Accelerating Cloud Adoption

Chapter 6. Platform Engagement and Support Models

In Chapter 5, you learned about the cloud operating model, the overarching structure that shapes how the enterprise works in the cloud. We looked at the roles of the cloud platform, its governance, and the models that structure it. You also learned briefly about two more kinds of models: consumer engagement models, which govern how the platform provides cloud services to various types of consumers, and platform support models, which govern how the platform manages its public and/or private cloud service providers. In this chapter I’ll dive into the details of those two types of models. We’ll finish our tour of the platform with some antipatterns to avoid and best practices to implement, as well as some advice for making the right decisions for your enterprise’s platform.

Engagement Models

I recommend creating categories of customers and providing a different engagement model for each so they can all be serviced in a way that maximizes their customer experience. This section will guide you through the four basic engagement models, shown in Table 6-1.

Table 6-1. Levels of customer cloud knowledge and appropriate engagement models

Customer type	Cloud knowledge	Engagement model
Beginner	Little to no experience with cloud technology; may not be comfortable with technology in general	White-glove service
Intermediate	Some basic cloud knowledge; has a general sense of what the cloud is and how it works, but no advanced or specialized ...