Cloud Computing Competence Development
Case Study
ING
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Case Study: ING Building Cloud Competences ING’s Company Profile ING, a global financial organization: ING - banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services • 40 countries, in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Australia • 85-million private, corporate and institutional customers • 107,000 employees, EUR 1,261 trillion in assets ING’s vision is to be the preferred bank for its customers. This means: • First choice for all banking and financial needs • Exceeding expectations every time, so that the customer will recommend ING to others • Trusted as the primary bank for managing the customer’s financial future
Client Summary: ING Challenge: Improve organizational capabilities to be able to adopt cloud computing. Solution: Create awareness around cloud computing and train 1,500 people to build the right competencies and skills. Results: Workforce acquired the appropriate skills and competencies to support ING in attaining the benefits of cloud computing. Related Information: www.ing.com - www.itpreneurs.com
Key Takeaways: Cloud Appetite: Organizations want to start quickly, but they often forget to build cloud competencies first! It’s important to understand how roles and skills will change as a result of the cloud. Cloud Journey: Getting to cloud adoption is going to be a journey and everyone needs to be involved, IT and the business. Organizations need to ensure everyone works together to get all stakeholders on board. Roadmap: Many organizations start with the cloud, without having a complete picture or roadmap. It’s important to start planning for tomorrow’s IT, today!
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ING’s IT Strategy ING set out a cloud strategy that had the potential for substantial savings in cost while also providing for greater control of IT infrastructure, newer technology, improved stability, and a more agile organization. However, ING understood that the roles of IT professionals change as a result of adopting a different concept for managing IT services (the cloud), and that cloud has an impact on the people who work in the IT organization. In order to prepare ING’s IT organization for the future and to manage this transition successfully, ING realized that it is essential to take the people along and prepare them for the journey. ING adopted an approach whereby they skilled their staff to gain an understanding of the key principles of virtualization and cloud computing, ensuring that the workforce has the right skill set and competencies to enable the organization to support the following transformational objectives with respect to the cloud: •
Transform the competencies of the IT workforce from working in a “traditional” IT department to working in a nextgeneration service provider.
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Achieve best-in-class cost ratio as the technology service provider of choice.
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Reduce the risk and complexity inherent in a fragmented data strategy.
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Virtualize to modern, future-proof platforms.
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Build a cloud operating model.
Cloud Implementation Project Analysis Cloud computing promises a more flexible “services” model for IT systems that puts the business unit or customer at the center of the process. However, this will not happen overnight because the people, processes, and technology need to support this change. The journey to the cloud includes making changes to the way people work, the types of skills needed in the organization, and the relationship of the organization and its users with its IT providers. ING’s success in preparing the organization for the cloud lies in the fact that ING did not treat the journey towards the cloud as an IT-only issue, but rather involved the entire organization. For that purpose, ING initiated a large-scale awareness and education campaign around their cloud initiative. The graph below shows ING’s awareness and education program lifecycle, visually, over time. Cloud competence development program as deployed at ING
Marketing/Awareness Campaign Awareness Campaign
Distribute Publication
Virtualization Foundation Course
Cloud Foundation Course Exam
Manager’s Workshop/Seminar October 2010
Project Lifecycle
Time
Business Simulation Sessions Exam
# of employees involved
Video Message CIO/ICTO
February 2011
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1. Kick-Off Message The program was initiated with a video by the CTO. Senior management, including the Head of ING Domestic Banking, also backed up the program, which showed support from the business – explaining that the organization was going through a long-term technology change.
2. Internal Campaign At the same time, ING initiated a number of internal marketing activities to announce the availability of the cloud (training) program. While the internal marketing campaign was underway, the workforce started with taking the appropriate training, which was provided by ITpreneurs. The training courses were integrated within the online ING learning platform, allowing learners from various locations to take the online courses at times most convenient to them.
3. Training Every employee whose job role was directly affected by the cloud participated in the awareness and training program. Project managers, key business managers, and IT relationship managers participated in an Awareness program, focusing specifically on the business need, the key concepts, and terminology. All IT professionals as well as business users with a very large impact on their roles and skills as a result of the cloud participated in the Cloud Competence Development Program. Those involved in the actual technology side of the cloud, participated in further specialized courses, such as the Virtualization Foundation Certification. At the time of writing, ING has trained close to 1,500 people to ensure that they are capable of supporting ING’s cloud strategy. A diagram is included in this section, which outlines in which order the products were used, as well as the audiences for the courses.
4. Self-Study & Simulation An essential cloud book, containing additional reading material and case studies, was developed and offered to those who completed training. Finally, the virtual business simulation, “Cloud Challenge”, allowed participants to put their obtained cloud and virtualization knowledge in practice.
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Competence Development Elements:
Target Audience
Cloud Foundation
Cloud Foundation Exam
Business Simulation
Virtualization Foundation
Virtualization Foundation Exam
Business Simulation
Cloud Awareness
Get Ready for Cloud Computing Publication
IT Operations, IT Technical Services Specialists, IT Relationship Managers, IT Arquitects, IT Consultants, Key Business Users
IT Operations, IT Technical Specialists, IT Arquitects, IT Consultants
Key Business Users IT Project Managers
Everyone in IT
This diagram shows which target audiences have used which elements of the Cloud Competence Development Program.
5. Conclusion The complete program was rolled out over a period of several months and has contributed to a rapid understanding and acceptance of the cloud by the IT workforce and business users. To date, ING has made great progress with its cloud initiative. Building on its private cloud and preparing to explore the public cloud offering: •
A full competence development program was offered, targeting all relevant stakeholders in the IT organization with relevant courses. As a result, ING ensured that the competencies were available to support ING’s cloud strategy.
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Increased employability: IT professionals benefited from an internationally recognized certificate that adds significant value to their resume and career prospects.
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ING as an innovative IT organization: ING is acting at the forefront of the cloud: Providing training and certifying their IT workforce as well as preparing them for working in the cloud, which demonstrates the thought leadership of ING in the cloud domain.
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Testimonials
Name: Tony Kerrison Function: CTO, ING Statement: “Establishment of internal cloud competences is so critical to be able to successfully leverage cloud services — without these, and having the workforce understand them, we’ll never be able to exploit the marketplace in the right way. Rolling out a comprehensive cloud and virtualization training program, tailored to ING’s needs, is an integral part of our ambitious IT strategy.”
Name: Sukhbir Jasuja Function: CEO, ITpreneurs Statement: “Of course, having the opportunity to support an organization such as ING is great. But what is most inspiring is to see such a large organization being very focused and dedicated in making sure that before embarking on the cloud, the organization is ready for the cloud and that its workforce is able to support it.”
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