Migrating apps and workloads to the cloud is a daunting task for many agencies. Embracing change is difficult, yet it is inevitable. With the proper guidance the move will go very smoothly, and the benefits will be worth the journey in the end.
Federal CIO Tony Scott identifies a three-part strategy for cloud moves in his first speech on the job. Senior Writer Aaron Boyd summarizes Scott’s strategy as follows in his latest Federal Times article:
Know What You’ve Got
The first step, Scott said, is getting an inventory of the existing systems and the platforms and infrastructure they run on.
“Have a roadmap for those things to understand on what timeframe and under what conditions you’re going to move things,” he said, noting at some point agencies will have to make decisions about moving to a whole new platform.
If a new platform is needed…
Identify Common Platforms
Agencies often identify a need for IT products and services then go through a lengthy procurement process to acquire them. With cloud services, Scott said, agencies should first look at what their colleagues are doing and take advantage of any shared services potential.
“There’s patterns across the federal government, things that every agency does that there ought to be a cloud underpinning for,” he said. “Identifying those common services and creating an environment where everybody can take advantage of those at scale is key to getting there.”
Kill The Weak
Finally, Scott warned of getting bogged down by legacy apps that are too complicated or esoteric to migrate into a cloud environment.
“Be very deliberate about killing off the stuff that’s not going to survive the move to the cloud,” he said. “We’re great at launching new things but getting rid of the old stuff is part and parcel of that journey.”
These steps can mean difficult cultural and organizational changes but the rewards in cost savings and agility more than make up for it, Scott added.
For more advice from the Federal CIO, see the following related articles:
- Federal CIO: Agencies need to finish IT projects
- Agencies interested in shared services, wary of risks
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