Cloud journey and governance – enabling a hybrid IT environment

As organisation refocus on their digitalization agenda, cloud is a key enabler. Businesses are at various stages in their journey to adopt cloud. In some cases this has been deferred because of existing capital investment in infrastructure, in other cases because of scepticism or fear from losing control.

However, technology leaders are more than aware that at least a partial move to the cloud is unlikely to be avoided. Technology vendors have been adapting the traditional on-premise deployment model for their solutions and now offer only them in the cloud – as deployable solutions on cloud platforms or purely as a Software-as-a-Service model. In other cases, an internal IT environment does not always provide the necessary agility and elasticity that cloud provides.

Even in organisations that do not yet have a clearly formulated cloud strategy, you will find the use of cloud-based Software-as-a-Service solutions being used by the users. IT does not necessarily have the visibility and control on what applications in the cloud are being used. It is too easy for someone in the company to start an online subscription or create an account to start using web and mobile based on solutions – without involving IT. Such shadow IT presents major risks in terms of data leakage and operational risks as the necessary control and governance structures are not in place.

The cloud journey starts at the point that there is a realization by the management and IT leadership that this cannot be left unnoticed. To achieve the competitive advantage in a dynamic world with increased levels of digitalization, cloud adoption should be part of the foundations of the IT strategy.

The key components of a successful cloud strategy are 1) establishing clear positioning and vision for cloud adoption in the organisation 2) defining a cloud architecture that defines the required capabilities, cloud components, integration to the internal network and on-premises or datacentre hosting, security, 3) a roadmap for adoption including migration of workloads or strategic transitioning from hosted applications to Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions, and 4) the ongoing practices to improve and optimize the utilization of cloud especially when it comes to the implementation of security controls and cost management.

Cloud has an impact to the processes and practices of the organisation beyond the technology aspect. Changes to IT procurement, contracting, budgeting and cost management, risk management and operations must be weaved into the operating fabric of the organisation. This is not just an IT challenge, but a concerted effort by various stakeholders of the organisation including finance, legal and operations, just to name a few. At the early stages of establishing the cloud strategy for the business, successful cloud adoption involves establishing the necessary policies, processes and governance. EY helps customers using an established Cloud Governance Framework that helps decision makers and stakeholders in understanding these practices and how the organisation needs to change.

Another critical component of this journey is to assess and decide on the operating model for the engineering and operations of the cloud environments. Many organisations are opting for a hybrid sourcing model with an outsourcing of the operations of the cloud environments to managed service providers that can provide best-practices, skilled resources and economies of scale, avoiding the need to build up such competencies internally especially as the technology portfolio provided by the cloud is much more extensive. This does not imply that internal IT resources need not be aware and trained on the technical aspects and best-practices, internal IT roles must be in a position in to guide business adoption, architect solutions and managed the service providers. Service providers such as BMIT help in designing, implementing, managing and supporting such operating models, spanning across the customer premises or customer infrastructure within a data centre to the public cloud.

This hybrid approach, which blurs the lines between private and public cloud, and hardware and infrastructure, is increasingly becoming the norm, as organisations realise that there is no one single technology that can satisfy all business requirements. And this is the reason why expert help is becoming a must, as businesses navigate the rather complex tech landscape to achieve desired business outcomes.

EY’s portfolio of high-demand services is designed to support your cloud strategy and address your security and regulatory compliance requirements in a holistic and impactful way. As a leader in 2020 IDC Worldwide Cloud Services, EY delivers on understanding of technology and security risks, cloud technologies and services, industry-leading risk practices and regulatory compliance expectations.

BMIT Technologies is a leading IT services provider, with a portfolio of services and solutions aimed at powering businesses to achieve their desired outcomes through harnessing technology. BMIT Technologies has a clear objective to deliver technological solutions in a straightforward manner, through a team of passionate people who understand technology yet can deliver it in a simplified way.

EY Engage, Malta’s Technology Leaders Forum, will be held at the Westin Dragonara Resort on June 1 at 11.30am. The event explores how IT enables organisations to become resilient and competitive during times of disruption. Speakers include Pascal Bornet, a globally renowned keynote speaker and author of the bestselling book Intelligent Automation.

EY Engage is taking place in collaboration with Microsoft and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, along with event sponsors BMIT Technologies, Newgen Software, SG Solutions, GO Business, UiPath, Exigy, ICT Solutions, Atlas Insurance, AIVHY, Onpoint, MITA, eSkills Foundation, Tech.mt, MDIA, Invent3D and MCA. Networking opportunities, roundtable sessions covering current industry topics, and a panel discussion will also provide a unique setting to collaborate on current industry challenges and trends. For registration, visit  ey.com/en_mt/events/engage.