In part three of this series, we'll dive deeper into how to design and operate a successful CCoE. We'll cover defining the purpose and composition of a CCoE, establishing a governance model, ensuring collaboration, and measuring success.
A CCoE is a cross-functional team that leads and governs an organization's cloud adoption and operation. Its primary purpose is to accelerate cloud adoption by establishing best practices, enabling teams, and driving cultural change.
As the AWS whitepaper Overview of the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework explains, a CCoE is comprised of two functional groups:
The CCoE helps the organization gain traction, provides expertise, and reduces risks in the initial stages of cloud adoption. However, it's important to note that a CCoE is not always necessary—it depends on the organization's specific challenges and context.
One key decision in designing your CCoE is whether it will be a temporary or permanent team. The AWS blog post Using a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE) to Transform the Entire Enterprise suggests that a CCoE is best thought of as a temporary enablement team, as the cloud will eventually become the "new normal" for the entire IT organization.
The functions of a CCoE, such as cloud platform engineering, security, and compliance, will eventually be absorbed into the broader IT organization as cloud maturity grows. The danger is creating a separate silo for the cloud that persists long-term.
However, some organizations maintain a permanent CCoE to continuously optimize cloud operations. The key is ensuring the CCoE enables rather than gates the rest of the organization. As the Microsoft Azure Cloud Adoption Framework states, when successful, a CCoE model creates a significant shift in IT, moving from a control and operations focus to a broker and enablement role.
The primary duty of the CCoE team is to accelerate cloud adoption through cloud-native or hybrid solutions. Key responsibilities include:
To fulfill these responsibilities, the CCoE must collaborate closely with application teams, infrastructure teams, security, compliance, finance, and executive leadership. Establishing a regular meeting cadence and clear communication channels is critical.
A core responsibility of the CCoE is establishing a cloud governance model. This includes:
The CCoE's role includes creating an initial governance approach for the cloud, with a focus on automating policies and enabling teams. Over time, cloud governance should become integral to overall IT governance.
A CCoE requires ongoing collaboration and support from stakeholders across the organization to be effective. Some key strategies include:
The CCoE should act as a partner and enabler to the business, not a gatekeeper. Building strong relationships and focusing on customer needs is critical. As VMware Tanzu advises, no matter what phase of cloud maturity you're in, the CCoE can help improve visibility, drive optimization, maintain governance, and align the cloud strategy with business goals.
To ensure your CCoE is effective, establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure its impact. Metrics may include:
Establish a baseline for these KPIs and set targets for improvement. Regularly measure and report on progress to stakeholders.
In addition to quantitative metrics, also gather qualitative feedback from stakeholders. Conduct regular surveys, interviews, and workshops to understand what's working well and areas for improvement.
Use these insights to evolve and optimize your CCoE continuously. Some areas to regularly reassess and iterate on include 1) Governance policies and processes, 2) Tooling and automation, 3) Skills and training, and 4) Organizational structure.
Remember, a CCoE is not a static entity. Its structure, focus, and services should evolve as the organization's cloud maturity and needs change. Embrace an agile mindset and adapt the CCoE to continuously meet the needs of the business.
Building an effective Cloud Center of Excellence takes time and iteration. Start small, stay focused on outcomes, and scale as you learn. Some key steps to get started:
By starting lean and delivering value quickly, you can demonstrate the impact of the CCoE and earn the trust and support needed for long-term success.
Designing and operating a successful CCoE requires deep cloud strategy, architecture, security, and governance expertise. A trusted and proven partner like WEI can help with this.
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By partnering with WEI, you gain access to deep cloud expertise to help you build and operate a high-impact Cloud Center of Excellence. WEI is your trusted guide for cloud success from initial strategy through implementation and optimization.
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