| | DECEMBER 20189CIOReviewdealing with all of this. Most importantly, you will need to help them evolve to living in a world where they no longer have the sole responsibility of protecting the organization. This change of culture won't come easily, but it is critical to the success of any cloud migration. Culture of the CustomerEvery organization has a unique customer culture which must be addressed during a cloud migration. Sometimes the customer is not aware of where their services are hosted or who provides them. Whatever the case may be, your customers are an integral part of any cloud migration and their needs, wants and expectations must not be overlooked if you hope to have a successful migration. The culture of the customer, in all of its variations, literally defines the very organization you are supporting.Often, we "sell" the customers on the benefits offered by the cloud: less downtime, expanded capabilities, quicker response to needs, etc. However, we need to ensure the customer understands the change of relationship which may occur between themselves and their IT staff. The IT staff may no longer be able to directly resolve their issues, but they are the ones who will hold the vendor accountable. This may result in a change in the service relationship between staff and customer. Also, if your customer base is used to a large degree of flexibility or customization, this may no longer be the case in a cloud world. But, the IT department will champion their needs and seek out new cloud solutions. Finally, the IT department may not control when or how changes are rolled, but they will still serve as the voice of the customer. If a cloud migration is going to be successful, customers need to understand the "new normal" they will face day in and day out.A Brave New WorldMoving to and living in the cloud offers great possibilities but also offers many challenges. While there are many technical issues which must be addressed, there is usually training or vendor support available and most IT professionals are comfortable with how to approach them. Cultural changes are often overlooked in the migration process and many IT professionals are simply not as experienced with how to affect these important changes. However, a truly successful migration must address the cultural changes necessary of their administrators, their security staff, and most importantly, of their customers. A truly successful migration must address the cultural changes necessary of their administrators, their security staff, and most importantly, of their customers
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