Cloud computing and cultural changes

​If you will look at the current IT spending then you will realize that cloud spending will soon outpace the traditional IT spending. Well, cloud computing is no longer a new kid on the block as it has become a completely mature and grown technology that has spread its leg to almost all the technologically advanced solutions.

If you will look at the data provided by IDC, then you will come to know that by 2023, the cloud spending will increase to almost 40 percent and that’s a significant increase from the current 30 percent spending.

But even with so many advantages and usage, there are many places where cloud computing fails. Well, if you will look closely at those enterprises where cloud computing has failed then you will discern that it’s not the technology that is responsible for the failure as it works perfectly but it is the noxious culture that has killed the most opportunistic and advantageous technology before it got off the launch pad.
​
The organizational culture is going to play a lead role in determining whether the introduction of cloud computing will be a success or a failure in your organization. But if you will have a toxic culture in your firm then not only cloud computing but any new change will result in a disaster for your organization. This is why, in this blog post, we will address cultural changes and issues in terms of cloud computing.

The top cultural barriers

The slow walk

​This is surely one of the biggest and overlooked cultural barriers in your organization that can stop you from making cloud computing a big hit. In this cultural barrier, there is basically a passive-aggressive move where most of the teams play lip service to cloud computing solutions but still they take forever to provide the information required like data descriptions for workload or application that you need to shift to the cloud platform. With passive-aggressive behavior, you will never be able to make cloud computing a strong part of your organization.

Rouge IT

​Another main cultural challenge faced by most of the businesses is known as rouge IT. The usual move towards Do-it-Yourself leads to many new types of vulnerabilities to end-user less professional in following best practices and security measures. There are many enterprises that don’t implement any type of security measure that can immune the users from any type of intrusion or infection and this is what results in sharing applications on the cloud with amateurs and rouges. This is the reason why this cultural challenge is known as rouge IT.

Fear of Change

​You should know that in many situations, the general security threat is just a mask for the common fear of change and this is another popular cultural barrier that can stop you from making cloud computing successful in your organization. Any big IT migration leads to changes in the traditional IT solution and if you have a culture that facilitates fear of change then you will never be able to thrive on the opportunities and possibilities brought by the new change like cloud computing.

The security fog

​There is no denial in the fact that cloud computing is a more secure platform than on-premise but still, there will be many employees in your organization that will use security as a reason to not move to the cloud. Well, this misconception regarding the security of cloud computing is rooted deep in the culture of your organization and it is known as security fog.

The required cultural changes for making cloud computing successful

Working with other departments

In order to make cloud computing successful in your organization, you will have to get rid of shadow IT as it has been one of the major challenges for IT departments from a very long time. You will need to hold a cloud amnesty for discovery within the firm. There are chances that you already have some cloud solutions in your organization and it can also be possible that the formal channels are not aware about these cloud solutions.
​
In such a situation, it becomes necessary to let each department of your organization to specify which tools they use in order to know whether you can enhance effectiveness through aggregation or not. If you will not do it then most of the departments will see cloud computing solutions as an open buffet to pick at their own requirement and this will further enhance the shadow IT headache for your IT department.

Dealing with resistance to change

​You might not know but resistance to change is never a personal driven practice but it is embedded deep into the culture of the organization. If you will not deal with the toxic culture of resistance to change then you will never be able to ensure a smooth transition to the cloud platform. There will be some employees in your organization who will be afraid of a steeper learning curve while others will be afraid of learning new skills. Well, all this can lead to resistant culture and in order to overcome it, you will have to gain the confidence of your employees and make them realize the opportunities and benefits the change can bring in the organization.

Keeping everyone updated

​A culture that facilitates transparency can do wonder to the success of cloud computing transition. With major IT migration, employees will surely encounter some minor issue and if you will keep everyone informed about what’s happening in the organization then you will be able to address everyone’s issue in the best possible way. And if everyone’s issue will be solved and if everyone will be aware about what’s happening in the organization, then the chances of cloud computing become a strong pillar of success in your organization will surely increase.