Cloud Centre of Excellence

Michael George Sienkiewicz, Senior Consulting Architect

A Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) represents the pinnacle in the domain of cloud technology. It serves as the hub for innovation, where organizations converge to spearhead cloud strategies that redefine the way we do business. In a landscape defined by digital transformation, the CCoE is the guiding force that provides oversight to all aspects of the Cloud Estate. It navigates the organization through the complexities of cloud adoption, synchronizes technology with business strategy, promotes best practices, and provides governance to the entire organization . It also exemplifies foresight and adaptability for the changing digital landscape.

Through shared knowledge, research and industry insights, CCoE empowers organizations to optimize their cloud architecture, bolster security, streamline cost management and establish robust governance practices. CCoE is all about enabling businesses to not just keep pace but to take the lead, fostering innovation and competitiveness in the digital age.

Addressing Systemic Challenges and Forging a Unified Path Forward

In their quest to enhance security and compliance, organizations have frequently encountered several prevalent systematic concerns within the industry. While these concerns do not encompass all possible issues, they do encapsulate the primary ones identified below:

Operational silos that obstruct effective coordination

• Practices: Secure development practices, coding standards, naming/labeling guidance, testing standards.
• Policies: Security, disaster recovery, code delivery, data governance.
• Design: Common code repositories, infrastructure build and configuration, component reusability.
• Maintenance: Removal of depreciated projects, updates of user access profiles.

There is also a pressing need for a more defined vision and roadmap for the enhancement and modernization of the Cloud Estate. This involves addressing medium and long-term business changes, conducting technology reviews and updates, and aligning technological objectives with business goals. To facilitate these improvements, a cloud operational and management framework is being developed to provide a unified approach for governing all aspects of the Cloud Estate.

Key requirements for implementing these initiatives are as follows:

• Phased in and fully applied to all divisions within the organization.
• Strong, unambiguous support from the C-Level and the Cx-Level management teams.
• Clear communication to the organization teams via training courses and circulars.
• Rigorous enforcement for all teams and activities.

Please click on the following content for further details about the framework’s design and development.