governance of key milestone objectives and success metrics coupled with a people strategy that accommodates a variety of organizational / team levels of AWS expertise. Enterprise transformation is supported by adopting an agile approach with joint decision-making between business owners and IT teams on the timing and degree of transformation. In every case, the degree of business involvement and transformation needs to be balanced with other competing delivery priorities and a clear business case for change.

Successful cloud transformation programs enable teams to work and collaborate using agile principles to improve collaboration and joint prioritization. An agile approach breaks down large tasks (such as enterprise migration) into manageable, iterative pieces of work delivered and measured incrementally. This approach also provides a feedback mechanism to measure team velocity, adapt approaches to increase performance, and identify and optimize dependencies on teams that might not use the same model.

The AWS Cloud Adoption Framework provides further details on the pillars of successful cloud adoption.

A diagram showing business strategy-driven transformation approach

Business strategy-driven transformation approach