Dr. Priyanka Ray discussed the major challenges in cloud migration and modernization for enterprises, emphasizing the complexity often underestimated in large-scale, legacy system migrations.
Key issues include poor planning, unexpected costs, operational disruptions, misalignment between IT strategy and business goals, inadequate change management, neglected security and compliance, single-vendor lock-in, skill development gaps, and poor stakeholder engagement.
Joshua Feinberg noted that many challenges are non-technical, focusing on people, change management, and business alignment rather than purely technical concerns.
This video is excerpted from the podcast Ep. #52 Dr. Priyanka Ray, Global GTM Cloud Migration & Modernisation Lead of IBM | Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast.
Action Items
- Engage an experienced partner to plan and execute the cloud migration project properly.
- Align the IT strategy and migration efforts with the broader business objectives.
- Implement a robust change management process to ensure employee adaptation to new changes.
- Prioritize security and compliance considerations from the start of the migration project.
- Adopt a multi-vendor, multi-technology approach to avoid vendor lock-in.
- Invest in continuous skill development so the team can keep up with the pace of technology changes.
- Engage key stakeholders throughout the transformation project to ensure buy-in and aligned expectations.
Outline
Challenges in Cloud Migration and Modernization
- Joshua Feinberg asks Dr. Priyanka Ray about the biggest challenges companies face in cloud infrastructure migrations and modernizations.
- Dr. Priyanka Ray highlights that many companies underestimate the complexity of migrating from legacy systems to the cloud.
- She mentions that poor planning leads to unexpected costs and operational disruptions, affecting timelines and costs.
- Ray points out the lack of alignment between IT strategy and business goals, resulting in projects that do not deliver tangible business value.
Alignment and Change Management Issues
- Ray discusses the importance of aligning IT efforts with broader business objectives to avoid wasted resources and missed innovation opportunities.
- She emphasizes the critical role of change management in digital transformations, noting that inadequate management can delay projects.
- Ray highlights the risks of treating security and compliance as afterthoughts, including data breaches and regulatory penalties.
- She provides an example of Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, illustrating the risks of single-vendor or single-technology lock-in.
Skill Development and Stakeholder Engagement
- Ray identifies skill development as a significant challenge, noting that the rapid pace of technology change requires continuous learning.
- She points out that many organizations fail to invest adequately in skills development for their teams, leading to a skill gap in the industry.
- Effective engagement of key stakeholders is crucial, but poor communication and engagement often lead to a lack of buy-in and misaligned expectations.
- Ray concludes by summarizing the key areas of challenge that enterprises face during transformation projects.
Business-Related Challenges vs. Technical Concerns
- Joshua Feinberg observes that many challenges are more business-related than technical, such as change management, vendor lock-in, budgeting, and timelines.
- He finds it interesting that technical concerns are not as overwhelming as dealing with people, personnel, and change issues.
- Feinberg acknowledges the complexity of these business-related challenges and their impact on successful transformations.
- The conversation ends with a mutual understanding of the various challenges faced in cloud migration and modernization projects.
Resources
Watch the full podcast Ep. #52 Dr. Priyanka Ray, Global GTM Cloud Migration & Modernisation Lead of IBM | Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast
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