Cloud migration has become essential for organisations modernising their digital services, but the process can quickly become complex, costly and slow when not guided by a clear structure. Studies consistently show that cloud transformations fail when organisations lack visibility, governance and coherent decision-making.  

Enterprise architecture solves these challenges by aligning business strategy, technology, data and operations around a unified migration plan. It provides the frameworks, roadmaps and governance needed to move to the cloud in a controlled, secure and cost-efficient way. It offers teams a clear view of what to migrate, when to migrate it and how to deliver the business outcomes expected from cloud. 

In this blog, we explore how enterprise architecture supports cloud migration, the capabilities it provides and how organisations can use it to deliver faster, safer and more value-driven cloud programmes. 

What enterprise architecture means in cloud migration

Enterprise architecture helps businesses understand how their capabilities, applications, data flows and technology platforms fit together so they can smoothly transition to the cloud. It offers clarity across four core areas: 

• What systems exist today 
• How they connect and depend on each other 
• How the future cloud architecture should operate 
• Which steps are needed to migrate safely and incrementally. 

Without this context, cloud migration can lead to performance problems, security gaps, cost overruns and delays. Enterprise architecture provides the visibility and alignment needed to avoid these issues. 

Resources such as the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework reinforce the importance of architectural foundations, landing zones, security baselines and governance when preparing for cloud migration at enterprise scale. 

Why enterprise architecture is essential for cloud migration

Enterprise architecture enhances cloud migration across strategic, operational and technical dimensions through: 

1. Complete visibility across the application estate

Large organisations often lack a single view of their systems, making cloud migration risky. Enterprise architecture documents: 

• Application inventories 
• Dependencies 
• Data flows 
• Integration patterns 
• Infrastructure and hosting 
• Business criticality. 

This visibility prevents migrations that break key services or overlook important interdependencies. 

2. Prioritisation of workloads for migration

Enterprise architecture identifies which workloads should be: 

• Rehosted 
• Re-platformed 
• Refactored 
• Replaced 
• Retired

This prevents wasted effort on low value systems and accelerates value by prioritising high impact workloads. 

3. Defining target cloud architecture

A well-defined cloud architecture reduces long term cost, improves resilience and accelerates delivery. Enterprise architecture establishes: 

• Cloud landing zones 
• Identity and access management 
• Networking and security models 
• Platform engineering standards 
• Data and integration architecture. 

Cloud providers such as the AWS Well Architected Framework outline best practices that support this approach to achieve secure, efficient and reliable cloud environments. 

4. Strategic alignment to business priorities

Enterprise architecture ensures cloud migration is linked to business priorities, including: 

• Resilience 
• Cost optimisation 
• Customer experience 
• Regulatory compliance 
• Agility and innovation 
• Sustainability targets. 

This turns migration into a strategic programme, not just a technical activity.

5. Strong governance and decision-making 

Enterprise architecture establishes guardrails that: 

• Remove duplication 
• Enforce tagging and cost allocation 
• Standardise cloud patterns 
• Improve design quality 
• Ensure compliance with organisation wide standards. 

Frameworks like the Open Group’s TOGAF standard support consistent enterprise architecture governance across the organisation. 

6. Better risk management and security

Enterprise architects plan for: 

• Secure landing zones 
• Identity and access control 
• Encryption and data residency 
• Compliance requirements 
• Resilience and disaster recovery. 

Guidance such as the NCSC cloud security collection strengthens these architectural decisions and helps organisations adopt secure cloud services. 

7. Cost control and value realisation

Enterprise architecture is crucial for cloud cost optimisation because it defines efficient architectures that avoid waste. It supports: 

• Rightsizing decisions 
• Refactoring choices 
• Lifecycle governance 
• FinOps alignment 
• Workload placement strategies. 

This ensures cloud spend remains predictable and aligned with business value. 

Key enterprise architecture practices that accelerate migration

1. Portfolio assessment and rationalisation

Enterprise architecture evaluates: 

• Application value 
• Lifecycle stage 
• Fitness for cloud 
• Risk and complexity 
• Technical debt. 

This prevents migrating applications that should be modernised, consolidated or retired instead. 

2. Cloud readiness assessments

Readiness assessments evaluate: 

• Code quality 
• Performance and scalability needs 
• Security posture 
• Compliance requirements 
• Integration and data dependencies. 

These insights inform accurate migration strategies and help teams choose the right approach. 

3. Target state cloud architecture

Enterprise architecture defines the target state, including: 

• Cloud landing zones 
• Identity, access and network architecture 
• Platform engineering 
• Observability and logging 
• CI/CD pipelines 
• Automation standards. 

This ensures consistency across all migration waves. 

4. Business capability alignment

By mapping applications to business capabilities, enterprise architecture ensures migration aligns with organisational goals and modernises the areas that deliver the most value. 

5. Modern data and integration architecture

Cloud migration requires robust integration design. Enterprise architecture helps define: 

• API-first approaches 
• Event-driven architecture 
• Hybrid integration 
• Data pipelines 
• Governance and lineage. 

The Google Cloud Architecture Framework offers structured guidance that supports these principles. 

6. Phased migration wave planning

Enterprise architecture supports incremental migration by planning: 

• Migration waves 
• Dependency sequencing 
• Testing and validation 
• Operational readiness 
• Change management. 

This reduces risk and improves delivery speed. 

How enterprise architecture reduces cloud migration risks

Enterprise architecture enables organisations to avoid common cloud migration risks, such as: 

• Downtime, through dependency and impact analysis 
• Security gaps, by defining robust access and identity models 
• Cost overruns, by aligning with FinOps and workload sizing 
• Architecture drift, through strong governance 
• Integration failures, through complete visibility of data and interfaces 
• Scope creep, through clear migration sequencing. 

The UK government’s cloud guidance reinforces this structured, architecture-led approach for public sector organisations. 

Enterprise architecture and cost optimisation

Enterprise architecture helps organisations reduce cloud costs through: 

• Designing efficient cloud architectures 
• Choosing the right migration pattern 
• Removing technical debt 
• Preventing duplication across teams 
• Optimising data and storage strategies 
• Enforcing tagging and lifecycle policies 
• Supporting FinOps capabilities. 

