What added value does the AWS Cloud offer your business? Every company wants to answer this question as well as they can before deciding to take up the migration project. The answer is difficult to quantify because the real added value goes beyond cost savings. The path will only lead to reaching this goal if the company identifies all obstacles early on and addresses them proactively.
To get off to a good start, it must be possible to transparently assess a company’s actual willingness internally to tackle the migration and cooperate in a way that will ensure success. The migration readiness assessment offers process steps that facilitate structured communication among employees. This identifies the main obstacles standing in the way of the migration within the company. The open and sometimes even critical discussions that must be had as a standard procedure are sometimes quite difficult – and can even affect the company’s culture.
At the same time, the company must understand that cloud operations offer the greatest added value well beyond mere cost savings. These benefits include employee productivity, operational reliability and business agility. This is why most companies need to quantify these benefits and agree on the overall business advantages of the migration. This figure allows companies to reliably predict the future benefits of the migration.
Pragmatic approach for assessing the overall benefit
Now, different employees in the company could struggle for weeks or even months to determine an exact figure for the overall business benefit, only to find out later that the figure is not a reliable measure after all. This is why taking a pragmatic approach makes much more sense. Together with the company, analysts make sure that enough information has been gathered to make a decision – while at the same time minimising the time and effort required for data collection. At the same time, benchmarks and estimates are used to align the effort for determining the overall benefit with the needs of the company and only conducting more in-depth analyses when really necessary.
The three stages of the AWS Migration Acceleration Program
The structured migration process of the AWS Migration Acceleration Program has three phases that focus on successfully completing the AWS migration.
Overview and introduction
Phase 1: migration readiness assessment. The following article discusses this topic.
Phase 2: mobilising resources
Phase 3: migrate and modernise
Migration readiness assessment – methodical guidance for a complete overview
The AWS migration readiness assessment (MRA) provides a framework for producing a business case. Stakeholders from various areas of the company participate in a moderated workshop. Over 70 questions are addressed in a fully moderated setting. The aim is to gain insights into the six dimensions of the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework:
- Business
- Process
- People
- Platform
- Operation
- Security
For many companies, the assessment usually takes a whole day – participation is obligatory for all stakeholders. The focus on the six dimensions reveals where there are gaps in the migration plan, and the employees from many different areas of the company consult with one another. Everyone should be able to express their opinions in a safe setting. Voicing criticism is not only encouraged – it is absolutely necessary. At the same time, the company learns to better understand the differing points of view that exist within the company. Rigid timeboxing is necessary to make the most of this day. Concerns are documented, and the various topics are covered in a strictly moderated setting.
As a result, it is then possible to successfully differentiate the hard-to-quantify overall business advantages – which also include resilience and agility – from the purely financial models that are easier to ascertain. In addition, the employees gain a common understanding of why the migration is a good idea. They are made aware of the benefits that can be expected – even if these cannot necessarily be predicted in exact numerical terms –and how they can be achieved.
‘Our experiences with the migration readiness assessment during our customers’ migration projects have been really great. It serves as a springboard for discussions that bring about a new level of mutual understanding between people who have often stopped listening to each other. This means that the lines of reasoning are generally accepted. They are then applied in order to develop a plan in which everyone agrees on why certain priorities are placed at the very top of the backlog.’
Tristan Woerth, Cloud Architect at Swisscom
Mind the gaps! And learn how to close them.
Unlike simpler assessments, the MRA is not limited to offering the company an assessment of its status quo. Rather, it produces a heatmap showing the gaps in a company’s readiness for the migration. It serves as a direct basis for a series of practical recommendations on how to proceed with the migration project. This is combined with a model of the total operating costs.
Added value: improved communication
The assessment makes it possible to revive conversations between employees who are no longer effectively communicating with each other. And in certain areas management will assume that everything is under control. The employees on location will tell a much different story, however. The MRA serves as an important amplifier for their concerns.
The complexity of the business case depends on what each customer needs. Some companies have already opted for migration. Here the analysis can focus on documenting several key points for decision-making, agreeing on the scope and starting with migration planning directly. Companies that are not that far along yet, however, will further explore the foundations for their decisions during the mobilisation phase.
‘The key to the business case is focusing on the actual business drivers. It is not helpful to focus only on a single topic that is only somewhat relevant. The relevant areas will be refined later, but the business drivers are what is most important during an initial stage. In addition, it’s best not to split hairs. Making progress together is more important.’
Tristan Woerth, Cloud Architect at Swisscom
Next article in the AWS Cloud series
Mobilisation and the Cloud Center of Excellence
The company-internal Cloud Center of Excellence plays a key role in achieving goals before, during and after the migration to AWS Cloud.
Find out more about migrating to the AWS Cloud
AWS Cloud solutions from Swisscom
Here you can find out more about the AWS services Swisscom offers for design, implementation, migration and operation.