The three types of stakeholders that you will encounter when kick-starting an AWS migration – and how to help them join your journey
“Change is the only constant in the universe.” This phrase is often encountered in the evolving world of technology, but I find it incomplete. The other thing that is as prevalent as changes is resistance to changes.
Migrating your workload from on-premises to the cloud may encounter resistance from stakeholders- it is usually an acute shift in the IT department, evolving multi-disciplinary teams, and a refactoring of the system architecture. Therefore, one must identify the “pain point” of the relevant stakeholders and find the best action to resonate with them.
We can name three personalities that broadly sort an organization’s pushback types: Unwilling, Unsure, and Unmotivated. We will match three engagement mechanisms to them: immersion days, MAP, and LNA. First, we will explain the source of the pushback and explain the mechanism to address the source of their pushback.
Unwilling: A professional’s fear of the unknown and belief in the good enough
You know and admire the type. They are almost a folk-tale in your office; they know the system front to back and beyond—they were there when it was just one rack and a fan in the back room. Do not get me wrong – they are professionals who know what they are doing. However, their expertise in this field may give them a narrow perspective- this is “their” kingdom, and rightfully so. Having your workload in a data center somewhere unseen and physically uncontrolled can be daunting. We can ask for a leap of faith- but why will they take it? Therefore, the best way to dissolve this pushback is to showcase in a risk-free environment that cloud base workload can offer to expand the “kingdom”, not to replace it or them as the experts. We can do it with the immersion days.
AWS Immersion Days are a series of hands-on workshops and training sessions offered by AWS and its partners, designed to provide participants with a practical, immersive experience in using AWS services and solutions. Each day can be tailor-made to feature the use cases, roles, or industries relevant to your organization. Immersion Days often include presentations, discussions, and, most importantly, hands-on labs. Participants can work with AWS services in a real-world scenario guided by AWS experts. This hands-on experience is aimed at helping individuals and teams build confidence and proficiency in using AWS tools and services.
Utilizing Immersion Day can help dissolve the unknown and help traditional on-premise IT professionals gain confidence and be more willing to take the first steps into a cloud transformation.
Unsure: Mid-level management that balances their enthusiasm for the technology and their constraint of the corporate bureaucracy.
This pushback, at first glance, seems simple to resolve. We encounter a somewhat savvy manager, familiar in theory with the capabilities of AWS and with the associated costs and complexity of a migration process, which leads to “paralysis by analysis” or not seeing the forest from the trees. Honestly, they might be right. They can see the light but not the path. Mismanagement of the migration process can be the most costly mistake made in the cloud. As much as transformation, in the long run, can save up to 50% in the cost of operations, the actual period can be packed with double billing, over-provisioning, and downtime. In other words, as much as they know migration can be a good thing, they cannot see the right way to do it- they need a MAP (pun intended).
AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) facilitates swift enterprise cloud adoption through a three-phased framework: Assess, Mobilize, and Migrate (and Modernize). The program provides tools, training, and partner expertise to streamline migration. The process entails assessing readiness by identifying gaps and building a Total Cost of Ownership model, then mobilizing resources to address capability gaps and establish an operational foundation. The final step involves executing the migration plan with AWS Migration Partners. This streamlined approach aims to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure successful enterprise migration to the AWS cloud.
In short- the MAP is a program designed to engage all the stakeholders, from the technical to the financial, and lead you through the process, ensuring the best case scenario is your case scenario.
Unmotivated: the executive that says “We are doing ok” instead of asking “Can we do better”
In this scenario, your organization has already moved into the cloud, and so far, all KPIs have been met. You recognize the risk of “stagnation by success” and are ready to push further and higher to be the new trend and not follow it later or too late. How do you re-engage and keep engaging your C-suit after a stellar yet time-consuming, successful modernization phase? Introduce them to the Executive Briefing Center.
The AWS Executive Briefing Center offers tailored discussions with executives and experts to accelerate your cloud journey. This center provides access to a global team of subject matter experts, offering support and helping you discover solutions unique to your business initiatives through strategic discussions with AWS leaders. The EBC emphasizes cultivating ongoing relationships, sharing best practices, and connecting with AWS teams to bring your vision to life.
The EBC and the consented exposure to the latest innovations will help you make sure inspiration, and motivation will be the right attitude in which each new idea will be first met. As I love to misquote, “Aim for the stars, and you will at least reach the moon.”
You might face different pushbacks to AWS transformation and migration. However, when you follow all the way here, you realize the common core of all of them- all of them are solutions that can be provided via your AWS partner. Immersion days, MAPs, and connections to the EBC can all be made via their AWS partners. Furthermore- understanding the needs and matching the right program to you and your organization is what the AWS partners are for. The easiest, most essential, and first step you should do is to find the best AWS partner for you. At Develeap, we can take you there.