Without enterprise architecture, cloud environments often become fragmented, expensive and difficult to manage. 

Enterprise architecture and AI-ready cloud platforms

AI adoption adds new complexity to cloud estates. Enterprise architecture ensures cloud platforms are AI-ready by defining: 

• Scalable GPU architectures 
• Cost efficient AI training environments 
• Data governance and lineage 
• Vector database integration 
• Secure access patterns 
• Hybrid data strategies. 

This ensures AI is adopted safely, efficiently and sustainably. 

How CACI supports enterprise architecture for cloud migration

CACI delivers robust enterprise architecture and cloud engineering services that accelerate migration while reducing risk, cost and complexity. 

Contact us today to learn more about how our structured architectural approach can help improve your migration quality, accelerate delivery and ensure your cloud investments generate measurable business value.  

Cloud is now firmly mainstream, with roughly 94% of enterprises using cloud services and a growing majority running over half of their workloads in the cloud. Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud was forecasted to reach roughly $723 billion in 2025, underlining just how critical cloud has become to a business’ strategy.  

Yet despite this investment, cloud migration challenges remain stubbornly persistent. One major study found that organisations spend on average 14% more on migration than planned and 38% of migrations are delayed by more than a quarter, driven by complexity, poor planning and skills gaps. Another widely cited report notes that 84% of organisations struggle to manage cloud spend effectively.  

This guide explores the most common cloud migration challenges, why they occur and how to design a migration strategy, tooling approach and operating model that gives you a much higher chance of success. It also demonstrates how CACI’s cloud, engineering and implementation services can support your journey. 

What is cloud migration and why is it so challenging?

Cloud migration is the process of moving applications, data, workloads and underlying infrastructure from on-premises or legacy environments into cloud platforms. It can also include moving between clouds or from one cloud service model to another.

Types of cloud migration

Understanding the main migration patterns is a useful starting point for setting expectations: 
 

• Rehost (lift-and-shift): Moving workloads with minimal changes. 
• Replatform: Making modest optimisations (e.g. managed databases) during migration. 
• Refactor: Re-architecting applications to use cloud-native services. 
• Rebuild: Rewriting systems from scratch for the cloud. 
• Replace: Retiring legacy apps in favour of SaaS solutions. 

Most organisations end up using a mix of these approaches across workloads.

Complex deployment models

Modern estates typically combine: 

• Public cloud for scale and agility 
• Private cloud for specific compliance or performance needs 
• Hybrid cloud spanning on-prem and cloud 
• Multi-cloud using several providers. 

Gartner expects 90% of organisations to adopt hybrid cloud by 2027, reflecting the reality that few businesses are “all in” on a single environment. More choice is valuable, but it amplifies governance, integration and cost-management challenges.

Cloud benefits versus migration risks

The benefits of cloud are well documented: agility, scalability, resilience, innovation, access to AI services and more. IDC’s overview of cloud market trends highlights how cloud is now the foundation for data, automation and AI use cases. 

However, without a structured approach, migrations can lead to: 

• Higher-than-expected operating costs 
• Outages and performance issues 
• Security gaps and compliance risk 
• Stalled programmes and change fatigue.

This is where understanding the main cloud migration challenges becomes essential. 

Most substantial cloud migration challenges (by phase)

Grouping cloud migration challenges by phase of the journey helps you anticipate issues before they derail your programme.

1. Strategy & business alignment challenges

No clear business case

Many migrations begin with a general desire to “move to the cloud” without defining measurable success criteria. Are you aiming for reduced costs, faster product delivery, better resilience, improved security or all the above?

Lift-and-shift by default

Under pressure to move quickly, organisations often default to lift-and-shift. While appropriate in some cases, this often leads to increased cloud costs and disappointed stakeholders once workloads land in an environment they were not designed for.

Misaligned stakeholders

Finance wants predictable spend, IT wants stability and business units want new features tomorrow. Without a shared roadmap and governance model, priorities can easily clash.

How to mitigate these challenges

• Define a clear business case with KPIs (e.g. target cost savings, uptime, deployment frequency)
• Involve IT, finance and business leaders from the outset
• Use a structured migration framework and consider partnering with specialists such as CACI’s cloud, engineering and implementation services to co-create your strategy.

2. Discovery & assessment challenges

Poor application and dependency visibility

It is not uncommon for organisations to start migration planning and then discover that they do not have a complete, up-to-date inventory of applications, databases, integrations and dependencies. Missing a single critical dependency can cause outages when workloads are moved.

Legacy constraints

Older platforms, bespoke middleware and tightly coupled integrations obfuscate cloud migration. Some systems may be out of vendor support or lack documentation.

Underestimating integration complexity

Hybrid and multi-cloud architectures must integrate cleanly with on-prem systems and SaaS applications. Underestimating integration can lead to brittle connections and security gaps.

How to mitigate these challenges

• Use automated discovery and assessment tools to build a realistic view of your estate
• Map dependencies visually and prioritise high-blast-radius systems
• Classify workloads using a structured model (retain, retire, rehost, re-platform, refactor, replace)
• Consider a Platform Migration approach with expert support, such as CACI’s dedicated Platform Migration service.

3. Architecture & technical challenges

Choosing the right architecture

The breadth of cloud services is both a blessing and a curse. Teams must choose between virtual machines, containers, serverless, managed databases, message queues, data lakes and more, often with incomplete information and tight deadlines.

Performance and latency issues

Network design, data placement and application architecture all influence latency and throughput. Poor decisions in these areas can degrade customer experience and internal system performance.

Vendor lock-in

Leveraging cloud-native services maximises value but may also increase dependence on specific providers. Regulatory and data-sovereignty discussions, particularly in the UK and EU, are causing many organisations to carefully consider portability and digital sovereignty strategies.

How to mitigate these challenges

• Define reference architectures and guardrails early
• Run performance tests in pilot migrations
• Make conscious choices about where you accept lock-in for higher value and where you prefer portability.

