Many organizations lack a well-defined strategy while migrating to Oracle Cloud Applications. They assume that the project concerns only IT and devise their strategy without input from other departments of the organization which impacts the effectiveness of the migration. Business leaders should involve the cross-functional areas in the project and leverage their expertise to ensure maximum benefits from their Oracle Cloud Applications implementation.
Here are the approaches that business leaders must adopt to avoid the most common cloud migration pitfalls.
5 Approaches to Avoid Cloud Migration Pitfalls
1. Involve All Stakeholders
One common mistake that organizations make with their Oracle Cloud Applications migration strategy is to assume that it concerns only IT. But business users from HR, Operations and Finance departments have valuable insights. Business leaders need to work together across functions to ensure they are prepared for the cloud transition with effective change management, contribute to the strategy to improve adoption, and find ways in which the cloud could benefit their specific functions. Business and IT should be equally involved in defining the cloud migration strategy because cloud has an impact on every area within an organization.
2. Have an Exit Strategy
Many organizations don’t have an exit strategy because they don’t expect to migrate back from the cloud. Though this is very rare, you must have an exit strategy just in case things go wrong. You should also consider the possibility of changing your technology provider apart from bringing your applications back on-premises. Other contingency plans for unforeseen events include also having a scale down strategy along with an exit strategy.
3. Align with Organizational Goals
Organizations often build an Oracle Cloud Applications migration strategy that is not aligned with the overall business strategy. Business leaders should work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the cloud migration strategy aligns with the organizational IT strategy and any other strategic plan in the organization that is impacted by the migration.
4. Establish a Governance Framework
Many organizations struggle to effectively manage and govern their use of Oracle Cloud Applications, resulting in user adoption in ways that are inefficient or even risky. Having an effective governance framework prevents regulated and sensitive data from being accessed via personal accounts or unmanaged SaaS applications. This can also help mitigate security and compliance risks and prevent the overall business from incurring excess costs. Oracle Cloud Applications are not just a one-time project but also require ongoing management and their governance requires a complete life cycle approach.
5. Focus on Business Outcomes
Many organizations move to Oracle Cloud Applications because their business leaders believe that doing so will result in cost savings. This is a common mistake because the goal is not always to reduce costs, and this objective alone shouldn’t form the basis of your migration plan. You should ensure the project is focused on delivering the desired business outcomes which include, cost savings and efficiency, as well as agility, speed and innovation. Assess the driving factors for moving to the cloud and develop your migration strategy based on your needs.
