By this point most leaders agree that cloud will change everything about business -- but practically speaking, how can we make it work inside our companies?

Two industry leaders recently published some very different points of view.

Docker published a short brief that advises companies to start by changing the way their existing applications run on-prem. In other words, start thinking like cloud, but hold off actually moving there until you have developed new skills, outlooks (e.g. DevOps, Continuous Deployment), and cloud-native architectures.

"The path to a modern and agile IT environment begins with the applications and infrastructure you already have. Containerizing legacy apps … is the first step to DevOps, microservices and cloud."

Whereas Docker’s model will eventually get you to cloud, Google’s model starts there: its decision-tree finds the right cloud service for you to start your cloud journey. It also ends there: the related changes are left implied.





What can we learn from these different approaches?

These models reveal two of the many facets of cloud: some think of cloud as the place where software runs, whereas others focus on the impact it can have on the business or operating model.

(1) impact on the business

Docker’s model advises companies to start by thinking in the cloud by building the organization skills required to authentically embrace a digital future.

This nod to the challenges and benefits of cloud computing are rarely discussed and especially applicable for companies that still want to modernize even if they cannot yet use a public cloud.

(2) where software runs

Google’s model implies that best way to learn about cloud is to experience it. Whereas Docker’s guide offers one option for running your software (Docker EE), Google’s guidance is far more nuanced, offering five different options (Iaas, Container PaaS, PaaS, serverless computing, and even mobile backend as a service).

Which is better?

Both are necessary. They help us make sense of a very big change that IT leaders must grapple with.

There is room for another model. These two models describe how to migrate infrastructure, software, and some operations (an operating model). Missing from the discussion is how to migrate a business model.

Cloud (and ML, IoT, AR, Blockchain …) will change everything about business, but their insights are cloaked in highly technical topics. How many C-suite executives would turn to Docker for strategic thought leadership? To get to their digital future, the business community still needs new business models from a new generation of authors, management theorists, leaders, and trusted advisors.