4. Cloud migration security challenges

Security is consistently cited as one of the top cloud migration challenges. Government and industry bodies emphasise that cloud— used correctly— can be more secure than on-prem infrastructure. The UK government’s Cloud First policy and accompanying guidance stress the importance of security-by-design, shared responsibility and robust governance.

Identity and access management (IAM)

Misconfigured IAM, overly broad privileges and lack of role-based access control are a major root cause of cloud incidents.

Data protection

Sensitive data must be encrypted in transit and at rest, with careful key management and robust backup and recovery procedures.

Compliance and shared responsibility

Regulated sectors must demonstrate compliance with standards and regulations in a model where security responsibilities are split between provider and customer.

How to mitigate these challenges

• Establish an IAM strategy with least-privilege access and strong authentication
• Implement encryption, key management and robust logging from day one
• Use security posture-management tools and align with public guidance such as the UK cloud guide for the public sector
• Build security into your cloud platform as part of solution implementation rather than as an afterthought.

5. Data & integration challenges

Moving large volumes of data

Migrating terabytes or petabytes of data without impacting operations requires careful planning. Complex cutover plans, bulk transfer tools and synchronisation mechanisms are often needed.

Data quality and consistency

Inconsistent schemas, duplication and poor data governance can lead to mistrust in analytics and operational systems post-migration.

Integrating cloud with on-prem and SaaS

APIs, message queues and integration platforms must be carefully designed to avoid fragile, tightly coupled connections.

How to mitigate these challenges

• Treat data migration as a dedicated workstream
• Clean and reconcile data before moving it
• Design integration patterns (e.g. event-driven architectures) aligned to your target operating model
• Draw on lessons from real-world programmes like CACI’s case study on HMCTS Court Store and Bench’s move to AWS.

6. Cost, governance & FinOps challenges

Cloud is often sold as a route to lower costs, but the reality is more nuanced. In 2025, 84% of organisations struggled to manage cloud spend and cost optimisation remains a top priority year after year.

Bill shock and opaque spend

Without robust tagging, budgeting and monitoring, costs can escalate quickly. Bursty workloads, test environments left running and underused instances are common culprits.

Weak financial governance

Traditional budgeting models are not always suited to variable, usage-based pricing. Cloud makes it easy to spend money, but not to spend wisely.

Unclear total cost of ownership

Many organisations underestimate the ongoing cost of running cloud environments, including observability, security, data transfer and platform teams.

How to mitigate these challenges

• Adopt FinOps principles early, not after migration. A growing number of organisations are doing this specifically to tackle cloud waste and align spend to business value
• Tag resources consistently to enable accurate cost allocation
• Use budgets, alerts and dashboards to track spend against KPIs
• Consider getting external support from cloud specialists such as CACI’s Cloud Services to design your governance model.

7. People, skills & operating model challenges

Skills gaps

Cloud-native, DevOps and automation skills are in high demand. Internal teams may lack experience in designing and operating cloud platforms at scale.

Operating model friction

Existing ITIL-style processes and siloed teams do not always translate well to cloud environments, where continuous delivery and shared ownership are essential.

Cultural change

Cloud is not just a technology shift, but a cultural one. Teams must embrace new ways of working, from infrastructure-as-code to platform teams and product-centric delivery.

How to mitigate these challenges

• Create a Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE) to set standards and share best practice
• Invest in training and hands-on enablement
• Partner with experienced providers to accelerate learning, as described in CACI’s article on the actual experience of cloud migration for business.

How to build a cloud migration strategy that avoids these challenges

A structured cloud migration strategy is your best defence against these pitfalls.

Step 1: Define business outcomes and KPIs

Start with the “why”:

• Cost optimisation (e.g. target percentage reduction in run-rate costs)
• Improved resilience (e.g. RPO/RTO targets, availability SLAs)
• Faster time-to-market (e.g. release frequency, lead time for changes)

Better customer and employee experience.

Step 2: Assess your current

• Catalogue applications, services, databases and integrations
• Classify each workload by business criticality, technical complexity and risk
• Identify “quick wins” and high-risk areas needing more design work.

Step 3: Plan migration waves

Avoid trying to move everything at once. Instead:

• Group workloads into waves with clear objectives
• Start with lower-risk, high-learning systems
• Use pilot migrations to refine patterns and tooling.

Step 4: Design your target cloud architecture

Make conscious choices about:

• Compute models (VMs, containers, serverless)
• Data platforms (managed databases, data lakes, warehouses)
• Networking and connectivity (VPNs, private links, SD-WAN)
• Platform services for security, observability and CI/CD.

Step 5: Embed security and governance upfront

• Define IAM, logging, monitoring and compliance controls before migration
• Align with recognised guidance such as the UK government’s cloud technology collection
• Treat “platform hardening” as a prerequisite for production workloads.

Step 6: Establish a cloud operating model

Clarify:

• Who owns the central platform
• How product and application teams consume it
• How changes are tested, deployed and supported.

This operating model is where the concept of a cloud-appropriate strategy (rather than “cloud at all costs”) really takes shape.

Step 7: Plan for continuous optimisation

Cloud migration is not a one-off event. After cutover, you should:

• Right-size resources and use auto-scaling
• Tune performance and storage tiers
• Modernise where there is clear value
• Review costs and security posture regularly.

Cloud migration tools, platforms & frameworks

Choosing the right tools reduces risk and effort at each stage of migration.

Discovery, assessment & dependency mapping

• Infrastructure discovery tools and CMDBs
• Application performance monitoring (APM) platforms
• Dependency mapping and visualisation tools.

Data migration & synchronisation

• Cloud-native database migration services
• ETL/ELT tools for structured data movement
• Bulk transfer technologies for large datasets.

Application migration & modernisation

• Containerisation and orchestration tools
• Refactoring accelerators and code analysis tools
• CI/CD platforms to support new deployment models.

Security, compliance & governance

• Cloud security posture management (CSPM) and policy-as-code
• Identity and access management, secrets management and HSMs
• SIEM and threat-detection tooling.

Observability, performance & FinOps (H3)

• Monitoring, logging and tracing platforms
• Cost-management and optimisation tools aligned with FinOps practices.

