CIO: learn how to realize your plans with the cloud

Imagine the following situation: for months, a CIO has been planning the migration of some critical company applications to cloud computing. This endeavor would not only help save IT department resources, it would also free the staff from performing repetitive tasks. However, on the day he was going to contact the supplier to start the migration, he was called to a meeting with the other managers of the company.

In it, he was warned that the project's budget would be frozen until the financial department finished analyzing its viability. This is a situation no CIO wants to experience, but it still happens a lot. And the reason for it to occur is simple: the migration to the cloud was treated by the IT manager just like any other project, and not as something that would bring numerous advantages to the organization.

Below, we separate some tips that will help you avoid this situation and not let other areas of the company disturb your plans with cloud computing. Check out:

Present the project to managers in other areas

Many times, the managers of other areas (finance, commercial, operations, etc.) do not agree with the continuity of the migration project simply because they do not know its details. This leads them to think that the project will be just another one of the IT department's endeavors, which will take a good portion of the organization's financial resources and generate little value for it.

Therefore, the first tip to not let other areas prevent the continuity of plans with the cloud is to share your details with them. Thus, managers will understand the real purpose of the project. In the case of migrating critical applications, it means saving IT sector resources and freeing professionals from repetitive tasks, such as carrying out data center maintenance, which will be passed on to the cloud provider.

Make sure they understand the importance of the cloud

Today, most managers already understand, at least at a basic level, the advantages generated by cloud computing, such as operational savings, increased productivity and gain of competitive advantages. However, many of them still do not understand, in numbers, how much the cloud can benefit the company, nor the metrics that determine the success or failure of a project.

It's very important that the CIO devise a strategy to make them understand all of this in the meetings, to reduce the chances of them being against the project. It's also critical to make sure they understand the real importance of the cloud to the company. In the meetings, the IT leader can even show how the cloud and the technologies originated from it can help the department of each manager.

Form a cloud project team

To give more transparency to cloud projects and ensure that all areas of the company are aware of their existence, the CIO should form a cloud project team . This should be made up not of managers, but of key employees from each department, who will know all the details of the projects (budget, contract with suppliers, success of actions, etc.).

And when they know these details, they will be able to inform those responsible for their departments and keep them always updated, so as not to be taken by surprise or feel ignored. With the formation of this team, the CIO also ends up showing that cloud computing projects are very important for the organization, and that they deserve the attention of all those involved.

And you, have you ever had a cloud project hindered by other areas of the company? Share your experiences with us in the comments! [:]