Cloud consulting & strategy with OTOKO®

The wrong cloud decision is costly.

The next hardware investment is coming up, a contract is expiring or business units expect new digital services. Whether cloud, your own data center or a combination is the right answer can only be decided based on your specific needs. Our cloud consulting combines application analysis, platform comparison and cost-effectiveness into a recommendation that lets IT and management justify the next steps.

What we take on for you

Cloud consulting & strategy

Planning, implementation and agreed operations by OTOKO®

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Your brief for OTOKO®

A cloud decision that can be justified on business grounds.

Provider presentations rarely answer which of your applications actually benefit. Some systems can be moved easily, others depend on local interfaces, licenses or tight response times. In the joint assessment, we make these conditions visible and separate solid findings from assumptions that a pilot should test first.

What you engage us for

The result is a decision paper with evaluated options, cost assumptions and a prioritized roadmap. To get there, we talk to the owners, review existing documents and align the recommendation with the stakeholders. Implementation can then take place internally or together with OTOKO®.

The services in detail

Scope

Assessing the current state and preparing the next investment.

The consulting engagement leads from the application overview through the platform and cost comparison to the roadmap. Open assumptions are named and, if needed, tested in a pilot before they become a larger implementation.

Understanding what your IT needs to deliver today

Business processes show which applications are particularly important and which disruptions would be acceptable. Interviews and inventory data complement the technical system list with dependencies, owners and constraints. This produces a well-founded classification: keep, move or change before a migration.

What your team keeps working with

A prioritized application portfolio with open questions and decision owners.

Technical implementation

Cloud readiness & application portfolio

We record workloads, technical dependencies, protection needs and life cycle. Interviews with IT and business units complement the existing documentation. Applications are classified by the need for change: retain, migrate, modernize or replace.

Comparing the right cloud options

Azure, Telekom T Cloud and other suitable platforms are examined against the same requirements. Service offering, integration and operational effort feed into the assessment. Alongside the advantages, the recommendation also names dependencies and open issues relevant to your decision.

What your team keeps working with

A decision matrix and an architecture target state with traceable selection criteria.

Technical implementation

Platform comparison & target architecture

Azure and Telekom T Cloud, like other suitable providers, are assessed against network requirements, data locations, operational requirements and the services needed. A hybrid target state is included if local systems are to remain in place. The decision is justified per workload.

Assessing effort and ongoing costs

The economic comparison includes migration, parallel operation, licenses, data traffic and internal work. Usage assumptions are stated explicitly. This shows which factors influence the assessment beyond the monthly resource price, and how different target states differ from each other.

What your team keeps working with

A transparent cost model with variants, assumptions and sensitivities.

Technical implementation

TCO, licenses & operating model

Total cost of ownership also covers migration, parallel operation, data traffic, licenses and staffing effort. Assumptions are shown separately from reliable figures for current costs. In-house operations, shared support and managed services are compared, including the skills each one requires.

Preparing the first implementation step

A roadmap becomes actionable when sequence, owners and prerequisites fit together. To achieve this, we prioritize the projects and select a pilot with meaningful evaluation criteria. Its results provide the basis for the next approval and further planning.

What your team keeps working with

A pilot engagement and a prioritized roadmap with acceptance steps and next decisions.

Technical implementation

Pilot & implementation roadmap

We scope a pilot that tests relevant uncertainties. Work packages, dependencies and decision points are then prioritized. The roadmap includes not only technical tasks but also training, handover and organizational changes.

Planning & implementation in detail

A cloud strategy must enable a concrete decision.

Not every organization needs an extensive target state first. Sometimes an investment is due, sometimes a platform decision or a shared priority is missing. The consulting scope should answer this question and then open up a realistic path to implementation.

Start with the reason for the decision and the applications

Consulting starts with the reason for the decision: which decision is pending, by when is it needed and who must own it? An expiring contract raises different requirements than modernizing a case management system or building new digital services. Together, we record objectives, boundaries and stakeholders. This allows the current-state review to focus on the information that is actually relevant to your decision. Existing documents are used where available; missing insights are named as concrete tasks.

Applications are considered together with their business processes. Technical interfaces, required response times and available operating resources influence which target state is suitable. Internal approvals and the knowledge of the business units are equally important. The result is a classification of which systems should remain unchanged, be relocated or be adjusted before a migration. Different paths can make sense side by side. The recommendation explains these differences and makes visible which assumptions still need to be verified before a final decision.