The specific mix will depend on your chosen cloud providers and operating model, but the categories remain consistent.

Cloud migration best practices

This checklist outlines a practical reference throughout your programme:

Pre-migration

• Business case and KPIs agreed
• Application inventory and dependency maps completed
• Migration patterns decided per workload (rehost/replatform/refactor/etc.)
• Security and governance baselines designed
• Cost management and tagging strategy defined.

During migration

• Workloads migrated in waves, with rollback plans
• Performance and resilience tested in each wave
• Security controls verified before go-live
• Costs monitored against forecasts.

Post-migration

• Workloads rightsized and tuned
• Modernisation opportunities assessed
• Security posture and compliance reviewed regularly
• KPIs tracked and reported to stakeholders.

Measuring cloud migration success: KPIs & metrics

You cannot improve what you do not measure. Useful KPIs include:

Technical

• Availability and uptime
• Latency and response times
• Error rates and incident frequency.

Financial

• Monthly cloud run-rate vs baseline
• Cost per transaction or per user
• Savings from rightsizing or modernisation initiatives.

Business

• Release frequency and deployment lead times
• Time-to-market for new features
• Customer satisfaction or NPS impact.

Security

• Number of critical vulnerabilities
• Mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to remediate (MTTR)
• Compliance audit findings.

These metrics help you demonstrate whether your cloud migration is delivering on its promises or whether strategy and execution need to be re-thought.

Turning cloud migration challenges into an advantages with CACI

Cloud has moved from a novelty to a business necessity, but the real differentiator is how effectively your organisation navigates cloud migration challenges: strategy, security, cost, people and operations.

With the right roadmap, tools and operating model, you can turn those challenges into an advantages: more resilient services, faster innovation and a technology foundation ready for AI and future growth.

If you are ready to move from theory to practice, explore CACI’s Cloud, Engineering & Implementation Services and our dedicated Platform Migration and Solution Implementation offerings. You can also learn from real projects in our article on the actual experience of cloud migration for business.

Cloud adoption continues to accelerate across both public and private sectors, and cloud spending has now reached a scale where cost management is a strategic and board-level concern rather than a purely technical issue.

A Gartner study published in late 2024 projected that global public cloud end-user spending would reach approximately USD 723 billion in 2025, underpinned by sustained double-digit growth driven by digital transformation initiatives, large-scale data platforms and accelerating AI adoption.

As organisations enter 2026, cloud is no longer an experimental or discretionary technology choice. It is a core operational dependency underpinning digital services, analytics, AI delivery and mission-critical systems. As a result, cloud costs now represent a material and recurring component of IT, transformation and operational budgets.

At the same time, there is strong and consistent evidence that a significant proportion of cloud spend does not deliver corresponding business value. IDC estimates that 20-30% of all cloud spending is wasted, even in organisations with established cloud platforms and governance practices.

A 2024 cloud efficiency study referenced by Stacklet found that 78 percent of organisations estimate that between 21 and 50 percent of their annual cloud spend is wasted, with many losing more than USD 75,000 per month due to idle resources, inefficient architectures and weak controls.

In 2026, cloud cost optimisation is therefore no longer about reactive cost cutting or short-term savings. It is about financial sustainability, architectural resilience, responsible AI adoption and long-term operational maturity. Organisations that fail to embed cost optimisation into day-to-day cloud operations risk limiting innovation, constraining AI initiatives and eroding confidence at executive and assurance levels.

This guide sets out practical, execution-focused cloud cost optimisation strategies for 2026, combining industry research, FinOps best practice and real-world delivery experience across complex cloud estates.

A practical cloud cost optimisation roadmap for 2026

One of the most common reasons cloud cost optimisation initiatives fail is a lack of sequencing. Organisations often attempt to optimise everything at once, resulting in fragmented effort and limited impact. Successful programmes instead follow a phased approach aligned to FinOps maturity models and operational reality.

Phase 1: Visibility and accountability (weeks 0–4)

The objective of this phase is to understand where cloud spend occurs and who is responsible for it.

Key activities include:

• defining a consistent, mandatory tagging standard
• allocating cloud costs to services, teams and business units
• establishing baseline dashboards, budgets and alerts

Without this foundation, optimisation efforts lack focus and accountability.

Phase 2: Waste removal and early savings (months 1–3)

Once visibility exists, most organisations can realise rapid savings by addressing obvious inefficiencies.

Typical actions include:

• identifying idle, unused or oversized resources
• rightsizing the highest-cost services
• shutting down non-production environments outside working hours

This phase often delivers visible savings within weeks, helping to build organisational momentum.

Phase 3: Structural and architectural optimisation (months 3–9)

This phase addresses systemic inefficiencies that drive recurring cloud cost.

Key activities include:

• introducing auto-scaling and demand-based architectures
• applying savings plans and reserved capacity where usage is stable
• modernising legacy applications that were lifted and shifted without redesign

Phase 4: Prevention, governance and forecasting (ongoing)

Long-term value comes from preventing waste from re-emerging.

This requires:

• embedding a FinOps operating model
• automating cost guardrails and policy enforcement
• forecasting cloud spend based on business demand rather than historical usage

Why cloud cost optimisation matters in 2026

While cloud growth and waste provide the backdrop, several 2026-specific factors have increased the urgency of cost optimisation.

Cloud spend is now structurally embedded

With global cloud spending measured in hundreds of billions of dollars annually, cloud services now represent a permanent operating cost rather than a variable experiment. In 2026, optimisation must be treated as a continuous operational discipline, not a periodic financial exercise.

AI significantly increases cost pressure

AI and advanced analytics workloads are among the fastest-growing contributors to cloud spend. Model training, inference pipelines, vector databases and large-scale data storage require sustained compute, specialised GPUs and high-throughput data movement. Industry analysis reported by TechMonitor highlights AI adoption as a growing driver of cloud overspend when governance is weak

Visibility and governance remain inconsistent

FinOps Foundation surveys consistently show that more than 40 percent of organisations struggle to accurately attribute cloud spend, particularly across hybrid and multi-cloud estates. Without clear ownership, optimisation initiatives lose traction.

