by\u00a0Elmarie Grant,\u00a0Head of Synthesis Academy<\/p>\n
It\u2019s almost that time of year again, when thousands of hopefuls gather their bikes in the shadow of Table Mountain to complete the gruelling (and thoroughly satisfying) Cape Town Cycle Tour. Every year, a select group of Synthesis employees joins some customers to pit endurance against the mountain, and to ride for a cause.<\/p>\n
As the first Advanced Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner in Africa, Synthesis has prepared and supported many customers on their technology journeys, and has seen the good, the bad (and sometimes even the ugly!) in the pursuit to embrace Cloud.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s agreed \u2013 like the Cycle Race, it\u2019s not easy, but it\u2019s definitely worth it.<\/p>\n
1.\u201cCycling is not running in circles\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Surely, training for a cycle race is the same as training for a marathon? This only sounds like a good idea until our legs give out halfway up Suikerbossie. Cycling requires different muscles, different equipment and a completely different mindset to running.<\/p>\n Cloud migration is not just a matter of lifting old tech from a current environment and of dumping it into the Cloud. It is an opportunity to take big, hairy, audacious tech goals and work backwards. What innovative new on-demand, real-time services can be offered to customers? What improvements can (and should) be made to current architecture? What cost efficiencies can be achieved? And what about aligning business processes, procurement and learning culture to support this brave new world?<\/p>\n 2. Train early and train often<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s always best to have a plan to guide training. The same goes for Cloud transformations. There is ample research to show that organisations that have clear, comprehensive training plans have faster, cheaper and more efficient Cloud journeys. But it\u2019s not a static approach: different teams will have different requirements at the various stages of the journey. Training execs, business teams and technical teams bring alignment and shared purpose to execute projects, and creates buy-in. Technical teams that are trained early are less likely to make mistakes or re-do tasks.<\/p>\n 3. Pick a good partner<\/strong><\/p>\n Getting out of bed on those cold, early-morning rides is so much easier when there is a helping hand. And if we have a training partner that has done it before, has a training plan, can talk us through your nutrition and can make it fun, we really are set up for success!<\/p>\n Working with a technology partner who has extensive skills, access to best practice and a deep understanding of our business and what we are trying to achieve will take the pain and cost out of any project. A good partner will offer sound, commercial and pragmatic advice; they can pick the right tool or service for the job and will know all the shortcuts (and warn of the dangers). And best of all, they\u2019ll teach us all they know, so we can continue to innovate and build our business.<\/p>\n 4. Cultivate a learning culture<\/strong><\/p>\n Every race is new. We have new participants, new potholes, changing weather and, if our training didn\u2019t go as planned, possibly even new muscles we didn\u2019t know existed.\u00a0 Getting through it is all about being adaptable, agile, being ready to take the opportunities on the downhills, and learning lessons.<\/p>\n Building a culture of learning within an organisation sets us up for greater adaptability, faster innovation, better service and happier employees. But learning comes at a cost (and not just a financial one!). We have to be committed to give our team members time to learn, and defend that time against clashing operational requirements. If learning remains an after-hours, individual pursuit, the benefits will never make it back to the office. We also have to tolerate some failure: no-one ever stayed on their bike the first time. Give people space to practice (and perfect) their craft.<\/p>\n