Assess cost-effectiveness beyond resource prices

A comparison of monthly server prices captures only part of the economic impact. Additional factors include, for example, preparation, data migration, licenses, any necessary parallel operation and the work of internal teams. Ongoing tasks also change with the operating model. Together, we therefore create a comparable assessment of the suitable options. Assumptions about usage and growth are stated so that the assessment can be reviewed and adjusted if the underlying conditions change.

A sound decision paper distinguishes known costs from estimates and open questions. Where an assumption has a particularly strong influence on the decision, it should be specifically validated. This can concern, for example, the required amount of resources, the integration of an application or the operating effort. This keeps the technical and economic perspectives connected. Management receives a clear basis for the decision, while IT can see which work and responsibilities would actually be associated with the respective option.

Turn the recommendation into an actionable start

A strategy only delivers its value once decisions and work steps follow from it. Projects are therefore ranked by benefit, dependencies and necessary prerequisites. A pilot should not only be easy to implement, it should also answer the questions that matter for how to proceed. Together, we define what is tested in the pilot and which results must be available for a subsequent approval. In this way, the first implementation serves to plan the way forward rather than being merely an isolated demonstration.

The roadmap names the stakeholders and the next decision points. Tasks carried out internally become just as visible as possible external services. Before implementation, scope and acceptance criteria can be derived from it. The consulting therefore remains a usable basis, even if you implement parts of the project yourself or with other parties. If OTOKO® is to take on the next steps, these are specified separately and linked to the existing results, rather than describing the project again from scratch.

How we work together

You know your business.
We handle the agreed cloud work.

You do not have to organize every technical step yourself. We record tasks and decisions and involve your team wherever its knowledge or approval is needed.

Listening to IT and business units

Technical inventory data is complemented with business goals and constraints. This gives the consulting engagement a shared basis for assessment.

Your contribution: Bring the stakeholders together and explain the reason for the decision.

Assessing alternatives transparently

Platform options, operating models and cost assumptions are compared. Uncertain assumptions remain visible as open items to be checked.

Your contribution: Weigh the requirements and add internal costs as well as organizational constraints.

Preparing a decision

The recommendation is discussed along with priorities, risks and next steps. A suitable pilot can clarify remaining questions before a larger investment.

Your contribution: Decide on the target state and on approving the next planning or implementation steps.

Meeting room at the OTOKO® Cologne office

Example project scenario

Before the next hardware investment

This is what a joint project could look like. The specific scope results from your current situation.

The current situation
A company needs to renew its server landscape. At the same time, individual applications are closely tied to the site.
Our approach
We compare renewal, cloud migration and a hybrid approach based on the key applications and a shared cost model.
The target state
A prioritized decision paper shows which investment makes sense first and which questions a pilot needs to answer.

What you get

Results your team
keeps working with.

Assessment of your starting point, including the decisions still open
A well-founded recommendation for architecture and operating model
A prioritized roadmap with a pilot, responsibilities and next steps

From interest to a concrete engagement

How we prepare
your project.

For the first consultation, these documents do not yet need to be complete. Together we clarify what is available and which information the assessment should add.

Helpful for getting started

The most important business goals and applications
Architecture and cost overviews, if available
Requirements for locations, security and in-house operations

How this becomes a specific quote

The scope of services, the involvement of your team, required access, acceptance criteria and the handover are recorded in the quote. Provider fees, project services and ongoing operations are clearly separated.

Discuss your assessment

Before you start

Your questions.
Clear answers.

Do we already need to have chosen a cloud provider?

No. The selection can be part of the consulting engagement. If your platform has already been decided, we focus on architecture, implementation and operation within that environment.

What should we bring to the first consultation?

Your goals, the most important applications and the current challenge are enough to get started. If available, architecture overviews, operating costs and internal requirements are helpful.

Does OTOKO® also take on the implementation?

Yes. Architecture setup, migration, automation and an agreed scope of operations can follow. The consulting engagement provides a clear starting point for this.

Does OTOKO® automatically recommend Azure or Telekom?

No. These platforms are focus areas, but the decision is based on your requirements profile. We name the criteria, alternatives and limitations of the proposed solution.

What documents do management and IT receive?

We separate the decision paper from the technical deep dive. The documents include a justified target state, cost assumptions, prioritized measures and open decisions. We agree on the exact scope in the consulting engagement.

Cloud consulting & strategy with OTOKO®

Which decision does your cloud strategy need to resolve?

Whether it is an upcoming investment, a provider choice or modernization: describe the reason and the time frame. From this, we scope the assessment and clarify which stakeholders and documents matter for the decision.

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The wrong cloud decision is costly.