In the early days of hyperscale public cloud adoption, many organisations understandably dived headfirst into dedicated relationships with a single provider. General Manager of Operational Services at AC3, Claudia Couzi says that they may have found it exciting to follow one vendor because of the technology on offer or the competitive pricing. “We found customers taking sides, saying, ‘We’re a company that only deals with this provider versus that provider.’ They were standing behind one vendor and going all in.”
This dependency could often be traced back to one internal team member – typically in a strategy or IT function – being a strong evangelist for one technology or cloud platform over all others.
This would lead to a business case in which the company’s entire investment funding became aligned to the benefits of one cloud provider. Looking at websites with an untrained eye, it’s easy to convince the C-suite to prefer one version over the rest, as everything looks good on the outside, says Couzi. And as the whole business case gets aligned with this approach, the result is the organisation finds itself locked into a relationship with one provider.
But this has changed, she says. The market has now matured so that the thinking has become ‘what is the business problem I’m trying to solve, and which vendor gives me the best solution for my business?’
It must be stressed that not every business is the same – some customers’ entire IT is behind one system, one application, one product, and aligning with and locking into one partner will make perfect sense for their business. On the other hand, there will be organisations of a certain scale, or that provide more than one product to market, that may find themselves with potential legacy applications and a lot of internal intricacies. In such cases, being locked into one cloud may not be the best outcome for their business. ** TRUSTING PARTNER ADVICE **
This is where a partner with the capability to offer or consult on a multi- cloud solution will look at each and every system the customer has and assess them in their own rights, system by system and application by application, to ascertain exactly which is the best journey, landing point and destination for each one.
Importantly, the process is a very consultative one and, above all, it is outcome-focused, rather than technology-focused. Technology is a means to an end, and the drive is to find the right fit for each particular business case.
From the customer’s perspective, Couzi recommends approaching the decision-making with an open mind. They need to have clarity regarding what they want out of their business when it comes to IT investment, she says. “Bring the problem, bring the outcome you’re looking for, and then trust a partner who is capable of giving you the advice.”
And to find that partner? Couzi says there are no shortcuts. Businesses need to do their due diligence. They should partner with someone reputable. Perhaps the prospect already partners with other similar businesses and has a proven track record. “You also want that partner to be open about their capability across the different cloud platforms that are out there,” says Couzi. Plus, it’s important to not be locked in at the front, as no single partner will be specialised in every single cloud platform.
Finally, it should always be remembered that people do business with people. When considering aligning with both cloud providers and partners/managed services providers, organisations should try and identify the ones they can personally connect with at a business level, at a cultural level, and at a company level, advises Couzi.
“You’re investing heavily and it’s about making sure that you’re doing business with people that you want to be doing business with.”