Firms need help dealing with challenges related to the migration, modernization, and management of workloads across hybrid cloud environments; lacking the relevant skills and expertise in house, they turn to professional services to help them realize cloud benefits faster. Sam and I recently published The State Of Cloud Migration And Modernization Services In Asia Pacific, which collected data from customer references about their cloud migration and managed service (CMMS) partner adoption trends. Tech leaders can use this report to improve their cloud strategy and optimize the scope of service.

Cloud Modernization And Migration Requires A Comprehensive Partner Strategy

Hybrid cloud and multicloud architectures are now the norm. Public clouds help firms improve on-demand scalability, test ideas with new and innovative development services, and reach a global user base. Private clouds improve security and regulatory compliance. However, firms still lack the skills to adopt and manage increasingly complex cloud environments and fill this gap with support from service partners: 45% of cloud decision-makers at enterprises in APAC indicated that they migrated to a cloud computing infrastructure to reap the benefits of managed services from cloud service partners. Decision-makers need a holistic view of market trends when planning to engage with cloud modernization and migration service providers.

We surveyed decision-makers at 44 enterprises in APAC and found that these firms focus on cloud architecture but lack comprehensive skills. Most have built competencies around cloud architecture, cloud governance, cloud security, and database via in-house teams or service providers (see Figure 1). Many prefer to keep cloud governance and spending in house. This is the first recommended step to building a cloud organization, as governance and cost control are top cloud priorities. But firms still lack cloud operations, multicloud migration, multicloud deployment, and serverless architecture skills. As a result, they use partners to both set up environments and train their internal teams for handoff once the initial project is complete.

Ongoing Service Engagement Underpins The Shift From Adoption To Value

During the emergence of cloud computing, firms treated public cloud as a destination separate from both existing infrastructure and the evolution of core business applications. Early service engagements reflected this: Some providers focused on cloud migration and modernization; others shifted traditional outsourcing models to cloud operations. But CMMS engagements are shifting from sequential discrete engagements focused on adoption to ongoing service arrangements seeking to maximize cloud’s business value. APAC firms now seek partners that can orchestrate the end-to-end cloud journey and ongoing optimization of cloud services: 75% of respondents indicated that their engagements cover migration, modernization, and managed services. For 86% of firms, the length of their engagements with providers goes beyond 12 months; half of these engagements exceed two years.

Combining Cloud Services Is Just The Start As New Challenges Emerge

Working with service partners to run workloads on cloud platforms will not fully realize the advantages of a contemporary cloud strategy by itself. Enterprise architecture (EA), application development, and cloud operations teams must all understand best practices that drive excellence in cloud and deliver value. In addition to seeking providers that can deliver and orchestrate the end-to-end cloud journey and ongoing optimization, enterprises should upskill teams and modernize DevOps practices.

If you would like to discuss topics regarding cloud migration and managed service, Forrester clients can access the full report or schedule a guidance session or an inquiry.