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
What Does Cloud-First Look Like?
“Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.” -Ronald Reagan Change is hard. The larger and more complex an organization grows, and the more it gets used to doing things a certain way, the harder change becomes. Still, […]
21 Best Practices for Your Cloud Migration
Practice makes permanent. -Bobby Robson I’ve spent much of the last several months working with various AWS customers and teams on a holistic program that helps enterprises accelerate their cloud migration efforts. There are many aspects to this program, including (but not limited to) AWS services (e.g., AWS Database Migration Service, AWS Snowball, VM Import/Export), a […]
New York Public Library’s Cloud Journey
“A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life.” -Norman Cousins I had the pleasure meeting Jay Haque a few years ago when he started leading the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) cloud Journey. I was on a similar Journey at Dow Jones, and we had the […]
Accelerate Your Cloud Migrations with AWS Partners That Have Done It
I’ve been fortunate enough to spend much of the last several months working with customers and various teams across AWS to develop a holistic program aimed at helping enterprises accelerate their efforts to migrate large portions of their IT portfolio to AWS. There are many aspects to this program including (but not limited to) AWS […]
A Hybrid Cloud Architecture Ah-Ha! Moment
Each week I meet a few more executives that are transforming the way technology delivers value to their business using the cloud. Motivation for getting started with the cloud varies, but a consistent theme in my conversations is that the cloud allows organizations to devote more resources to their core business, move faster, and be […]
SAP in the Cloud — Part One
I am fortunate enough to regularly speak with executives at some of the world’s largest organizations about how they’re using the cloud to transform their business. One of the most frequent topics of discussion is around how to effectively run SAP on AWS. Needless to say, I am very excited to introduce a mini-series on […]
An E-Book of Cloud Best Practices for Your Enterprise
Over the last eight months, I’ve written a series of posts detailing several best practices for enterprises using (or considering) the cloud. These are practices I encourage any technology executive or professional looking to transform their business and/or career to consider. They were first inspired by my time as CIO of Dow Jones, from 2012 […]
Your Enterprise’s Flywheel to the Cloud
“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” -Yogi Berra When I introduced the Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) in a previous post, I noted that your CCoE should become the fabric through which all the other best practices on your Journey are woven. In this post, which will conclude […]
Common Responsibilities for Your Cloud Center of Excellence
“The right thing to do and the hard thing to do are usually the same.” ― Steve Maraboli I recently introduced the topic of a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE), which is the team of people responsible for developing the cloud best practices, governance, and frameworks that the rest of the organization can leverage to transform […]
How to Create a Cloud Center of Excellence in Your Enterprise
“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” -Archimedes So far in my Enterprise Cloud Journey series, I’ve discussed the importance of the role of the executive, educating your staff, giving that staff time to experiment, and (re)considering how you engage with partners. […]