Module 12 : You Make the Decision

Angel chose services from multiple cloud providers. He tells you that he made the choice so that the company could select the exact tools that best fit each of the unique facets of the company's IT needs. Because the company is not tied down to one provider, there are many options from which to choose, and Angel is able to get a few of them to reduce their prices because he lets them know he is shopping around. Once the service contracts are signed and the products available, he is able to use his IT expertise to migrate individual services to the necessary platforms and roll out the new products to the company. Three months later, as Angel finishes up the cloud migration, he's programming in some cloud monitoring to keep track of how well the cloud services are meeting your company's needs. He asks for your suggestions on how best to assess the ongoing success of the new cloud infrastructure.

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You've determine the core problem is that Angel needs to choose the platform that will serve as the best fit for the company's anticipated growth. Angel says he hadn't thought about the problem this way. He asks you what qualifies as "best fit." You discuss with him what he knows about the company's growth and goals, and help him formulate some criteria on which to base his decision.

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You've guided Angel towards focusing on adaptability to changing needs over time. You agree that this strategy would be a better fit for the company long-term, even if it costs a little more up front. Angel goes back to work to determine which platforms best fit these criteria. You ask him to come back to you before making a choice for service providers. Two days later, he comes back with some recommendations. He's found that he can choose the "best-of-breed" services from three different cloud providers, and set up some redundancy and cross-communication between these platforms. While doing his research, however, one cloud provider offered him a specially discounted rate on all their services if he would choose their platform for all of your company's cloud computing needs. He's not sure which approach to take, and has again come to you for advice.

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You've just been promoted from a network manager position to CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of your company. While this is a tremendous boost to your career, you also find that you're less involved in the technical aspects of the functions of the IT infrastructure and more focused on managing people and interacting with other executives. You already know from your experience as network manager that people management goes more smoothly for you when you support the decision-making processes of the people you manage rather than making all the decisions yourself. Now you need to employ this strategy on a much larger scale. This shift in work responsibilities has come at an interesting time for your organization. The previous CTO had set the wheels in motion to begin a major migration of your IT infrastructure to the cloud. You've always been a supportive proponent of this kind of progress, and now you get to step into th

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What do you emphasize as the priority for follow-up assessment?

Monitor overall effectiveness and shift individual services across platforms as needed.

How can you best define the problem for Angel?

You explain that he will need to determine the platform that will serve as the best fit for the company's anticipated growth.

Which course of action will you recommend?

You suggest Angel choose the best-of-breed services from multiple cloud providers.

What criteria should you recommend Angel use in determining which platform is the best fit for the company's future?

You suggest he look for which platform will provide the most flexibility and adaptability as the company grows and changes over time

With your input, Angel decides to monitor the effectiveness of each service, and to shift individual services to new platforms as needed. This has the benefit of allowing him to adapt as the company grows and its needs change. Angel made some excellent decisions during the migration to the cloud. The entire process has gone smoothly, and everyone is impressed. When company management praises Angel for doing a great job, he repeatedly points out that your guidance and coaching were indispensable. He also feels more confident as he faces challenges to migrate other services to the cloud, and for making high-level decisions on his own. This frees up your time to focus on your new job, knowing Angel has a handle on things. Your CEO pulls you aside and congratulates you on successfully making the challenging shift from the mindset of a network manager to that of a respected and trustworthy CTO who empowers employees

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