Why a Cloud COE is so critical for a successful cloud strategy!

A Cloud COE is critical for a successful cloud strategy. I have seen cloud migrations fail because they lacked a COE that could champion those.

If we look at its nature, Cloud is not meant to be tactical, in contrast, it needs a strong strategic alignment with the enterprise with long-term implications. Any cloud adoption brings in a slice of digital transformation with new operating models & reusability that impact the whole enterprise.

Thus there is a cross-functional aspect to it, meaning it needs active support from other functional teams. Cloud implementation, when done in a silo, would be a recipe for failure. And that’s where a COE with diverse skills & experiences becomes so critical to its success.

The COE would establish vision statements, make investment decisions, serve as a “change” agent, manage finances, manage vendors, make architecture decisions, etc. It should consist of Executives, Business Leaders, Enterprise Architects, Sr. Developers with X-functional skills, Enterprise BAs, & Sr. PMs with X-functional experiences, all with authority at the enterprise level.

Thoughts?

How Cloud COE helped in Dow Jones’s enterprise transformation!