Cloud Adoption Strategy.. The What, Why & How
Framework
Being honest (to a career limiting extent), when I first starting learning about the Microsoft Cloud Adoption framework, my first thought was this is a bit flaffy. I could see how the phased, defined approach to Azure cloud adoption, alongside technical implementation of Azure Landing Zones would apply to larger enterprise and government customers, but saw it as over flaff for smaller organisations.
Queue the Microsoft CAF evangelists ringing the bell of shame
Its safe to say I am now converted and truly believe that the approaches and guidelines outlined in the CAF apply to any organisation adopting Azure, all be it with some tweaking and common sense applied where appropriate.
What is the CAF?
The Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) is a comprehensive guide and set of best practices designed to help organizations plan and execute a successful cloud adoption strategy. It provides a structured approach for companies of any size to plan, design, and implement their migration to Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform.
The CAF is built on a set of four key components:
1. The Microsoft Azure platform, including infrastructure, services, and management tools.
2. A set of proven best practices and guidelines that are based on real-world customer experiences and industry standards.
3. A flexible and adaptable framework that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of any organization, regardless of size or industry.
4. A comprehensive set of resources, tools, and templates to help organizations quickly and effectively plan and execute their migration.
The use of the CAF is recommended for any organization, regardless of size, that is looking to adopt Azure services. Here are some of the reasons why:
It provides a clear and structured approach to cloud adoption, which can help organizations avoid common pitfalls and ensure a successful migration to the cloud.
It helps organizations understand their existing IT landscape and determine which applications and services are good candidates for migration to the cloud.
It provides guidance on how to design and implement a secure, scalable, and cost-effective cloud architecture that meets the organization's specific needs.
It provides a set of best practices and guidelines that can help organizations optimize their use of Azure services and avoid common mistakes that can lead to increased costs or reduced performance.
It offers a flexible and adaptable framework that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of any organization, regardless of size or industry.
Overall, the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework is a valuable resource for any organization looking to adopt Azure services. It provides a clear and structured approach to cloud adoption, based on best practices and real-world customer experiences, and can help organizations achieve a successful migration to the cloud.
How do Integy approach creation of a Cloud Adoption Strategy for our customers?
The CAF is a great resource for planning and implementing an Azure migration for any size organisation (yes I'm converted, put the bell away). It alone does not provide an overall cloud adoption strategy for most organisations. The Integy approach to creating a Cloud Adoption Strategy for our customers involves a thorough review of an organisations entire IT provision, mapping out a roadmap for transformation (much of which should be done before moving to Azure), which generally leads to a leaner estate, in-scope for migration to the cloud. An Integy Cloud Adoption Strategy engagement assesses the following at a minimum:
- Microsoft 365 Adoption Level
- Licensing
- File data
- Security tooling
- End User Computing architecture and management tooling
- Upcoming capital / infrastructure refresh
- Backup and Disaster Recovery
- Telephony
- Network architecture
The engagement also asks the difficult questions,
Is this the right direction for the organisation? Is moving all workloads to cloud appropriate or should a hybrid architecture be considered?, Can the organisation as a whole and the internal IT team accommodate a significant level of change?
We thrive off helping organisations transform their IT delivery, streamline their operations, control costs and most importantly, offer the agility modern organisations need to progress in todays word.
If any of the above resonates with where you are on your cloud journey, even if the common mistake has already been made of starting without a strategy (we've all done it), get in touch, the Integy Cloud Architecture Team don't charge for a coffee and a chat!
James Cook, Integy Co-Founder & Cloud Architect
Call us today on 01392 796525 or Email us at ask@integy.co.uk
