Speed in the cloud

Traditional hardware procurement cycles last weeks to months. The cloud allows technologists to deploy new resources in a matter of minutes, with just a few keystrokes. This allows newfound freedom at unprecedented speed. 

People love going fast. Something is thrilling about speed – its why the German Autobahn has a legendary quality to it. It is one of the only public roadways in the world that doesn’t have a speed limit enforced. But despite legend, drivers on the Autobahn find that traffic, weather, and road conditions compel them to travel on average slower than the Richtgeschwindigkeit, or advisory speed limit, of 81mph.

Technology is no different. Technology has been evolving at a breakneck pace for the past 3 decades, forcing businesses to keep up. In recent years cloud technology has become the metaphorical Autobahn of innovation. You have license to go as fast as you can.

Traditional hardware procurement cycles last weeks to months, but the cloud allows technologists to deploy new resources in a matter of minutes, with just a few keystrokes. This allows newfound freedom and unprecedented speed.

But speed comes with risk. 

In the same way that safety dictates drivers’ speed on the Autobahn, there are several factors leaders should consider when architecting plans for a cloud transformation.

Speed creates an even more pressing need for robust strategic thinking. Without a good understanding of the long-term goals and roadmap of your organization, flashy new technology can cause lengthy detours that fail to efficiently move the organization forward.

Implementing new technology at a breakneck pace runs the risk of ignoring the cultural shifts required to achieve true value in implementing new technology solutions. Cloud technology allows you to deploy new infrastructure in seconds. However, a cloud transformation demands shift’s in your organization’s ways of working and may require some teams to reskill. Ignoring the human components of transformation will hamper how quickly your organization realizes the benefits of a technology transformation.

Finally, going too fast increases the risk for accidents. Cloud providers offer many built-in security features, but all major providers operate under a shared responsibility model where organizations must implement security configurations correctly. Security breaches in the cloud most often occur from configuration errors or misunderstandings due to hasty implementation.

As technology continues to evolve at unprecedented rates, there is value in expertise. The fastest speeds ever recorded on the autobahn were created in ideal conditions with professional drivers, not thrill seekers or dreamers. Just like you wouldn’t send a teen driver to set a new record, your organization deserves a professional driver to facilitate your cloud transformation with speed, safely.