By now, Fortune 500 enterprises have largely completed their initial cloud migrations, but many are discovering that the traditional cloud-based “lift-and-shift” approaches they’ve taken have left them with complex, costly hybrid environments. As a result, they can't fully capitalize on tech opportunities, particularly in the area of AI advancements. Therefore, the next evolution isn't about moving to the cloud—it's about becoming truly cloud native.

When done right, cloud migration and infrastructure can maximize your organization's digital opportunities, add much-needed technological flexibility and even mitigate inherent risks. We take a deep dive into the rise of cloud-native architecture, discuss the importance of cloud maturity in adopting AI tools, and show IT leaders how to solve some of the most common cloud challenges organizations face today.

The Shift to Cloud Native Explained

In a 2021 McKinsey & Company survey, only 15 percent of respondents “succeeded in migrating more than 60 percent of their IT-hosting spend to the cloud and did so within the timeline they set.” Additional research supports this finding; a scientific journal published in the same year found that only 16 percent of cloud migration projects are completed on time and on budget. 

Furthermore, an article from CIO Dive puts it blatantly, estimating that half of cloud transformations are “abject failures.” These statistics illustrate the clear gap in cloud-native maturity among today’s businesses; cloud services solutions intend to help businesses bridge that gap.

The collective and heavy focus on cloud technologies has several driving factors, including widespread digital transformation efforts and the rise of automation capabilities. AI adoption is another key driver behind the prioritization of cloud-native infrastructure, with the two technologies becoming increasingly intertwined as developments continue to unfold. 

According to Forbes, “Enthusiasm around cloud native-powered AI applications stems from the potential to make better, faster data-driven decisions and achieve higher productivity, especially for mundane or repeated tasks as well as managing IT operations, which have predominantly become a complex web of hybrid multicloud environments.” 

Cloud Native vs. Cloud Based

Cloud-based, or cloud-hosted, applications are traditional, tightly integrated applications that were initially designed to run on local servers but have been migrated over to the cloud. These apps may still be monolithic, running on virtual machines, and, therefore, missing out on the benefits of native cloud services. 

Conversely, cloud-native applications are built from scratch in the cloud and use modular services, such as auto-scaling, event-driven architectures, abstracted AI integrations, and integrated security. By leveraging the full power of the cloud environment, these apps are inherently more scalable, resilient, and adaptable—and they can evolve quickly to meet changing needs.

In short, cloud-based apps simply live in the cloud, while cloud-native apps thrive in the cloud.

Core Principles of Cloud-Native Architecture

According to Google Cloud, the foundation of cloud-native architecture relies on five primary principles:

1. Automation: Automate processes and infrastructure where possible. 

2. Stateless components: Be intentional about when and how your system stores state.

3. Managed services: Take advantage of other technology offerings from your cloud solutions services provider.

4. Security: Adopt an approach of defense in depth through concise authentication.

5. Sustainable adaptability: Always seek to refine and improve system architecture to accommodate changes.

Building Blocks for a Sustainable Cloud-Native Strategy

Some of the key building blocks for developing a reliable and scalable cloud-native strategy include:

• Microservices

• Containerization

• Infrastructure as code

• CI/CD pipelines

• Observability

• Scalability

• Resilience

If you’re just getting started with your cloud-native strategy or need some pointers along the way, bringing in a specialist can offer the clarity and support your team needs. A trusted partner will collaborate with you to explore options, answer questions, and identify practical steps to strengthen IT efficiency and long-term performance

Why IT Leaders Must Spearhead the Shift to Cloud Solutions

Technology is no longer solely the responsibility of IT teams—virtually every department uses and relies on technology to fulfill their job roles, highlighting the importance of cross-functional leadership. But with the business world still in the midst of the cultural shift to cloud computing, the obligation falls on the IT leaders of today to strategize and initiate the move to cloud-native architecture.

Assessing Your Current Cloud Maturity

Start by examining who is engaging with cloud-native and AI capabilities within your organization:

• Is experimentation limited to individuals, or is it embraced by full teams or departments?

• Are these technologies being used in isolated tasks, team workflows, or cross-functional processes?

Then, assess and establish how new cloud technologies are adopted:

• When something new becomes available in the cloud, who evaluates it?

• How quickly is it tested, scaled, and integrated into business processes?

• Is there a mechanism for institutionalizing successful innovations?

These patterns reveal where your organization sits on the cloud maturity curve, from isolated experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption and innovation.

AI’s Role in Cloud-Native Architecture

AI is now foundational to all modern technology architectures, but it’s especially powerful in cloud-native environments designed for speed and innovation. Cloud-native systems enable rapid product development and deployment, and AI amplifies that advantage. By embedding intelligence into cloud-native apps, organizations can deliver personalized experiences, generate insights, automate tasks, and serve stakeholders more dynamically. 

Here are a few examples of cloud-native-powered AI capabilities:

• AI-augmented development helps developers write code and create tests.

• Predictive scaling analyzes historical data to forecast surges and shifts.

• Load balancing automatically optimizes and allocates workloads.

Beyond innovation, AI also enhances operational efficiency. It helps optimize infrastructure usage, streamline development, and reduce manual effort, driving down costs while accelerating time to market. AI doesn’t just enhance cloud native—it also redefines its potential.

Common Challenges (and How to Overcome Them)

Certainly, implementing and optimizing cloud solutions isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Some common challenges of moving to the cloud and how digital engineering services (DES) firms such as Aditi Consulting can help to address them are:

• Vendor lock-in: Aditi Consulting’s professional cloud services build upon portable cloud-native foundations, architecting solutions that can be migrated or replatformed if needed using widely supported languages, open APIs, and standard databases.

• Data sovereignty and regulatory compliance: DES companies implement and support services such as end-to-end encryption, data residency enforcement and testing, regular flow audits, proactive monitoring, and granular access controls to address data security and compliance concerns. 

• Infrastructure compatibility: Migrating to the cloud requires identifying and promptly remedying potential incompatibilities with existing applications or legacy systems, often necessitating refactoring or rearchitecting by expert technology consultants.

• Ongoing advisory needs: Ensuring your cloud infrastructure remains sustainable and efficient amid frequent technological shifts requires access to ongoing advisory services in specialized areas of IT, such as those Aditi Consulting offers.

A Cloud Road Map for IT Leaders

The process of moving to the cloud looks different for every business, but employing professional cloud services solutions is essential to maximizing digital opportunities, particularly in the era of AI. Cloud computing isn’t a new concept, but it’s constantly evolving in tune with AI, requiring today’s firms to take advantage of the latest tools or quickly fall behind.

Aditi Consulting’s team of specialists possesses vast expertise in migrating, designing, and overseeing cloud computing projects. For IT leaders looking to explore additional opportunities in the cloud, reach out to our consultants to discuss your project needs and how we can address them through cloud-native architecture.

Why Aditi Consulting?

As a leading DES company, Aditi Consulting partners with established and emerging enterprises by leveraging borderless talent across three continents to achieve transformative outcomes for our clients. We have executed and managed numerous large-scale cloud migrations spanning diverse verticals, including high tech, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail, and have been recognized as a top three supplier for more than a dozen clients across the IT, pharmaceutical, and engineering industries. Through AI-assisted modernization, cross-cloud migrations, and rapid product generation, we’re already helping companies like yours reduce their dependency on specific vendors and stay ahead of the curve.