Culture and the Cloud
Modern cloud applications find more and more applications - many organizations are choosing such solutions, simpler to use and maintain than local applications. However, for the transfer to the cloud to be successful, it cannot be forgotten that such a transformation is primarily a cultural revolution in the organization.
To quote Beth Boettcher, Oracle vice president of application consulting: "enterprises in which decision-making processes are strictly hierarchical - or, on the contrary, are too dependent on consensus - will have difficulty adapting to the cloud. If the organizational culture is not very dynamic, the migration process will be significantly extended or at some point even stopped. Therefore, when deciding to implement a cloud solution, cloud network engineers should treat the change of culture as an indispensable element of implementation at every stage. And such a change must start from the very top. "
Why do We Need a Cloud and who will Really Implement it?
When asked by Boettcher, heads of companies considering migrating to the cloud about their goals, they most often answer that they want to reduce complexity, reduce maintenance costs to free resources for more innovative tasks, and improve user experience.
However, each of these goals must be part of a larger strategic and cultural change. Cloud applications provide employees with access to much larger amounts of data, and thus - to a much broader range of information. Importantly, employees must be able to act on their basis. Giving such a degree of agency and decision-making is a huge change for many organizations - a change that must begin at an early stage of cloud implementation. Only with this assumption can the project implementation be maintained on the appropriate course.
If any decision made during cloud implementation has nothing to do with the budget, scope or schedule and does not affect the overarching business strategy - which concerns about 80% of decisions taken during cloud implementation - there is no need for the implementation team to consult with the management "Says Beth Boettcher. "The team must be able to make such decisions and be trusted. For many managers, giving this control away can be really difficult
How to Create a Vision of a Cloud-Based Culture
In the cloud implementation process, it is important that projects are managed jointly by responsible persons - usually it is the IT director cooperating with the head of the relevant business area, e.g. the director of the human resources department / or financial director (depending on the scope of the project). These people must work out the project's goals together, but also, and perhaps above all, think about what the future cloud culture of the company should be and how to shape it from the very beginning of the implementation project.
For example, the HR director may assume that within 18 months in each country the onboarding process of a new employee will take place using one system and consist of specific, predetermined steps. Exceptions are not allowed (except those required by local labor law).
As Boettcher says, this level of concreteness outlines a very clear picture of expectations and sets parameters for all those who make decisions during implementation. Creating such a specific image can help in adapting to a new cloud-based culture, where processes are operated according to global standards. The outdated culture based on local systems often could have prompted employees to manually bypass the process - less developed technology did not always provide solutions tailored to the needs of the right business. Next, the HR director should appoint the owner of each business process within the specified scope of work. These people must have adequate decision-making power and support from experts from the implementation team.
The decision-making group should be a small group of people - and project participants should be organized around people responsible for individual processes. Thanks to this, the owners of given areas will fully understand the new possibilities of cloud applications and the new business processes covered by the project. They will also be responsible for the application and feel the pride of its successful implementation both after launching and during the stable introduction of new functions.
Additional paths to success in the cloud
When deciding to transform organizations and implement cloud solutions, leaders wanting to shape a new culture should pay attention to several additional aspects. Citing Boettcher, we can distinguish the following, worth considering:
A new look at the organization - if the implementation team consists of people who have worked for many years in the company, it is very likely that it will be difficult for them to accept unquestionably new processes, work methods, etc., according to the principle "we have been doing this task for years way, so there is no reason to change it. " Such people will demand adaptation of the system instead of using good practices and standards embedded in cloud solutions. In addition, any personalization really brings unnecessary complications. Therefore, unless it is an absolute necessity, it is better to refrain from adapting the cloud system to the individual requirements of the organization.
New forms of cooperation between IT and business - implementing a cloud solution is a new division of responsibilities - people responsible for individual business areas no longer hand the list of functional requirements to the IT department to return to their duties and wait for ready results. When implementing a cloud, business must work hand-in-hand with the IT department to ensure that processes are operating as intended. What's more, with each system update, this cooperation must be renewed - business people need to check on an ongoing basis how new system features will affect process performance and results.
Leaders as "agents of change" - managers of organizations must constantly monitor what new opportunities the development of modern technology offers. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, internet of things, blockchain create new options for business. Leaders should analyze these possibilities, check what benefits they can bring and promote them in their organizations.
New ways of thinking - modern organizations whose culture is based on the cloud need people who will develop this culture through a new approach to problem solving and design thinking. Companies with such a culture should focus on internal and external clients and shape processes in such a way that they are less based on hierarchy and bureaucracy, and more incline employees to analyze information and actions. When acquiring new talent, it's important to focus on people who demonstrate intelligent independence.
