Why do 50% of cloud migrations stall or fail? There might be as many reasons as there are migration failures, but they will all trace back to a lack of skills behind the project.
Here are the skills your team will need, the roles you need to fill, and how to secure the talent that you need for your cloud migration.
Four skills your team needs when you’re moving to the cloud
Cloud migration involves a suite of skills, as does the use of the new system once it’s ready. They can seem as complex as the project itself. Here are four key skill pillars for your project.
Data Architecture
Data architecture is the management of information and the design of its flow through an organisation. Designing or implementing a new cloud system is an opportunity to create an architecture that has a positive commercial impact by aligning with how teams use (or ought to use) data.
That does mean that any data architects also need to have a keen commercial eye and a deep understanding of how the business operates, and how teams' function and interact.
Data Engineering
Data Engineers build the systems that data architects design. Those systems collect data, store it, and convert it into useful formats which are ready for interpretation.
Aside from knowledge of cloud computing, your data engineers will need to be experts in Extract, Transfer, and Load (ETL) systems that move data, scripting for machine learning to automate repetitive tasks, and data storage so that they know how best to store each piece of data.
Data Science
Once the data flows from the architecture and engineering, you need people to extract meaning and insights from it. Those are your data scientists. As well as being able to interpret data, a data scientist needs to present it in a way that’s accessible to all levels of expertise, so that even team members who aren’t trained in data will find it valuable.
In addition to knowing how to present data, the scientists need to know what data to present. In other words, what is commercially valuable data, what is useful for each department, and what is the business context for the information?
Cyber security
Cloud computing can be considerably more secure than on-site storage and servers, but with any new system comes new risks. There’s new ‘surface area’ for attack, meaning the new system presents new places for threats to attack. A new system also means that human error in security is more likely, since teams are less familiar with the new best practice.
You need experts who are familiar with cloud security on a technical level, but who also understand user experience and user behaviour around systems, can design and implement measures accordingly and can communicate them effectively.
How to find and attract talent
All of the roles and skills above are highly sought-after, and businesses have to be extremely competitive to attract them. Here are some tips for bringing in the talent that you need.
Train your teams
You may have team members who have transferrable skills, who could learn cloud technology with the right training. That has the added benefit that they already know the business well, so can apply their existing understanding to the cloud migration project.
Look overseas
Admittedly, there are extra steps and additional costs when work visas and relocation are involved, but they’re more than worth it when you can open your search to more talent (and give yourself a better chance of finding the right hires). Interim and contract deals can also relieve some of the bureaucracy.
Hire from other sectors
If you’re not looking for talent in other industries, you may be missing out. Given cloud technology is present so widely, there’s no reason to hire only from your sector, and there’s a wealth of migration experience if you look beyond.
Work with an expert talent partner
When you partner with a search specialist who has deep roots in technology recruitment cross sector, you get access to a broad network of experts with the experience to make your cloud transformation a huge success. To get started, contact people@rpint.com.
