If you play in the middle of the road, you are eventually going to get run over. Change is hard; adopting change sometimes seems impossible. Cloud is something that goes much better with a firm commitment to it. It is not something to do halfway. You can't maybe, kinda, sorta your way into using cloud services. Cloud is a strategic change with very powerful economic levers alongside it. Cloud can transform enterprises in many ways. Cloud is something that you can start at your own pace. There is no reason to lift and shift everything at once. Hybrid strategies are among the safest, easiest to control, and cost-effective ways to beginning the cloud journey. Cloud journeys are not sprints; they do not need to be marathons either. Based on the real-time data, analytics, scenario planning, models, normalized data, and side-by-side comparisons, it should be clear whether cloud services make sense for the given situation. Start with the smallest scope that makes sense and go from there.

Cloud changes can have a rippling effect. They can also have a polarizing effect. It is critical to gather, process, and effectively communicate the right data in the right messaging at the right time. Data helps change the mindset, increase adoption, and, ultimately, remove any cultural challenges.

People get comfortable with routine, processes, structures, roles, and responsibilities. Everything is familiar. A big part of changing mindset is helping others understand the benefits and believe the change is needed. Disruption is difficult when skill sets are lacking. Change is also difficult when the reasoning for the change is unknown or misunderstood. It is very uncomfortable to change processes that people have used for some time. It is hard to reorganize teams or shift responsibilities to others. It is critical to communicate the right data within the right message at the right time. Change management is a huge part of cloud success. A relentless focus on communicating change, retraining, refocusing, and prioritizing is core to any successful culture and mindset change. Every cloud initiative fails without cultural adoption.

Updating skill sets is another big key to success. The market is moving fast. Technology is rapidly changing. Most team members may get one class per year, maybe two if they are lucky. Most have to do it on their own to stay relevant. With technical skills lagging behind, it makes it very difficult when cloud services begin to take hold. Cloud is economics, strategy, and risk. Most technical team members have very little training or, quite honestly, patience to deal with politics, strategy, risk conversations, financial analysis, and metrics. Most technical types would gladly jump off the nearest high bridge. The next generation of architects are going to need a mix of business, financial, technical, and political skills. The next generation of high-value designers and architects will need to think more like CFOs than technical administrators.