✓ First, a set of business considerations ✓ Second, a set of technical considerations The most effective approach is actually to involve both IT and business teams in both assessments. This facilitates an  understanding of issues and considerations. So, what are the  key considerations that should be part of the planning and  decision making processes? Five business considerations and  five technical implementation considerations are covered in  this section. Business considerations  are the strategic goals and plans that  determine how the business changes over the next five years.  Planning your cloud journey is more successful if it’s planned  in context with the issues driving the company’s strategy. A cloud strategy has to be targeted to how well your organization is structured to support changing business and  customer requirements. Therefore, you need to be able to  understand the anticipated opportunities and the threats  from the competitive environment. Are new competitors  entering your market? Is your industry changing dramatically  and will that cause you to totally restructure how you serve  customers and partners? If the answers indicate that major  change is coming, that impacts the structure and process of  creating and managing your hybrid cloud environment. Delivery of services and customer value can transform a  company dramatically. Your strategy may be to continue with  traditional methods of servicing your customers. However,  many industries are finding new channels and new models to  support customers. These business models typically depend  on sophisticated and emerging technologies. Understanding  these requirements helps determine what technologies need  to be incorporated into the cloud plan. For example, analytics  may play a more far-reaching role than in the past. These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and any  dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. How does the company want to provide services in the future? How’s the business changing? Business considerations  Chapter 6: Starting Your Cloud Journey 61