CloudStratex
Where Strategy Meets Execution

Where do most of the cloud implementations fail? Is it the absence of a properly thought through integration plan or the consequence of a distressed implementation? The answer is simple: Both. A new study by Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) suggests that one in three cloud migrations fail due to companies not adopting the cloud as a core part of their business strategy. Such numbers reveal that many companies still do not understand that any cloud implementation they undertake needs to be strategized and executed in a way that aligns with their unique business requirements. Too often, they engineer the cloud in the same way that they do with other platforms—which often leads to costly outcomes that are not fit for purpose. Clearly, Cloud adoption should be as frictionless possible. This challenge and presumption led directly to the creation of CloudStratex, a ServiceNow Premier Partner, with a reputation for ensuring clients take back control of their digital destiny by transforming how they leverage next generation technology.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in London by a group of execution-focused practitioners and industry veterans, CloudStratex offers a range of client-centric services to help organizations effectively drive the maximum value of their ServiceNow investment and accelerate towards self-sufficiency. With a combined experience of 50 years, CloudStratex has set a simple yet powerful mission: drive out legacy thinking and transform the way businesses leverage next-generation technologies. With such a dedicated vision, high calibre team, and a proven track record of success with some of the world’s most renowned business brands, it is no surprise that the company has emerged as a ServiceNow premier partner in just under a year. “We are client-side advisors. Instead of seeing the world from the other side of the table, we work side by side with our clients to ensure we have a comprehensive understanding of their problems so we can build a future-proof strategy for them. Our motto is encapsulated by our company name ‘‘CloudStratex’’ – we work in liaison with our clients to help them draw a strategy and execute it properly,” says Practice Director, Roger Bennett.

In an interview with CIOApplications, Bennett, and CloudStratex’s Business Director Adam O’Hare, provide insights into the company and their ServiceNow partnership, the challenges that their clients are facing, and how they are helping businesses tackle the growing IT-related challenges.

What are the key challenges that your clients are facing, and how are you solving those?

Adam: One of the most common pain points that our clients are facing is ‘‘distressed implementation.’’ Companies often implement and customize technology in a way that fails to bring value to their business. Take ServiceNow, for example. When implemented correctly, it can help every department within an organization be smarter by connecting diverse data sources. Also, ServiceNow provides an automation engine that enterprises can leverage to prevent outages, categorize, and route incidents automatically, and predict future performance. However, an array of companies only utilize ServiceNow as an IT service management tool for basic purposes like the management of incident, problem, and change.

This minimizes their return on investment, leads to dependency on third-party system integrators, and hampers the efficiency of their business overall. Another challenge that enterprises face is stability. They struggle to manage their legacy IT infrastructure properly while transitioning to the cloud. This often leads to system outages, while adversely impacting employees, customers, and stakeholders.
Roger: We understand these problems and help clients overcome stability or implementation issues with our value-added services that move customers forward until they are self-sufficient. Everything we do is designed to build internal confidence and leave clients fully capable of managing their cloud environment. A great example is how we help clients realize the true value of ServiceNow—like its immense problem management and incident management capabilities—by educating their C-level executives on how they can effectively implement, optimize, and manage the platform, as well as develop their own in-house capabilities.

Please walk us through the process that you follow after engaging with clients.

Adam: Our experienced practitioners understand what “good” looks like. Meaning, they know how technology should be implemented and integrated in order to secure the best value from it. We leverage this knowledge and our proven framework at the onset of a client engagement and perform a pulse check to understand the gaps across people, process and technology. Then, we define and prioritize a set of ‘‘pathways’’ based on the intellectual property (IP) that we have gathered and developed over the years. We can do the entire process very quickly as opposed to demanding 10-12 weeks from the client.

Finally, when it comes to actual execution we follow our ‘‘Incubator model’’, which is a structured approach, where we integrate deep engineering experience with a ‘‘pragmatic ability’’ to address all the challenges that clients face seamlessly. This enables clients to understand the right way of utilizing next-gen cloud platforms effectively. For ServiceNow, we tend to use the ServiceNow project plan, which is a very effective framework for managing ServiceNow implementations.

Could you provide our readers with a client success story?

Roger: CloudStratex has helped a number of well-known financial companies to fulfil their technological aspirations. In one instance, we strategized and executed digital transformation for a global reinsurance company. The client was facing significant challenges owing to a distressed ServiceNow implementation that used a blueprinted and prefab version of the platform. As such, they could not make timely upgrades or optimize it. Under such a pressing situation, we successfully performed a Greenfield implementation by building a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) from the ground up and doing all the necessary integrations. As an outcome of this partnership, the client is saving millions. They will also be able to run their business more efficiently by adding diverse functionalities, while optimizing the native capabilities of ServiceNow.

As a service provider, it is essential to nourish an effective employee base. How do you do that?

Adam: Our talent academy is driven by the single goal of making the leaders of the future. We incorporate fresh graduates or recent graduates into our business process directly and provide them with on the job training and various accreditations. Subsequently, they learn to fit themselves into clients’ shoes to have a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and streamline solutions accordingly.

Could you talk about the roadmap that you have drawn for the future?

Rodger: So far our growth has been phenomenal. CloudStratex has quickly emerged as a trusted name in the industry. We always focus on our employees and provide them with new growth opportunities. Recently, we have moved to a bigger office to create a better working environment. With a view to the future, our goal is to continue to work in partnership with the world’s leading companies, so we can continue to scale and grow as an organization. From a geographical perspective, we are currently focusing on the UK and Germany markets but are aware of the huge potential for our unique offering in areas such as the USA and Middle East. They are all highly competitive, so we find that our services are in great demand by businesses looking to stay one step ahead of their competitors.