Want to make your business case for adopting the cloud a resounding success? Here’s what you need to know!

This article is part of the limited preview of the “The Missing Cloud Programme Roadmap”, a generic roadmap for any enterprise cloud adoption programme.

1. Executive Summary
2. The Cloud and Enterprises
3. The Missing Cloud Programme Roadmap
   1. The Cloud Programme Roadmap
   2. The First Iteration of The Cloud Programme Roadmap
   3. The Unavoidable Disclaimer
   4. The Roadmap for The Missing Cloud Programme Roadmap
   5. The Manual for the Missing Manual
   6. Building the Business Case
      1. Key Achievements
      2. The Definition of Cloud
      3. The Rationale for the Cloud Programme
      4. Managing the Message
      5. Securing Regulatory Approval
      6. Connecting With Your Peers
      7. Recording Outcomes: The Cloud Manifesto
   7. Starting the Cloud Programme
   8. Iteratively Building the Delivery Pipeline
   9. Iteratively Executing the Delivery Pipeline
4. A Cloudy Future

Key Achievements

Every good initiative should start with building the crucial business case underpinning all activities going forward. The Missing Cloud Programme Roadmap shall be no exception.

The essential achievements in this phase are creating a common understanding of cloud and delineating the expected benefits to the organisation. Thereby creating crucial organisational alignment and vital consensus amongst key stakeholders.

The key here is to actively seek open discussions that encourage providing disconfirming evidence from all levels of the organisation. Initially, this can feel like being surrounded by sceptics and critics.

However, the approach allows to quickly uncover potential problems ranging from weaknesses and blockers up to programme terminators. Once known, they can then be addressed.

More importantly, actively looking for disconfirming evidence helps to avoid falling for the groupthink fallacy. Also, this approach has the convenient side effect of opening the door widely to turning sceptics and critics into accomplices.

From the outset, the outcome of this phase is a business case. However, the decision to adopt the cloud is not predetermined but rather deliberately kept open. Note that this can very well lead to a negative business case, i.e., resulting in not adopting the cloud altogether.

The cloud-negative business case may very well be the best business decision the organisation can take at that moment in time, potentially ending up saving it a substantial amount of expenditure. All it takes is courage to do the right thing.

Even a cloud-negative business case is a successful conclusion of the entire cloud programme! Not only does it provides a thorough rationale and a realistic assessment of the current situation. But also a solid framework of how to rapidly re-evaluate the decision in the future.

Think this is crazy? No one in their right mind would do such a thing? If nothing else, then just watch one of the most impressive talks I’ve seen on this subject by Astro Teller, titled “The unexpected benefit of celebrating failure”.

In general, this phase serves to identify and resolve potential myths, hopes, ambitions, and delusions surrounding the adoption of cloud in an organisation. And instead, establish a data-driven projection of a likely reality post cloud adoption, based on hard evidence.

The Definition of Cloud

Find out more about it in the next article.

So, What Are Your Key Achievements?!

While the above Worx for Me!™ when it comes to defining the key achievements for the phase building the business case, you may have an alternative or better way.

Think this is all rubbish, massively overrated, or generally heading into the absolutely wrong direction?! Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn and teach me something new!

As always, prove me wrong and I’ll buy you a pint!