ARCHITECTURE & TRANSFORMATION

Cloud strategy beyond the platform decision

Platform features matter, but commercial viability, operational resilience and long-term flexibility matter just as much.

Define the operating model first

The right cloud approach depends on the workloads, skills, customer expectations, compliance obligations and support model. Start by understanding who will operate the service, how it will be secured and what outcomes it must deliver.

Understand the full cost

Compare more than licence or hardware costs. Include migration effort, automation, backup, observability, training, support, capacity headroom and future upgrades. A lower entry price does not always mean a lower total cost.

Design for failure and change

Resilience is not a feature checkbox. Test recovery objectives, dependency failure modes, security boundaries and the operational response to incidents. Consider how the organisation can evolve or exit the platform without disproportionate cost.

Make decisions that remain defensible

A sound platform decision is transparent about assumptions and trade-offs. Document why the choice fits the business today, what would cause that decision to change and how those signals will be monitored.

Fivehaven Advisory perspective · General commentary, not advice tailored to any specific organisation. Discuss your challenge ↗