Connecting Cloud Migration and Customer Centricity

More companies and organizational functions are becoming cloud centric. In addition, more organizations and functions also have grown much more customer centric in recent years. In fact, many of us now use that marketing concept to help us better manage the steadily expanding expectations of our customers, regardless of whether those stakeholders are internal (colleagues) or external (clients). It turns out that these two trends overlap in practical ways that can help strengthen cloud migration decision-making and execution.

As a longtime coach, I often use customer centricity as a helpful organizing principle to lay out a career advancement plan. As we chart our career progressions, it’s helpful to identify who our customers and stakeholders are so that we can understand their changing needs and how we can satisfy—or better yet, exceed—their expectations. Getting a read on our stakeholders’ expectations requires active listening and developing an understanding of their business challenges (so we can help them address those hurdles). A customer-centric approach to career planning also involves treating yourself as your own customer; doing so helps you think clearly about your past, present and future while understanding the best options available to achieve your career objectives.

In my previous work as a CIO, I applied similar strategies and tactics when developing a technology playbook for my organization. I sought to understand the changing expectations and challenges of my internal and external customers by carefully listening to them. I continually learned about new IT models, approaches and tools to determine which ones would be most likely to address the organization’s top challenges while supporting the achievement of strategic objectives.

As we select actions to take—whether these steps are focused on career growth or an investment in new technology—it is also important to avoid picking the most comprehensive activity and to avoid forcing the issue. Those two “don’ts” represent guiding principles of effective career planning and sound technology planning, especially when cloud technology is involved. Cloud technologies, including those that support tax management processes, offer cost efficiencies (via reduced IT costs), deliver ease-of-implementation benefits (quicker go-live compared to other options) and require less maintenance. Those benefits can generate more satisfied customers all around.