“We're cloud-first”

CIO · Cloud infrastructure

"Cloud-first" is a strategy, not a description of what's running today. Most cloud-first organisations still have workloads that can't move, or can't move yet. Don't argue with the strategy. Get curious about the exceptions: which workloads have they already decided can't move, and why?

What the buyer says

We're cloud-first. The board wants us out of our own data centres in three years, so why would I buy more hardware?

How to handle it

Listen

Hear the commitment and who it belongs to. "The board wants us out" tells you this is a top-down target with a deadline, and the CIO is accountable for hitting it.

Acknowledge

Respect the direction. Plenty of organisations have good reasons to move to public cloud, and a seller who argues with the board's strategy loses the room.

Explore

Ask about the exceptions. Which workloads have they already decided can't move: factory systems, applications that need very low latency, data that has to stay on site? What happens to those while the migration runs? What's the plan if three years becomes five?

Respond

Position your offer as supporting the cloud-first plan, not competing with it: a cloud-like way to run what has to stay, or what has to stay for now. Tie it to their deadline, and to the risk of the migration slipping.

Say this
“That makes sense, and it sounds like the direction is set.”

Say this
“Which workloads have you already decided can't move, or can't move yet?”

Say this
“If three years becomes five, what runs where in the meantime?”

Variations

CTO: “Everything new goes to public cloud. On-premises is legacy.”
Head of Infrastructure: “We're closing data centres, not buying for them.”

Questions people ask

How do you respond when a CIO says they're cloud-first?

Don't argue with the strategy. Acknowledge it, then ask about the exceptions: which workloads they've decided can't move, or can't move yet, and what happens to them during the migration. Position your offer as supporting the plan for those workloads.

Is cloud-first the same as cloud-only?

Rarely. Most cloud-first organisations still run some systems on site or in their own data centres, for reasons such as latency, regulation or cost. That's often where the conversation is.