Public sector accountability continues to increase

UK government guidance on cloud usage emphasises transparency, value for money and responsible stewardship of public funds. In 2026, demonstrable control over cloud cost is essential for audit readiness, regulatory compliance and maintaining public trust.

Key cloud cost trends shaping 2026

Across analyst research, FinOps community insights and delivery experience, several structural trends are shaping cloud economics in 2026. These trends explain why cloud costs remain difficult to control, even as tooling, skills and platform maturity improve.

Despite years of investment in cloud platforms, cost visibility tools and FinOps capability, cloud waste remains consistently high. This is not primarily due to technical immaturity, but because cloud operating models still incentivise speed and autonomy over financial discipline. Teams are optimised to deliver features quickly, while the financial impact of architectural decisions often remains abstract or delayed.

In 2026, waste increasingly originates from design-time decisions, such as selecting always-on services for variable workloads, duplicating datasets for convenience, or over-allocating resources to avoid performance risk. This shifts optimisation from a purely operational activity to a design and governance challenge, where cost awareness must be embedded earlier in the delivery lifecycle.

AI and data platforms are redefining what “expensive” means in cloud

Historically, cloud cost growth was driven by general-purpose compute and storage. In 2026, the cost profile will be increasingly shaped by specialised, high-performance services. GPU-backed workloads, vector databases, real-time analytics engines and large-scale data pipelines now dominate spend growth, particularly in organisations scaling AI beyond experimentation.

This trend is significant because these workloads behave differently from traditional applications. They are data-intensive and highly sensitive to architectural choices, meaning small design inefficiencies can have disproportionate cost impact. As a result, organisations are finding that traditional optimisation levers are less effective unless they are complemented by AI-aware financial governance and forecasting models.

FinOps is shifting from insight to intervention

FinOps adoption has moved beyond dashboards and retrospective reporting. In 2026, leading organisations will be using FinOps as an active control mechanism, not just an analytical function. This includes embedding financial signals into delivery pipelines, using cost data to inform architectural trade-offs, and aligning spend decisions with business priorities in near real time.

This shift reflects a broader recognition that cost is a first-class operational metric, alongside reliability, security and performance. As FinOps matures, its value increasingly depends on organisational influence and integration, rather than tooling sophistication alone. The challenge for many organisations is no longer visibility but turning insight into enforceable decisions without slowing delivery.

Multi-cloud complexity is now an economic issue, not just a technical one

Multi-cloud strategies have become standard, driven by resilience, policy, supplier strategy and workload suitability. However, in 2026 the cost implications of multi-cloud are becoming more visible. Differences in pricing models, discount structures, data egress costs and managed services make consistent optimisation across providers difficult.

As a result, organisations are increasingly forced to balance strategic flexibility against economic efficiency. This has elevated the importance of cross-cloud financial normalisation, where spend is compared and governed at a service or capability level rather than by provider. Cost optimisation in multi-cloud environments is therefore becoming a portfolio management challenge, not just a technical exercise.

Public sector collaboration is moving from policy to practice

In the public sector, cloud cost management is evolving from guidance and principle-based frameworks into practical, shared implementation. Departments and agencies are increasingly collaborating on standards for cost transparency, FinOps maturity and data sharing, supported by central initiatives and communities of practice.

This trend reflects growing recognition that cloud cost challenges are systemic, not isolated. By sharing tooling patterns, metrics and governance approaches, public sector organisations aim to reduce duplication, improve comparability and strengthen assurance. In 2026, this collective approach is becoming a key enabler of sustainable cloud adoption, particularly as AI and data workloads expand across government.

These trends manifest in a set of recurring challenges that organisations encounter as cloud estates scale.

Common cloud cost optimisation challenges

Despite growing awareness of cloud economics and wider adoption of FinOps practices, many organisations continue to struggle with the same underlying cost challenges. In 2026, these issues persist not because of a lack of technology, but because cloud cost management is as much an organisational and operating-model problem as it is a technical one.

1. Poor visibility and inconsistent allocation

While most organisations collect cloud cost data, many still lack decision-grade visibility. Costs are often visible at an account or subscription level, but not consistently attributed to business services, products or outcomes. This creates a disconnect between cloud consumption and business value.

In practice, visibility breaks down when tagging standards are inconsistently applied, ownership is unclear, or cost data is interpreted differently by engineering, finance and product teams. In 2026, this challenge is compounded by the rise of shared platforms, managed services and AI pipelines, where multiple teams consume the same underlying resources. Without a common allocation model, cloud spend becomes difficult to explain, challenge or forecast, even when dashboards and detailed receipts exist.

The result is a familiar pattern: cost reports are produced, but they do not meaningfully influence decisions.

2. Idle and over-provisioned resources

Idle and over-provisioned resources remain one of the most visible sources of cloud waste, yet they continue to accumulate in mature environments. This is partly because cloud platforms make it easy to provision capacity quickly, but place relatively little friction on leaving it running indefinitely.

In many organisations, responsibility for decommissioning resources is ambiguous. Development and test environments are created for short-term needs but persist long after projects move on. Capacity is deliberately oversized to reduce perceived performance risk, particularly for customer-facing or data-intensive workloads. Container platforms add another layer of abstraction, where unused capacity is less obvious than in traditional virtual machine estates.

By 2026, the challenge is less about identifying individual idle resources and more about preventing sprawl from becoming the default state of cloud environments.

3. Lift-and-shift migrations

Many organisations still operate a significant proportion of workloads that were migrated to the cloud using lift-and-shift approaches. While this accelerates migration timelines, it often locks in cost inefficiencies that persist for years.

Applications designed for on-premise infrastructure typically assume static capacity, peak sizing and tightly coupled components. When moved unchanged to the cloud, these assumptions translate into always-on resources, limited elasticity and higher baseline costs. Over time, teams compensate by over-provisioning to maintain stability, rather than addressing architectural limitations.