Modern cloud applications find more and more applications - many organizations are choosing such solutions, simpler to use and maintain than local applications. However, for the transfer to the cloud to be successful, it cannot be forgotten that such a transformation is primarily a cultural revolution in the organization.
To quote Beth Boettcher, Oracle vice president of application consulting: "enterprises in which decision-making processes are strictly hierarchical - or, on the contrary, are too dependent on consensus - will have difficulty adapting to the cloud. If the organizational culture is not very dynamic, the migration process will be significantly extended or at some point even stopped. Therefore, when deciding to implement a cloud solution, cloud network engineers should treat the change of culture as an indispensable element of implementation at every stage. And such a change must start from the very top. "
Why do We Need a Cloud and who will Really Implement it?
When asked by Boettcher, heads of companies considering migrating to the cloud about their goals, they most often answer that they want to reduce complexity, reduce maintenance costs to free resources for more innovative tasks, and improve user experience.
However, each of these goals must be part of a larger strategic and cultural change. Cloud applications provide employees with access to much larger amounts of data, and thus - to a much broader range of information. Importantly, employees must be able to act on their basis. Giving such a degree of agency and decision-making is a huge change for many organizations - a change that must begin at an early stage of cloud implementation. Only with this assumption can the project implementation be maintained on the appropriate course.
If any decision made during cloud implementation has nothing to do with the budget, scope or schedule and does not affect the overarching business strategy - which concerns about 80% of decisions taken during cloud implementation - there is no need for the implementation team to consult with the management "Says Beth Boettcher. "The team must be able to make such decisions and be trusted. For many managers, giving this control away can be really difficult
How to Create a Vision of a Cloud-Based Culture
In the cloud implementation process, it is important that projects are managed jointly by responsible persons - usually it is the IT director cooperating with the head of the relevant business area, e.g. the director of the human resources department / or financial director (depending on the scope of the project). These people must work out the project's goals together, but also, and perhaps above all, think about what the future cloud culture of the company should be and how to shape it from the very beginning of the implementation project.
For example, the HR director may assume that within 18 months in each country the onboarding process of a new employee will take place using one system and consist of specific, predetermined steps. Exceptions are not allowed (except those required by local labor law).
As Boettcher says, this level of concreteness outlines a very clear picture of expectations and sets parameters for all those who make decisions during implementation. Creating such a specific image can help in adapting to a new cloud-based culture, where processes are operated according to global standards. The outdated culture based on local systems often could have prompted employees to manually bypass the process - less developed technology did not always provide solutions tailored to the needs of the right business. Next, the HR director should appoint the owner of each business process within the specified scope of work. These people must have adequate decision-making power and support from experts from the implementation team.
The decision-making group should be a small group of people - and project participants should be organized around people responsible for individual processes. Thanks to this, the owners of given areas will fully understand the new possibilities of cloud applications and the new business processes covered by the project. They will also be responsible for the application and feel the pride of its successful implementation both after launching and during the stable introduction of new functions.
Additional paths to success in the cloud
When deciding to transform organizations and implement cloud solutions, leaders wanting to shape a new culture should pay attention to several additional aspects. Citing Boettcher, we can distinguish the following, worth considering:
A new look at the organization - if the implementation team consists of people who have worked for many years in the company, it is very likely that it will be difficult for them to accept unquestionably new processes, work methods, etc., according to the principle "we have been doing this task for years way, so there is no reason to change it. " Such people will demand adaptation of the system instead of using good practices and standards embedded in cloud solutions. In addition, any personalization really brings unnecessary complications. Therefore, unless it is an absolute necessity, it is better to refrain from adapting the cloud system to the individual requirements of the organization.
New forms of cooperation between IT and business - implementing a cloud solution is a new division of responsibilities - people responsible for individual business areas no longer hand the list of functional requirements to the IT department to return to their duties and wait for ready results. When implementing a cloud, business must work hand-in-hand with the IT department to ensure that processes are operating as intended. What's more, with each system update, this cooperation must be renewed - business people need to check on an ongoing basis how new system features will affect process performance and results.
Leaders as "agents of change" - managers of organizations must constantly monitor what new opportunities the development of modern technology offers. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, internet of things, blockchain create new options for business. Leaders should analyze these possibilities, check what benefits they can bring and promote them in their organizations.
New ways of thinking - modern organizations whose culture is based on the cloud need people who will develop this culture through a new approach to problem solving and design thinking. Companies with such a culture should focus on internal and external clients and shape processes in such a way that they are less based on hierarchy and bureaucracy, and more incline employees to analyze information and actions. When acquiring new talent, it's important to focus on people who demonstrate intelligent independence.
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