AWS Cloud Enterprise Strategy Blog
Author: Stephen Orban
Stephen is the GM (General Manager) of a new AWS service under development, and author of the book “Ahead in the Cloud: Best Practices for Navigating the Future of Enterprise IT” https://amzn.to/ahead-in-the-cloud Stephen spent his first three-and-a-half years with Amazon as the Global Head of Enterprise Strategy, where he oversaw AWS’s enterprise go-to-market strategy, invented and built AWS’s Migration Acceleration Program (MAP), and helped executives from hundreds of the world’s largest companies envision, develop, and mature their IT operating model using the cloud. Stephen authored Ahead in the Cloud so customers might benefit from many of the best practices Stephen observed working with customers in this role. Prior to joining AWS, Stephen was the CIO of Dow Jones, where he introduced modern software development methodologies and reduced costs while implementing a cloud-first strategy. These transformational changes accelerated product development cycles and increased productivity across all lines of business, including The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch.com, Dow Jones Newswires, and Factiva. Stephen also spent 11 years at Bloomberg LP, holding a variety of leadership positions across their equity and messaging platforms, before founding Bloomberg Sports in 2008, where he served as CTO. Stephen earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from State University of New York College at Fredonia. https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=4575032
Ahead in the Cloud: My New Book on the Future of Enterprise IT (and My New Role)
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” — John Pierpont “J.P.” Morgan Today I’m excited to make two announcements: First, my new book, Ahead in the Cloud, became available last week. Over the last three and a half years as the Global Head of Enterprise Strategy for […]
Cloud Management Made Easier: AWS Managed Services Now Integrates with ServiceNow
Automation is good, so long as you know exactly where to put the machine. -Eliyahu Goldratt I’ve spent time with hundreds of IT executives over the past several years, many of whom are in the process of implementing cloud-first operating models in their enterprises. Among the countless things I’ve learned from these conversations, two things are […]
3 Reasons You Should Document Your Culture and Hire for Culture Fit
3 Reasons You Should Document YourCulture and Hire for Culture Fit “In our early years, we didn’t talk about culture much. We hadn’t documented it all. We just built a business that we wanted to work in. And, that was great. But the real return on culture happened when we started getting more deliberate about it. […]
The Fast and the Furious: How the Evolution of Cloud Computing Is Accelerating Builder Velocity
© Ozzy Delaney https://www.flickr.com/photos/24931020@N02/15854782234 In my role as Head of Enterprise Strategy for AWS, I have a lot to be grateful for. After having led a large-scale business transformation using the cloud as the CIO of Dow Jones, I now have a front-row seat to watch some of the largest companies in the world (News […]
The Devolution of IT: How SGN, A Major Utility Provider in Europe, is Modernizing IT Using the Cloud
©Anna-Maria Oléhn https://www.flickr.com/photos/agrajag42/5044627532/ Many people believe that decentralization means loss of control. That’s simply not true. You can improve control if you look at control as the control of events and not people. –Wilbur Creech In my role as Head of Enterprise Strategy for Amazon Web Services (AWS), I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to […]
A Must Have Secret Weapon to Modernize Your Business: Training Your Team on Cloud
The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts. — C.S. Lewis I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to learn how hundreds of executives from the world’s largest companies are transforming their business using modern technologies and the cloud. Transformational change is not easy — few things in business worth doing […]
Four Key Practices for Profiling Your Enterprise Application Portfolio and Accelerating Your Migration to Cloud
I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from (and hopefully help) hundreds of executives from the largest companies in the world as they plan for and migrate their IT portfolio to the cloud. They rarely do it alone, so I’ve also been fortunate to work with some of the most cloud-fluent system […]
3 Shortcuts to Accelerate Your Cloud Migration and IT Portfolio Analysis
© Nic McPhee https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicmcphee/2057350339 Driving with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake is likely to get you nowhere, but certainly will burn out vital parts of your car. -Terry Savage I’ve recently published several series detailing some of the patterns we’ve seen around large-scale IT transformation and cloud migrations. In 2014, […]
Capital One’s Cloud Journey Through the Stages of Adoption
He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator. -Francis Bacon Over the last few years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with hundreds of thought-leading executives who are leading large-scale cultural shifts in their organizations. Few have done this better than Capital One, who has built a […]
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast: Friedkin’s Journey Toward XOIT & High-Multiple Cultures
Earlier this week I kicked off a series on Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast, and have been pleasantly surprised by the engagement it’s generated (particularly via comments/likes on LinkedIn) so far. Turns out, cultural transformation is a popular topic, and there seems to be a strong appetite for more stories on this topic. I have […]