Shifting from on-prem to cloud-based solutions
In the ever-evolving world of technology, organizations are increasingly moving away from traditional on-premises infrastructure to cloud-based solutions. This monumental shift is not just about changing where and how data is stored, but also about transforming the way businesses operate, collaborate, and innovate. At Peraton, we understand that making the transition to the cloud requires more than just a change in technology—it requires a shift in mindset. Here’s how we’re helping our customers embrace this digital transformation.
Cloud as a catalyst for change
The cloud is a transformative force, revolutionizing the way organizations approach their IT needs. It is a powerful platform for storing, processing, and accessing data remotely, offering flexibility, scalability, and security in ways that traditional on-prem systems simply cannot. By centralizing resources and allowing real-time collaboration, the cloud enables more effective workflows, breaks down information silos, and creates a more connected workforce. Yet, the benefits of cloud solutions extend far beyond technical improvements.
The cloud accelerates innovation, with new services and vendors constantly entering the market, driving continuous advancements and providing organizations with cutting-edge tools to stay competitive. This fast pace of innovation allows businesses to quickly adopt and integrate the latest technologies without long procurement cycles and associated delays. The cloud model eases staffing challenges by assuming responsibility for physical infrastructure and facilitating the automation of multiple deployment tasks. This allows businesses to focus on higher-level operations, optimize their workforce, and empower teams to make smarter, faster decisions.
Perhaps the most important benefit of cloud migration is the shift it enables in how organizations think about their work. Instead of being confined by the limitations of on-prem solutions, businesses can embrace a more agile, scalable approach to innovation—where teams can rapidly adapt, iterate, and scale solutions. It’s a mindset shift that will fuel the future of work.
Upskilling the workforce to create the solutions of tomorrow
At Peraton, we believe cloud migration is more than implementing new technologies—it’s about creating a culture that embraces innovation and continuous improvement. Our communities of practice (CoP) and centers of excellence (CoE) play a pivotal role in this transformation. These initiatives are designed to foster collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and refine the skillsets of specialized expertise within our teams. We partner with leading cloud providers and pursue both corporate and individual specialized certifications to advance and maintain our skillsets in an ever-evolving environment.
When our teams embark on cloud migration journeys with our customers, these internal support structures help guide the mindset shift needed to succeed. Through CoPs and CoEs, we can expand our way of thinking, constantly iterating research and development projects to create tangible solutions for our customers. The end state is about creating a workforce that’s technically proficient and capable of tackling complex challenges in innovative, forward-thinking ways.
As Craig Y., director of cloud computing at Peraton, said, “It’s about shaping the institutional workforce. You must get people to do different things in new ways to reach that streamlined state.” Moving to the cloud requires adaptability, openness to change, and a commitment to continuous learning—qualities that are cultivated through Peraton’s CoP and CoE initiatives within the Strategic Innovation Group.
Challenges: Navigating the shifts
While cloud technology offers enormous potential, there are significant challenges to overcome along the transition. Many customers view technology as the savior to their problems when, in truth, a successful cloud migration is as much about people and processes as it is technology. Organizational change management and governance are critical to a successful cloud transformation.
Governance is one of the most important yet overlooked aspects of cloud migration. There are two distinct tiers of governance: enterprise and application. The former ensures the cloud infrastructure is secure, compliant, and efficient across the entire organization, while the latter focuses on how specific applications are managed, optimized, and adopted. Walking the tightrope between overly strict rules and a complete lack of regulation is challenging, but essential to ultimate success. Technology providers, like Peraton, help the customer embrace an adaptable governance approach where the solution is tailored to meet the mission.
A final challenge is the communication barriers between customer and solutions architects. Agencies must ensure their teams can effectively communicate the challenges and vision, which requires baseline knowledge. A successful transformation requires both parties to speak the same language and conceptualize solutions together. Through mutual understanding, Peraton teams have leveraged this collaborative environment to overcome the hurdles of migration and build a solution that truly meets the customer’s needs.
The transformation roadmap takes time, resources, and the right people
The journey to a fully realized cloud state is not quick or easy, but it is a journey worth taking. A successful transition requires time, commitment, and the right resources. At Peraton, we partner with our clients every step of the way, helping them build the cloud capabilities they need while fostering the mindset shifts that will enable long-term success. By focusing on governance, people, and processes, we ensure our customers do more than adopt cloud technologies—they evolve to become future-fueled organizations. The transformation is ongoing, but with the right roadmap, organizations can reach their ideal end state and unlock the full potential of the cloud.
Peraton’s approach to cloud future-proofs customer systems by laying the foundation for advancements in automation, AI, and new services that have yet to reach the market.
Learn more about Peraton’s cloud portfolio
About Peraton’s Strategic Innovation Group (SIG)
Peraton’s hub for innovation, SIG partners across the enterprise to provide thought leadership, create competitive differentiation, and generate new franchises. SIG’s primary mission is to develop technology, accelerate capability maturation, and speed value delivery for our customers to drive strategic growth. To meet these objectives, SIG is comprised of four key areas:
- Strategy is made up of key contributors who drive strategic analyses, campaign overviews, and major account plan development by providing insight and intelligence on customers, markets, competitors, and technologies.
- Technology and Engineering (T&E) is the company’s technology hub. It aligns R&D, corporate partnerships, and engineering processes with the company’s strategic campaigns.
- Peraton Labs is the company’s world-class contract research and development (R&D) team with a distinguished heritage tracing back to Bell Labs, Bellcore, DHPC, and Telcordia. It is an unparalleled center of innovation and expertise across cyber, cloud, autonomy, analytics, electronic warfare, sensors, optics, quantum communications, mobility/5G, advanced networking, systems engineering, ML/AI, and Agile software development.
- Platform Capabilities are commercial businesses that provide proven, differentiating capacity for solution and value delivery, including Communications as a service, Westar Display Technologies, and Secure Infrastructure Solutions.