In 2026, the challenge is that these workloads often underpin critical services. Their cost impact is well understood, but the perceived risk and effort of refactoring mean optimisation is repeatedly deferred, even as they consume a disproportionate share of cloud budgets.

4. Limited governance and automation

Cloud environments scale faster than traditional governance models. Where policies, approvals and controls rely on manual processes, they quickly become bottlenecks and are either bypassed or ignored.

In many organisations, governance is still applied after resources are provisioned, rather than embedded into how platforms are built and used. This leads to inconsistent enforcement of standards, reactive clean-up exercises and reliance on individual diligence rather than systemic control.

By 2026, the absence of automation will become a cost challenge. Without automated guardrails, organisations struggle to maintain consistent financial control as teams, workloads and environments grow. The result is a cycle of periodic optimisation efforts that temporarily reduce spend, only for inefficiencies to re-emerge.

5. AI and data gravity

AI and data-driven workloads introduce a distinct set of cost challenges that differ from traditional application hosting. These workloads are inherently data-intensive, often requiring large datasets to be moved, duplicated or processed repeatedly across environments.

As models evolve and pipelines become more complex, storage volumes grow, GPU utilisation increases and data transfer costs become more material. Data gravity exacerbates this effect, making it difficult to relocate workloads without incurring additional cost or performance penalties. In many cases, teams optimise for experimentation speed rather than cost efficiency, particularly in early AI adoption phases.

In 2026, organisations are finding that AI cost challenges are not caused by individual services, but by end-to-end pipeline design, where small inefficiencies compound across storage, compute and data movement over time.

Why these challenges persist

Taken together, these challenges highlight a common theme: cloud cost optimisation fails when it is treated as a periodic clean-up activity rather than a core operating discipline. Without clear ownership, aligned incentives and embedded governance, inefficiencies naturally re-emerge as cloud estates and AI workloads continue to scale.

Cloud cost optimisation strategies and best practices for 2026

1. Improve tagging, allocation and cost visibility

What to do
Building on the visibility foundation outlined earlier, define a mandatory tagging standard covering application, owner, environment, cost centre, data classification and compliance context.

How to implement

• enforce tagging using cloud-native policy tools
• validate tags in CI/CD pipelines
• auto-remediate missing metadata

What good looks like

• over 90 percent of cloud spend accurately tagged
• monthly showback or chargeback reporting
• clear ownership of top cost drivers

Organisations often establish this capability as part of a broader cloud landing zone or cloud engineering programme.

2. Adopt continuous rightsizing

Rightsizing should be an ongoing operational activity rather than an annual review.

Effective approaches include:

• monthly utilisation reviews
• thresholds such as CPU below 30 percent or memory below 40 percent for sustained periods
• removal of unused snapshots and volumes

This approach consistently delivers savings without service degradation.

3. Use auto-scaling and demand-based architectures

Auto-scaling ensures capacity aligns with actual demand.

Best practice includes:

• horizontal scaling for stateless services
• defined minimum and maximum capacity limits
• regular load testing
• automatic shutdown of non-production environments outside business hours

These patterns are commonly implemented during platform migration and modernisation initiatives.

4. Optimise storage and data lifecycle management

Storage costs grow rapidly, particularly for analytics and AI.

Effective strategies include:

• tiering infrequently accessed data
• enforcing retention and lifecycle rules
• archiving logs
• reducing unnecessary cross-region transfers

These controls are often embedded within data platform and analytics architectures.

5. Align purchasing models with workload patterns

Savings plans and reserved capacity can reduce long-running workload costs by 30–70 percent when applied correctly.

Best practice includes:

• committing only once usage patterns stabilise
• targeting utilisation above 70 percent
• reviewing commitments quarterly

6. Build a mature FinOps operating model

A mature FinOps model includes:

• a central FinOps capability
• real-time dashboards
• shared accountability across engineering, finance and product teams
• monthly governance reviews
• demand-based forecasting

Many organisations formalise this capability as a dedicated FinOps and cost optimisation function.

7. Modernise applications to remove architectural waste

Modernisation often delivers greater long-term savings than pricing optimisation alone.

Cloud-native patterns such as containers, serverless and managed services reduce reliance on persistent infrastructure and scale automatically with demand.

8. Optimise AI and advanced analytics workloads

AI workloads require dedicated optimisation strategies.

Effective techniques include:

• using lower-cost GPU types for development and testing
• separating training and inference environments
• tracking cost per inference and cost per model version
• pruning unused models and datasets
• monitoring vector database growth carefully

9. Automate cost guardrails

Automation prevents waste before it accumulates.

Examples include:

• enforcing tagging automatically
• shutting down idle environments
• blocking unapproved high-cost services
• detecting anomalous spend
• automatically cleaning up unused resources

Cloud cost optimisation with CACI

In 2026, cloud cost optimisation is about predictability, resilience and sustainable innovation, not reactive cost cutting. CACI supports organisations across the full optimisation lifecycle, from rapid waste reduction to long-term architectural transformation and FinOps maturity.

If your organisation cannot clearly explain who owns cloud spend, why costs fluctuate month-to-month, or how AI growth will be funded sustainably, optimisation opportunities already exist. CACI helps organisations move from reactive cost control to value-driven cloud economics that support growth, innovation and public accountability.

FAQs around cloud cost optimisation strategies

What does a cloud cost optimisation strategy include in 2026?

A cloud cost optimisation strategy in 2026 includes cost visibility, architectural efficiency, governance and forecasting, enabling organisations to control spend while scaling cloud and AI workloads. It focuses on embedding cost awareness into design, delivery and operational decision-making rather than reactive clean-up.

How is cloud cost optimisation different from FinOps?

Cloud cost optimisation focuses on reducing waste and improving efficiency, while FinOps is the operating model that makes those improvements sustainable. FinOps aligns engineering, finance and product teams around shared accountability, governance and forecasting.

When should organisations start optimising cloud costs?

Organisations should start optimising cloud costs as soon as cloud usage begins, not after spend becomes excessive. Early optimisation prevents inefficient patterns becoming embedded and reduces long-term cost growth.

How much can organisations save with cloud cost optimisation?

