Modernization to the cloud is traditionally a multi-year process that takes countless hours to plan, develop, and execute. Organizations need to devise a strategy for their journey, classifying applications, data, and infrastructure into a project plan for execution.

This is usually done over the scope of an entire datacenter, or even multiple datacenters at a time, sometimes housing many thousands of workloads. Then, there are estimates, timelines, and costs which get wrapped into a contract and sent through procurement and legal processes. This is the traditional engagement model in our service industry.

Does it have to be so rigid?
What happens when the business environment changes? If an application needs a different classification or a different path to its new home, then that carefully developed plan is no longer valid. And then the dreaded contract change process is initiated. While cloud transformation is known for improving business agility, if the modernization program is restrictive, then organizations will quickly become frustrated with a lack of agility as they go through their transformations.

What if there was a different, more flexible model? Imagine a white glove approach, where a provider is available at the customer’s request, a concierge service for modernization. Organizations should look for partners who can deliver against the three C’s of cloud transformation: convenience, cost transparency and control.

Convenience
You know and we know that business priorities change. Sometimes you can see it coming, and sometimes it’s a bolt from the blue that can knock your organization sideways. To successfully navigate change, your organization should look for a partner that stands alongside you, helping you to quickly and easily adapt to address changing needs. You need the convenience of being able to request services on demand – modular services that can be turned on or off without the added complexity of negotiating new contracts.

A concierge is all about creating convenience, so it’s a great analogy. When your business is ready to modernize, imagine if you could simply ring the bell and your provider is immediately at your service. By removing contiguous project schedules this is no longer a dream, it can be a reality. So, when you have an important sales campaign or seasonal event that requires the business’ full attention, your partner needs to be able to pause any ongoing modernization efforts and pick these back up when you are ready. If your business has slowed, and you’re ready to accelerate your modernization, your modernization concierge should be able to quickly can ramp up your factory engagement and increase your modernization throughput. Truly a white-glove experience.

Cost transparency
With an On Demand approach to modernization, you should be able to pick your service from a "menu", so you know exactly what you're getting and how much it will cost. When you request a menu item, execution should begin within defined SLAs. If you’re interested in one of the specials or want to order something not on the menu you should be able to tell your provider what you want, and quickly get upfront, transparent pricing.

You should be able to buy from your service provide in the same way as you buy from your cloud vendor – easy, quick, and on-demand with no up-front commitments or changes to your contract. And when the suite of services is expanded, the menu should reflect those services with the same transparent pricing. This approach gives you the utmost confidence that your modernization effort will not exceed your allotted budgets and provides you with the visibility you need to plan for the full cost of your modernization, while also allowing you to prioritize the efforts that deliver the greatest value.

Control
With this kind of approach, organizations only pay for what they use, when they use it, so it requires little upfront investment. Not only that, but you're always in control – able to decide when you want to execute on projects and to make the call if you want to pause any services as you reevaluate the needs of your business. By taking real control of the size and throughput of your modernization, you can ensure complete alignment to your application owners’ needs and timelines. This control of your modernization approach also enables you to align to your strategy across the R’s of application modernization as you determine the need to retain, retire, rehost, replatform, refactor, reimagine or replace across your entire application portfolio.

We’ve been working with clients in this way, helping them to modernize on demand, with a model that provides one contract with modular pricing that does not require defined timelines. By making it easy for you to engage with us, we could be your modernization concierge too.

To find out how we can help you with this revolutionary approach, contact us today or read the guide for tips on how you can maximize business value with an outcome led approach.