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Guest post: cloud in change management

22nd August 2011

With budgets being squeezed and competition across all industries fiercer than ever, change management is a hot topic for managers and directors throughout global business. Many invest in change consultants to make recommendations on how to improve processes, systems and ways of working. But how do managers ensure that change actually happens once the consultants walk out the door, and how do organisations ensure the business will continue to adapt?

Cloud computing for change management
By Richard Helliar, UK Managing Director, Cordys

Cloud computing can, in fact, help play a key role in the success of change management projects. In addition to other benefits such as scalability, fast time to implement and pay-as-you-go pricing, cloud computing can help encourage business users to adopt new ways of working that are more joined-up across the business.

There are four key ways cloud can help support change management projects:

•   Giving business owners the tools – as soon as the vision and objectives for the change strategy are communicated, it’s important that responsibility is handed over to employees as quickly as possible. Giving users the ability to change and adapt processes using cloud based solutions can help introduce change quickly with a higher chance of success.

•   Introducing incremental change – the most successful change projects start with small changes and introduce new systems and processes slowly to earn employee trust and buy-in. The cloud can allow companies to drive small changes first, focusing on key priorities first to support new ways of working.

•   Investing in innovation – cloud computing can empower IT teams to spin up extra servers to develop new systems to support new ways of working without having to invest in upfront capital expenditure. If things aren’t working, they can be stopped easily and efforts re-directed towards more promising ventures.

•   Offering choice – cloud computing gives businesses a huge amount of choice, enabling them to select the cloud solution that best suits their needs as well as the ability to change providers as their business grows and priorities shift. Businesses also want to choose the optimum Cloud vs On Premise mix to maximise return on investment while protecting their existing assets.

Change management is never easy. Most employees resist change for two reasons. Firstly a fear of losing their job, and secondly nervousness that new ways of working are too complicated. Helping employees to embrace change largely depends on having a clear end goal and communicating on progress towards that goal regularly.

But it also needs the right supporting technology. Cloud computing can be used as a catalyst for change by introducing solutions quickly that encourage people to adopt new ways of working one step at a time. Meanwhile the IT team can tap into the power of the cloud to try out new ways without investing in expensive long-term projects.

Richard Helliar is the UK managing director at Cordys, a leading business process management software and services company. He has played a pivotal role developing Cordys’ cloud computing strategy and growing its business in Africa, Italy and the UK.