Most organisations can reduce cloud spend by 20 to 40 percent through effective cost optimisation, depending on estate maturity and governance. Savings are highest where idle resources, over-provisioning and legacy workloads are common.

Why do cloud costs keep increasing even after optimisation?

Cloud costs continue to increase when optimisation focuses on one-off savings rather than ongoing governance and demand-based control. New services, data pipelines and AI workloads often grow faster than financial controls evolve.

How do AI workloads affect cloud cost optimisation?

AI workloads increase cloud costs because they rely on high-performance compute, large datasets and repeated processing, which scale non-linearly. This requires AI-specific cost governance and forecasting to remain sustainable.

Is cloud cost optimisation harder in multi-cloud environments?

Cloud cost optimisation is harder in multi-cloud environments because pricing models, discounts and data transfer costs vary across providers. Organisations increasingly manage costs at a service or portfolio level rather than optimising each cloud independently.

Who should own cloud cost optimisation?

Cloud cost optimisation should be a shared responsibility across engineering, finance and product teams, coordinated by a central FinOps or governance function. This ensures cost decisions align with technical and business priorities.

How often should cloud cost optimisation be reviewed?

Cloud cost optimisation should be reviewed continuously using real-time monitoring, with formal governance reviews conducted monthly. This combination enables early detection of anomalies while supporting strategic oversight.

When it comes to strengthening your network security posture, doing so is no longer a nice-to-have, but a strategic necessity. The notion of strengthening your network may sound time-intensive and lengthy, however, there are some immediate changes that can lead to quick wins. In this blog, we uncover four key steps IT leaders can take to strengthen network security posture and immediate quick wins that can be achieved upon doing so.  

Four steps to strengthen your network security posture

Security is no longer optional. These four foundational actions will help you reduce risk and build resilience: 

1. Adopt zero trust principles

Zero trust means “never trust, always verify.” Every user and device inside or outside the network must be authenticated and authorised. This approach limits the impact of breaches and is now recommended by the NCSC and leading global providers.  

• Implement strong authentication for all users and devices.  
• Segment networks to limit lateral movement.  
• Continuously monitor for unusual behaviour.  

2. Automate detection and response

Manual processes cannot keep pace with modern threats. Automation can reduce response times by up to 40%, demonstrating its ability to help defenders stay ahead. 

• Use AI-driven tools for threat detection and alert triage.  
• Automate patching, backup, and incident response workflows.
• Regularly test and updated automated playbooks.

3. Operational load

With many IT teams stretched thin, managed network services allow organisations to focus on strategy while experts handle day-to-day operations, monitoring and compliance. 

• Consider managed firewall, detection and response and vulnerability management services.  
• Ensure providers offer transparent reporting and clear SLAs.

4. Secure hybrid work

With two-thirds of UK employees working remotely at least part-time, endpoint protection and secure remote access are essential.  

• Enforce multi-factor authentication for all remote access.  
• Protect endpoints with up-to-date security software and policies.
• Educate staff on secure working practices. 

Quick wins: Immediate actions UK IT leaders should take 

Not every improvement requires a major investment or a long-term project. The following actions can quickly reduce risk and strengthen your security posture:  

Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) 

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the most effective ways to prevent account compromise, blocking the majority of phishing and credential stuffing attacks.  

• Enforce MFA for all users, not just administrators.  
• Use app-based or hardware tokens for stronger protection. 
• Regularly review and test MFA coverage.  

Read NCSC guidance on MFA  

Patch the basics consistently and quickly

Most breaches exploit known vulnerabilities. Even delays in patching of a few days can be costly.  

• Maintain an up-to-date inventory of all assets, including cloud workloads and remote endpoints. 
• Apply critical patches within 14 days, as recommended by the NCSC.  
•  Automate patch deployment and monitor for failures.  

Back up critical data securely and test your restores

Ransomware is only effective if you cannot recover your data. Secure, tested backups are essential.  

• Use immutable, offsite or cloud-based backups.  
• Regularly test restores to ensure data integrity.  
• Protect backup credentials with MFA and restrict access.

Review firewall rules and access controls

Firewall policies can become cluttered over time with unused or overly permissive rules, creating hidden vulnerabilities.  

• Schedule regular firewall reviews to remove unused or risky rules.  
• Align policies with current business needs.  
• Use automated tools to analyse policies for overlaps and compliance gaps.   

Run a tabletop incident response exercise 

Plans are only effective if teams can execute them under pressure. Tabletop exercises simulate real-world incidents, allowing teams to rehearse roles and identify gaps.  

• Involve both technical and business stakeholders.  
• Use realistic scenarios tailored to your organisation.
• Capture lessons learned and update your incident response plan.  

See NCSC’s guidance on incident response exercises 

How CACI can help enhance your network security

CACI has helped UK businesses protect their networks for decades. From network security to data centre solutions and IT consulting, our expertise delivers secure-by-design architectures, automation, and incident readiness for robust network security.  

Download our 2026 Network Security Survival Guide today to learn more about how your organisation can set its network environments up for success. 

The demand for cloud-based offerings has surged following the uptake of hybrid working and evolving customer expectations and digital infrastructure. Businesses that fail to adapt run the risk of being left behind. Understanding the benefits to determine whether cloud adoption is right for you is therefore critical. 

In our previous blogs, we shared the key advantages of cloud adoption and challenges in cloud security. In our final blog of this series, we share integral steps to strengthen your organisation’s cloud security. 

As more businesses adopt cloud technology, primarily to support hybrid working, cybercriminals are focusing their tactics on exploiting vulnerable cloud environments. Over the last year, a report found that 80% of organisations experienced at least one cloud security breach. 

This issue has been exacerbated by soaring global demand for tech talent. On a global scale, the demand for cybersecurity professionals reaches well into the millions, which is far beyond the current number of working individuals as is. Hiring and training new talent at pace is impossible with this accelerating demand. 
 
It’s a vulnerable time for enterprise organisations, and cloud security is the top priority for IT leaders. Here we consider the critical steps you can take now to make your business safer. 

