Abstract

To stay firmly in the digital race, organizations must accelerate the creation of digital business and operational models. Cloud has proven to be the great enabler of this accelerated development. But it is much more than simply procuring cloud resources and "lifting and shifting" existing workloads. To take full advantage of cloud-based development, organizations must upskill talent, reconsider corporate culture, implement agile practices, and put in place standard governance frameworks. Most organizations lack both the expertise and the resources to go it alone and must lean heavily on their partners to make it all work.

This document serves as a big-picture checklist for CIOs aiming to take full advantage of hyperscale providers. It outlines the situation, offers examples, defines the core issues, and gives guidance on selecting cloud providers that can help accelerate organizational transformation.

"Organizations face a tough balancing act. The imperative to 'go digital' keeps getting more and more urgent at the same time as the complexity of going digital continues to grow. When it comes to laying the technical and organizational foundations for long-term change, the great majority of enterprises need the help of external suppliers that do far more than simply sell them the technology they need. These suppliers also become trusted partners, thoroughly committed to their clients' business goals." — Senior Research Analyst Danielle Hernandez, IDC Europe.

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