The cloud is much more than a technology. It is the foundation for the future of organizations. Therefore, adoption and migration must be part of an IT modernization roadmap that considers business challenges, user experience, and technology needs, among many other aspects, such as security, organizational culture, and change management.
Our most recent study Cloud in Latin America 2023, reveals a high level of cloud adoption in the region (98%). Organizations can use this report to learn lessons and as a compass to understand trends and how to take the next steps to reach higher levels of maturity.
Planning is one of the pillars to achieve this goal. However, a landing zone along with an Engineering Platform must also be considered: an architecture to address all the core aspects of the infrastructure and cloud platform to enable repeatability, maintain control, ensure consistency, and accelerate the deployment of new services. The landing zone includes security and connectivity standards. It must be supported by an Engineering Platform with embedded and automated best practices and a service catalog that defines the most appropriate uses of the cloud for the entire organization.
The benefits of good governance
From a business perspective, good governance brings many benefits. We will focus on three that prove to be essential. First, it simplifies technical complexity for the user. A single click enables a new functionality. Second, it makes it possible to manage the entire cloud environment and ensure that all cloud resources used are perfectly executed, with efficiency and cost control. In other words, it minimizes the risk of receiving "surprise" invoices for services contracted without prior analysis. Third, the confidence that everything running on the cloud is aligned with the purpose of the business. For all these reasons, an expert team must define these foundations. In a market where there is a lack of cloud-related talent, the support of a strategic partner can contribute to achieving the expected results.
The transition from an "ungoverned" cloud to an orchestrated model must begin with a case-by-case transfer of existing applications according to business priorities, starting with the critical ones. For example, suppose 80% of a company's customers access the digital channel. In that case, it might be the first point to analyze the consumption it generates and how resilient, secure, and stable it is. Thus, it is essential to evaluate each application based on its current situation, potential future requirements, and how it will keep the organization competitive. A legacy system that has low usage may be able to migrate to the cloud as-is. But a digital application that aims to captivate customers and provide them with the best possible experience must capitalize on all the benefits and flexibility of the cloud model: scalability, speed, and the innovation of generative artificial intelligence.
Continuous modernization
Modernization is a continuous journey. Once the last application has been analyzed and processed, the focus will move on to those applications that were first deployed.
While hybrid structures prevail, many organizations have their targets set on a cloud-only model. This is a wise decision that will take much time for well-established organizations and the most chosen route for new digital businesses. In fact, it is unthinkable to use on-premises infrastructures for emerging technology applications, including, of course, artificial intelligence (AI). Why go through costly, time-consuming, and risky implementations if you can start reaping benefits right away? This is why it is estimated that Generative AI, which boomed during 2023, will be another accelerator of cloud adoption.
In conclusion, organizations in the region are committed to the use of cloud, and they are investing in improving their maturity levels. The adoption rate is ahead of the United States and European countries in general, with cases of organizations that are sustainable by design and only in the cloud. Advancing in maturity is synonymous with generating greater economic development for the region. Innovation lives in the cloud. The cloud is the core and the heart of the future