Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework: what is it?

Prefer to read about our specialist’s insights? Here’s the full transcript for our latest video: 

Sam: Hello again everyone, welcome back to the Azure miniseries it’s great to be back. You may also notice that I have someone else with me this time.  

So let me welcome back the ying to my yang Gina Shobrook who is also an Azure Solution specialists just like me, but with a gold mine of knowledge in the mapping and IoT space, so say hi Gina.  

Gina: Hello everyone, great to be here.  

And as Sam said we are back with the next episode of Azure 101, and this time we are going to be looking at The Cloud Adoption Framework. Specifically, what it is and why you would use it.   

Then in subsequent videos we will look at some of the phases of the Cloud Adoption Framework and some of the resources you will have access to through Microsoft. 

Let’s start then by looking at what it is.   

Sam: Thanks Gina. So, the Cloud Adoption Framework, or CAF, is a roadmap for efficient and secure cloud adoption.   

It's designed to help organisations adopt the cloud through a set of key steps.   

We always say though that it's not a one-time process don’t we.  

It's basically a mindset for adopting Azure, whether you're new to it or setting up new services and software solutions.   

CAF should be revisited each time to adopt according to best practices.  

Let’s have a quick look then at the phases of CAF: 

1. To start we have Pre-production: These phases involve planning and strategy.  
2. Next there is Production: This focuses on getting ready and adopting Azure.  
3. Last of all we have post-production: Managing and governing the cloud environment.  

Just so you know CAF does indeed recommend that securing your organisations estate should be integrated throughout your entire adoption process.   

This means from the start with strategising and planning and security should be at the fore front of all. This is known as a “shift left” mentality.   

This is also helpful that when you adopt the cloud, you won't have to reconfigure over and again or worry about security implementations affecting things like performance as it would have already been tested and taken care of. 

You can however continue to improve your Azure estate over time. 

Gina: So just to summarise some of these points so far: 

CAF is a roadmap for adopting Azure, for this deployment and future deployments, with Microsoft and industry best practise hard baked in for you.  

If not already familiar with all the Cloud features, then you will be introduced to great tools and ways to create a secure development pipeline.   

Such as Azure DevOps and GitHub for example. As well as tools for mapping your digital estate such as Azure migrate.  

Okay so my question is why is CAF needed Sam?  

Sam: That’s a great question Gina and well one of the first and probably the biggest reasons why it’s needed is because Cloud is an operating model not a destination! 

No business owner comes in on a Monday morning and says hey do you know what we need... We need to be on Azure.  

But so often it can feel like Cloud is suggested as the answer to every problem because it is on the edge of most if not all current advanced technologies.   

It can be used to create test & deploy resources for products and applications faster and easier. 

But do you simply inherit that by being on the Cloud?   

The answer candidly is NO! 

CAF provides businesses with the template to unlock Azure’s power and make it work for them.   

So, Gina do you want to take everyone through what sort of resources the Framework provides to set it apart.   

Gina: Sure, the CAF framework adopts existing project management tools and moulds them to help an organisation create a Cloud Centre of excellence. This helps them to Adopt Azure, in the cleanest and most efficient manner possible. 

One of these tools is something called the RACI template. That’s R A C I, which stands for:  

Responsible – Who or what team does the work. 

Accountable – The person responsible for the completion of the task. 

Consulted – Who are you asking for opinions (subject matter experts Partners Like Grey Matter). 

Informed – Those that are kept up to date on the progress and decisions of a project.  

Another great resource is the Business Outcomes template. This again focusses attention on what is important such as:  

• Who is a stake holder in the project? 

• What are the KPI’s to meet success? i.e. £1 million sales target. 

• What are the drivers that are pushing this? 

This last one is interesting because the template forces and organisation to look at the opportunities and the challenges that are the business drivers.  

As you can see this framework provides a foundation for organisations to maximise the benefits of Azure in line with best practise recommendations.  

Sam: Thanks Gina it’s probably fair to say that Cloud adoption is not a fast process if done correctly and can take weeks or even months.   

However, if business’s start to use the tools and resources in CAF they can reduce that time down considerably and also reduce any issues raising up in the future because they have been identified and planned for.  

Cool well that’s it for this session, in the next few sessions, we will touch upon other sections of CAF as we showcase some of the key Azure services in each section.   

So don’t worry it will all make sense come the end, Trust us we are professionals. 

So, until next time, It’s goodbye from me and Gina and we will see you next time.