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A solid business case is needed for moving to the cloud. Convincing your key stakeholders, those with the resources for a successful transformation, requires careful planning. In this article, we review the key steps to build a solid business case for your organization’s move to the cloud.
In times of disruption and change, a business case needs to be robust enough to hold weight with equally important business concerns. In this Alight on episode, our panelist discussed the importance of companies continuing to push forward with their cloud transformation business cases to preemptively mitigate further organizational disruption and ensure they are best prepared to react to rapid change in the future.
Share how the cloud plan will address issues
Begin your cloud business case with a short summary of the issues your organization currently faces and how your plan will address and correct these issues. This allows your stakeholders to go into the details of the plan with the bigger picture in mind.
Map out current state
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What are current challenges your organization is facing with your HR, financial or payroll system?
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How do these challenges impact your organization on a larger scale both today and into the future?
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What is needed to resolve these challenges and start your organization’s journey to a platform that better fits your organizational needs?
Paint a picture of the future with cloud technology
Describe what your organization could achieve by implementing your proposed cloud solution, including:
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What future business risks could be mitigated by implementing now?
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How does your new cloud platform assist in meeting company-wide business goals?
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How does your new system positively impact the employee experience?
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Will this new technology advance your organization’s capabilities within your industry?
Propose your case for moving to the cloud
In this section, give details around your cloud platform solution and explain what your proposed plan will require in terms of resources, cost and support.
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What exactly is your cloud platform solution?
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How does this product align with and promote your company core values?
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Can you provide any success stories from other organizations that have implemented this technology?
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What is the proposed timeline from start to finish? Be sure to include specific deadlines to keep your project airtight.
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Are you proposing a complete cloud transformation, or a phased transformation with multiple timelines?
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How will you vet potential cloud deployment partners?
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Who should be involved and when? Who will take point across the entire project?
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What resources do you already have and what will you need to acquire for success? Think in terms of personnel, technology and financial support.
Provide a cost analysis to make your case to move to the cloud
Back your ROI claims with numbers to prove making a change as big as moving to a new HRIS platform is worth the dollars invested.
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What is the current cost of running your current operating system?
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What is the cost of opportunities for advancement and growth lost by staying on your current system?
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Compare the costs of maintaining your current system to the cost of your proposed solutions over the next 3-5 years.
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Provide numbers on the total cost of ownership, including training and licensing of the software.
Other possible considerations
It’s important to show that you’ve done your research, so devote a section of your business case to explaining why you’ve already ruled out other alternative solutions. Why is this particular cloud technology the best fit for your company?
Show how you will mitigate project risk
Make sure to address the risks for which you have already deliberated mitigation strategies. This will help solidify your business case by showing that you already have a plan in place should you encounter obstacles during your transformation and provide a sense of transparency to your stakeholders.
If you still feel unsure whether your organization has the capacity needed or your business case entirely solved, reach out to one of our Alight experts for assistance to gather insights needed to fully realize the payoff for moving on your cloud transformation now and working toward a stronger organization built for the future.
