Does Cloud Technology Make the IT Department Redundant?

There are a number of different levels of cloud options, from hybrid environments – where some applications are hosted in the cloud and some on local servers on-premise – right up to full cloud environments. All of which require input and expertise from the IT department.

Public and private cloud environments do not manage themselves. So when a financial institution (FI) moves to a cloud environment, it still needs people who look after patching, respond to security alerts, cost alerts and general alerts, and more. There also needs to be an owner. Sure, there are cloud technology providers that can do a lot of the heavy lifting, but there is still a layer of activity that needs to be done by a third-party IT team outside of that.

Managed Services provide support for in-house IT teams

Many financial institutions are using Managed Service providers, who provide a lot of the IT expertise.

We are also seeing many organizations where the desire is to cross-train their in-house resources, and it can generally be seen as part of a of a wider corporate adoption of a particular cloud where they want to build the teams that have these skills, so that they can become self-sufficient in the long term.

It’s important to understand that managers are not the only ones looking at this space, and key employees want to be involved in these initiatives, And it’s good to get them involved earlier. Even if you’re working with a managed service provider, allow them to be part of that overall journey and vision.

The in-house view

One of our long-standing clients, a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at a tier-one global bank, cloud technology does not make the IT department redundant.

“[The cloud] should change the way we work or be one of the pillars of changing the way that we work,” he says, adding that cloud technologies enhance the options open to IT departments. “It’s new. It’s the kind of thing that that talent is interested in, getting involved in and taking on.”

Our customer also posits that the cloud-enabled IT departments are able to deliver solutions in a faster timeframe. Furthermore, he states that the IT department can also work on DevSecOps models, giving them a lot more automation around their software development, data quality, software development and test quality.

“All of this combines to make cloud technology an exciting new avenue of exploration for financial institutions’ IT teams.”

Do you have questions about the impact the growth of cloud technology could have on your IT department? Get in touch to have a discussion around what cloud could mean for you.