Summary

As you move forward in cloud conversations, please keep in mind the five characteristics of the cloud. These characteristics will help you stay focused on aligning technology, economics, and strategy. The cloud's big innovation was economic, not technical. Strategy changing economics are driving rapid transformation and digitization. There are many different services, different economic and deployment models along with many different strategies to use them. The cloud is another tool in the toolbox. It is not the answer for everything, but it is quickly becoming the foundation for everything.

The next chapter starts the conversation on governance and change management. You may think that a cloud solutions architect's success depends on the technology chosen. That thinking couldn't be further from the truth. While cloud computing is foundational to digital transformation, successful cloud computing solutions must be built on top of an effective change management and IT governance foundation.