Key components to cloud maturity; starting point to maturity improvement

Understanding the cloud maturity model

Cloud maturity models assess how effectively organisations use cloud technologies. Most frameworks share five progressive levels, though organisations rarely operate at a single level across all areas.

Level 1 (initial) represents experimentation without formal processes. Teams try cloud services individually, often creating shadow IT. Level 2 (repeatable) introduces basic standardisation through documented processes, though inconsistently applied. Level 3 (defined) marks organisation-wide adoption with consistent policies. Level 4 (managed) brings automation and proactive management. Level 5 (optimised) achieves continuous improvement through data-driven decisions.

Most organisations find level 3 sufficient. Understanding your current state across different components provides more useful insight than pursuing an arbitrary maturity number.

Governance and compliance

Governance progression moves from reactive firefighting towards proactive policy enforcement. Early-stage organisations deploy resources without coordination. Teams duplicate services, nobody tracks what runs where, and costs spiral unpredictably.

Basic approval processes emerge next. Someone must authorise cloud purchases, policies exist on paper, and departments track spending. Documentation begins but remains inconsistent. European organisations at this level address GDPR requirements reactively, implementing controls when auditors ask.

Mature governance operates organisation-wide with clear policies defining cloud usage. Roles and responsibilities exist formally, and compliance requirements shape architecture decisions from the start. European data sovereignty becomes embedded in provider selection rather than addressed afterwards. Regular audits verify compliance rather than discover violations.

Advanced governance runs largely automated. Policy violations trigger alerts, resource tagging occurs automatically, and compliance dashboards provide real-time visibility. The governance team focuses on strategy rather than operations.

When should organisations automate?

Automation starts with manual processes like resource provisioning, configuration, and monitoring all require human intervention. This works for small deployments but creates bottlenecks as usage grows.

Scripting comes next. Common tasks get automated through simple tools, though execution remains manual. Someone still needs to run scripts, monitor output, and handle failures.

Infrastructure as code becomes standard at level 3. Terraform or similar tools define infrastructure declaratively, version control tracks changes, and deployment pipelines handle provisioning. Kubernetes adoption typically occurs here, providing consistent orchestration across different infrastructure types.

Advanced automation extends into operations. Monitoring triggers automated remediation, capacity scales based on demand, and disaster recovery operates through tested procedures. Security scanning integrates into deployment pipelines, blocking vulnerable configurations before production.

Timing matters. Automating broken processes simply speeds up problems. Organisations should stabilise processes before automating them. Level 3 represents the optimal point for significant automation investment.

How does security maturity differ from cloud maturity?

Security maturity and cloud maturity progress independently. Organisations can achieve high cloud maturity with poor security, or maintain excellent security with low cloud maturity. The intersection points matter most.

Early security operates reactively. Teams implement controls individually, patch management happens manually, and nobody maintains complete asset inventories. Vulnerabilities get discovered through incidents rather than scanning.

Basic controls exist at level 2. Firewalls protect perimeters, access controls limit exposure, and someone maintains vulnerability lists. Security measures get implemented but not integrated. European organisations can demonstrate basic compliance but require significant manual effort.

Mature security embeds into processes. Identity management operates centrally, encryption becomes default, and security reviews integrate into deployments. Advanced security operates through automation. Threat detection runs continuously, policies enforce automatically, and incident response follows documented playbooks. European organisations can demonstrate compliance through automated evidence collection.

Why do cloud costs increase before decreasing?

Cost management follows a counterintuitive pattern. Costs typically rise before falling. Understanding this prevents premature optimisation that sacrifices capability for savings.

Early organisations lack cost visibility. Teams deploy resources without tracking expenses, forgotten instances run indefinitely, and monthly bills contain surprises. European organisations face additional complexity. Cloud pricing differs by region, and data sovereignty requirements constrain placement.

Basic cost tracking emerges next. Departments know their spending, tagging identifies major cost centres, and someone reviews bills monthly. Organisations discover they're spending more than expected, prompting reactive reduction efforts that often target symptoms rather than causes.

Systematic cost management brings budgets per team, automated alerts preventing overruns, and cost considerations influencing architecture. Object storage tiering becomes strategic, archive data moves to cold storage automatically based on access patterns.

Advanced organisations optimise costs continuously. Rightsizing happens automatically, reserved capacity covers predictable workloads, and analytics identify opportunities proactively. Cyso Cloud's real-time dashboards support this management. Organisations see exactly what resources cost and adjust immediately.

Costs rise before falling because visibility precedes optimisation. Early organisations spend inefficiently without knowing it. Level 2 discovers the spending. Level 3 establishes controls that initially add overhead. Only level 4 reduces total spending below initial baselines.

Assessing your cloud maturity level

Self-assessment starts with honest evaluation across four components. Most organisations discover hybrid maturity, with level 3 governance alongside level 2 security and level 1 cost management. This unevenness is normal.

Assessment focuses on observable behaviour rather than documented policy. Does security integrate into deployment pipelines or operate through separate reviews? Can teams provision resources without manual approval? Do cost anomalies trigger alerts or surface in monthly reviews?

European organisations should add sovereignty questions. Where does data actually reside? Do processing agreements cover all providers? Can workloads move between providers without vendor lock-in?

Moving forward

Cloud maturity develops through intentional progression rather than accidental accumulation. Organisations that understand their current state can invest improvement effort where it matters most. European organisations carry additional considerations: data sovereignty, GDPR compliance, and regional infrastructure shape progression differently.

Schedule a maturity assessment with Martijn to discuss your specific challenges and improvement priorities within the European cloud context.