We often talk about Modern Cloud — but what does it really mean? It helps to contrast it with legacy cloud, where organisations simply lift and shift applications from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud provider without modernising their architecture.
As Gregor Hohpe famously put it:
“If you lift and shift to AWS (or any of the cloud providers) and don’t modernise your architecture, all you’ve got is a fancy data centre.”
You may have moved your servers out of the building, but unless you’re taking advantage of the cloud’s native capabilities — scalability, event-driven design, managed services, automation — you’re still operating in a legacy mindset.
We introduce the Modern Cloud and how to implement it for your org
Going Beyond Lift-and-Shift
We once engaged with a company that had developed a five-step maturity model for their cloud journey. When we discussed our serverless-first approach, their response was telling:
“Oh, you’ve just described step seven!”
They were anchored to traditional cloud thinking and hadn’t yet embraced modern cloud practices. This highlights a key misconception: simply being in the cloud isn’t the same as operating for the cloud.
Modern cloud requires a shift in mindset, architecture, and operating model. It’s not about infrastructure relocation — it’s about rethinking how you build, deploy and run software in a continuously evolving environment.
Modern Cloud = Continuous Architecture
Modern cloud is underpinned by continuous architecture:
- You architect and build systems that evolve over time
- You reduce time to value without accumulating technical, organisational, or process debt
- You adopt patterns such as serverless, event-driven systems, and well-architected frameworks
- You design with sustainability and agility at the core
In this world, code is a liability. The less bespoke code you write and maintain, the more you can focus on delivering value.
Well-architected, serverless-first teams are able to deliver fast and sustainably. They don’t just “go fast and break things” — they go fast with discipline. They reduce long-term risk by aligning architecture with business outcomes.
From Cost Centre to Strategic Driver
As Nicole Forsgren writes in Accelerate, modern cloud enables the graduation of IT from a backend support function to a strategic business enabler. IT stops being “in the wheelhouse shovelling coal” and starts helping drive the ship.
Modern cloud teams are visible to the business. They are measured not just by uptime, but by their impact on customer outcomes and strategic goals. This is the future of high-performing technology organisations.
Avoiding Technical Debt: Modern Cloud Done Right
When implemented properly, modern cloud doesn’t just avoid technical debt — it actively reduces it.
By continuously modernising, teams stay close to current best practices:
- They avoid hanging onto legacy systems or frameworks longer than necessary
- They leverage managed services and adapt quickly to new features
- They keep systems observable, maintainable and secure
- They adopt strategies like pioneer–settler–town planner and innovate–leverage–commoditise to continuously align tech decisions with value delivery
This agility allows them to respond quickly when a cloud provider releases new capabilities. We’ve seen teams go from announcement to production use of new AWS features within a week. That’s the speed and leverage you want.
Modern Cloud ≠ Specific Technology
It’s important to recognise: the modern cloud is not defined by specific technologies.
You can misuse Lambda and build a monolithic mess. You can run modern, efficient workloads on EC2 if it’s the right tool for the job.
Technology choices should be made with situational awareness, not hype. This is where Wardley Mapping comes in — providing clarity on user needs, capability maturity and where to innovate versus commoditise.
The modern cloud is about making informed, context-aware decisions, not chasing buzzwords.
Spotting Inertia
In Wardley Mapping, inertia is a key concept. You’ll find it in teams who haven’t rethought how they operate in the cloud.
For example:
- A Lambda function that isn’t maintained or monitored
- A containerised service that still relies on manual patching and fragile CI/CD
The modern cloud mindset is about intentional architecture and operational discipline. Teams continuously ask: Is this the right solution for the problem? Are we evolving it over time?
Team Topologies and the Need for Enabling Teams
A true modern cloud team is self-sufficient — they build, run and own their systems.
There’s no long queue waiting on an infrastructure team to deploy or fix things. Instead, you design for fast flow. Enabling teams provide support for compliance, security or platform capabilities, but delivery teams aren’t blocked by handoffs.
As Team Topologies suggests, modern cloud success comes from:
- Stream-aligned teams with clear domains
- Enabling teams that reduce cognitive load
- Clear guardrails and organisational structures that empower delivery
Think of it like a railway system: the engineers drive the train, but someone still lays the tracks and maintains the signals. Success comes from a coordinated system, not isolated effort.
The Value Flywheel
We use the Value Flywheel to help teams visualise the modern cloud journey:
- Purpose – Align tech decisions to business strategy
- Next Best Action – Empower teams to take the right step, with patterns and autonomy
- Long-Term Value – Build architecture that’s sustainable, observable and secure
Alongside DORA metrics, this model helps teams track where they are, how fast they’re moving, and where they need to go next.
The Journey Takes Time
You don’t arrive in the modern cloud overnight. There’s a reason AWS talks about a seven-step cloud adoption journey. The lift-and-shift stage is only the beginning.
The real value comes as you:
- Evolve your architecture
- Modernise your operations
- Shift your culture and capabilities
It’s a long game — but one worth playing.
Closing Thoughts
Modern cloud isn’t just about containers or Lambda or Kubernetes. It’s about a mindset that embraces change, automation, sustainability and strategic alignment. It’s about engineering excellence aligned with business impact.
So, ask yourself:
- Are your teams empowered to move quickly and safely?
- Are you reducing time to value without increasing long-term debt?
- Are you continuously improving based on observability and user needs?
In today’s competitive global environment, the modern cloud is no longer optional — it’s essential.
Serverless Craic from The Serverless Edge
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