How to realise the promised business value of cloud

In ADAPT's Cloud & Infrastructure Edge interview panel, Warren Jennings, Industry CTO at Telstra, and Justyn Green, Head of Architecture at Versent, discuss the importance of balancing innovation and optimisation within cloud environments.

They emphasise that modernising efforts effectively involves not only adopting innovative cloud solutions but also optimising existing infrastructure for cost and efficiency.

Key strategies include architectural planning with shared services and relevant data sets, real-time cost visibility, and robust governance models. Additionally, fostering a culture of understanding key cost drivers and architectural guardrails is essential to drive innovation without incurring unnecessary expenses.

Warren highlights that achieving alignment, especially at the executive level, requires buy-in and engagement from both business and IT leadership.

The "two in the box" model, which involves collaboration between business and IT leaders, ensures that major projects are driven collaboratively.

Mastering change is vital for scaling cloud adoption, starting with organisational processes and top-down support.

This approach helps align business strategies with technology maturity. Furthermore, building ecosystems and partnerships, particularly in cloud and cyber security, enhances organisational capabilities.

These collaborations allow organisations to leverage partnerships more effectively, driving holistic, secure, and innovative cloud solutions.

The panel also highlights the significant focus security leaders place on compliance and governance, which they believe enhances their security posture.

However, it’s surprising that more leaders don’t mention the time spent on fostering a cyber security aware culture.

Investments in compliance and culture both yield substantial benefits, yet awareness and training accounted for only about 10% of overall budgets.

Balancing security measures with the agility required for cloud governance and resilience is crucial.

Justyn noted the challenge of modernising cloud platforms while maintaining innovation and productivity, emphasising the need for open funding mechanisms and investments in resilience.

Post-COVID, organisations should focus on creating a resilient ecosystem and maintaining strong relationships with trading partners to ensure a robust and interconnected supply chain.

Key takeaways:
Balancing innovation and optimisation: Effective cloud modernisation involves both adopting innovative solutions and optimising existing infrastructure for cost efficiency and performance. This requires strategic architectural planning, real-time cost visibility, and robust governance models.

Executive alignment and collaboration: Achieving alignment between business and IT leadership through collaborative models like "two in the box" is crucial. Mastering organisational change and building strong ecosystems and partnerships enhance cloud and cyber security capabilities.

Importance of compliance, culture, and resilience: Security leaders focus on compliance and governance, which they believe enhances security. However, fostering a cyber security aware culture and investing in resilience are equally important. Balancing security measures with agility and maintaining strong relationships with trading partners ensures a robust supply chain.

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