Stages of the Cloud Adoption Framework
1. Define Strategy
In this phase, organizations build the business case for moving to the cloud by analyzing current on-premises infrastructures and identifying clear benefits such as:- Lowering escalating on-premises costs.
- Enhancing service availability.
- Expanding to multiple regions without the complexity of establishing new data centers.
2. Planning
With a clear strategy in place, the next phase is to develop a robust plan:- Identify which resources and workloads will migrate to the cloud.
- Outline an initial alignment plan.
- Create a readiness plan that educates teams on cloud technologies and operational practices.
3. Ready
The ready stage focuses on preparing a solid foundation for cloud adoption:- Establish a comprehensive readiness guide and create a landing zone.
- Develop blueprints and document best practices to ensure a smooth and efficient transition.
4. Adopt
The adopt phase is where the actual migration occurs and is divided into two parts:Migration
- Develop detailed migration guides for various scenarios.
- Implement best practices and continuously refine the migration strategy.
Innovation
- Utilize cloud-native and hybrid solutions to spark innovation.
- Adapt and enhance the initial migration strategy to address evolving business needs.
5. Governance and Management
Once the migration is complete, focus shifts to governance and continuous operational management:- Governance: Establish and continuously refine compliance standards, security baselines, and operational benchmarks.
- Management: Finalize the migration by setting up dedicated operational teams, assigning responsibilities for security controls, daily operations, and achieving overall operational maturity.
Ensure that your governance framework evolves with your cloud journey since compliance and security needs may change over time.
6. Organize
In the final stage, align teams and support roles according to the Cloud Adoption Framework. This guarantees cohesive collaboration and clear ownership for ongoing cloud operations.Recap of the Process
| Stage | Key Focus |
|---|---|
| Define Strategy | Establishing business justification and setting anticipated outcomes. |
| Planning | Creating an actionable plan aligned with business objectives. |
| Ready | Preparing the cloud environment with blueprints and best practices. |
| Adopt | Migrating workloads and innovating with new solutions. |
| Governance | Implementing compliance and security measures. |
| Manage | Setting up operational management for cloud services. |
| Organize | Aligning teams to support and sustain cloud operations. |
Comparing with the Well-Architected Framework
Another notable framework is the Well-Architected Framework. Unlike the Cloud Adoption Framework that focuses on guiding organizations towards cloud adoption, the Well-Architected Framework is tailored for those already in the cloud who want to optimize their workloads. It emphasizes five key pillars:- Cost Optimization
- Operational Excellence
- Reliability
- Security
- Performance