1. Understand your shared responsibility model

Defining and establishing the split of security responsibilities between an organisation and its CSP is one of the first steps in creating a successful cloud security strategy. Taking this action will provide more precise direction for your teams and mean that your apps, security, network and compliance teams all have a say in your security approach. This helps to ensure that your security approach considers all angles.

2. Create a data governance framework

Once you’ve defined responsibilities, it’s time to set the rules. Establishing a clear data governance framework that defines who controls data assets and how data is used will provide a streamlined approach to managing and protecting information. Setting the rules is one thing, however; ensuring they’re carefully followed is another. Employing content control tools and role-based access controls to enforce this framework will help safeguard company data. Ensure your framework is built on a solid foundation by engaging your senior management early in your policy planning. With their input, influence and understanding of the importance of cloud security, you’ll be better equipped to ensure compliance across your business. 

3. Opt to automate

In an increasingly hostile threat environment, in-house IT teams are under pressure to manage high numbers of security alerts. It doesn’t have to be this way though. Automating security processes such as cybersecurity monitoring, threat intelligence collection and vendor risk assessments means your team can spend less time analysing every potential threat, reducing admin errors and dedicating more time to innovation and growth activities. 

4. Assess and address your knowledge gaps

Your users can either provide a strong line of defence or open the door to cyber-attacks. Make sure it’s the former by equipping staff and stakeholders access to your cloud systems with the knowledge and tools they need to conduct safe practices, such as by providing training on identifying malware and phishing emails. For more advanced users of your cloud systems, take the time to review capability and experience gaps and consider where upskilling or outsourcing is required to keep your cloud environments safe. 

5. Consider adopting a Zero Trust model

Based on the principle of ‘Never Trust, Always Verify’, a Zero Trust approach removes the assumption of trust from the security architecture by requiring authentication for every action, user and device. Adopting a Zero Trust model means always assuming that there’s a breach and securing all access to systems using multi-factor authentication and least privilege. In addition to improving resilience and security posture, this approach can also benefit businesses by enhancing user experiences via Single Sign-On (SSO) enablement, allowing better collaboration between organisations and increased visibility of your user devices and services. However, not all organisations can accommodate a Zero Trust approach. Incompatibility with legacy systems, cost, disruption and vendor-lock-in must be balanced with the security advantages of Zero Trust adoption. #

6. Perform an in-depth cloud security assessment

Ultimately, the best way to bolster your cloud security is to perform a thorough cloud security audit. Having a clear view of your cloud environments, users, security capabilities and inadequacies will allow you to take the best course of action to protect your business. 

7. Bolster your defences

The most crucial principle of cloud security is that it’s an ongoing process and continuous monitoring is key to keeping your cloud secure. However, in an ever-evolving threat environment, IT and infosec professionals are under increasing pressure to stay ahead of cybercriminals’ sophisticated tactics. 

A robust threat monitoring solution can help ease this pressure and bolster your security defence. Threat monitoring works by continuously collecting, collating and evaluating security data from your network sensors, appliances and endpoint agents to identify patterns indicative of threats. Threat alerts are more accurate with threat monitoring analysing data alongside contextual factors such as IP addresses and URLs. Additionally, traditionally hard-to-detect threats such as unauthorised internal accounts can be identified. 

Businesses can employ myriad options for threat monitoring, from data protection platforms with threat monitoring capabilities to a dedicated threat monitoring solution. However, while implementing threat monitoring is a crucial and necessary step to securing your cloud environments, IT leaders must recognise that a robust security programme comprises a multi-layered approach utilising technology, tools, people and processes. 

Download our Cloud Security Assessment Checklist and discover proven strategies to strengthen your defences in our comprehensive guide.

Cloud innovation trends: Why optimisation must come first

In the race to modernise, many businesses make a critical mistake: innovating before optimising their cloud infrastructure. It’s an easy trap to fall into – new technologies promise speed, agility and competitive advantage. However, without a solid foundation, those promises can quickly unravel.

So, what difference will optimisation make to cloud innovation? How do complex hybrid environments affect optimisation and what are the repercussions of innovating too soon?

Why optimisation should come first

Cloud optimisation isn’t just a technical exercise – it’s a strategic imperative. Before you invest in AI-driven tools, advanced analytics or multi-cloud deployments, you need to ensure your existing environment is efficient, secure and cost-effective. Otherwise, innovation becomes a gamble rather than a growth driver.

How the complexity of hybrid environments affects optimisation

Modern IT landscapes are rarely simple. Most organisations operate in hybrid environments, combining:

• Cloud-native workloads
• Semi-native applications
• Containerised services
• Legacy systems migrated via IaaS.

This mix introduces complexity that can quietly erode ROI and performance. Without optimisation, you risk inefficiencies that undermine every future initiative.

Common pitfalls of innovating too soon

When businesses rush to innovate without first optimising, they often encounter:

Duplicated workloads

Hybrid setups frequently lead to duplication of environments or services, especially when containerised and legacy systems overlap with cloud-native tools. This consumes bandwidth and burdens IT and DevOps teams with managing multiple versions of the same workload.

Latency issues

Poor workload distribution across cloud environments increases latency, slowing response times and masking compliance or security issues. For customer-facing applications, this can directly impact user experience and brand reputation.

Security saps

Unoptimised containerised and legacy workloads are vulnerable to governance and compliance risks. Differences in data storage and flow between environments complicate tracking, while unresolved legacy issues can carry over post-migration.

Mounting costs

With up to 30% of cloud spend wasted, inefficiencies inflate monitoring and security costs, draining budgets that could fund innovation.

Why this matters now

Cloud strategies are under pressure to deliver more – faster, cheaper and greener. Without optimisation, businesses risk inefficiency, higher costs and vulnerabilities that stall progress. In an industry where every second counts, building on shaky ground isn’t just risky, it’s expensive.

How to get started

Before chasing the next big trend in cloud innovation, take time to:

• Audit your current architecture: Maintain visibility by understand what’s running, where and why.
• Identify duplicated workloads and inefficiencies: Determine whether any services or resources are the cause behind draining budgets.
• Align resources with business priorities: Ensure any spending on cloud innovation drives value for the business.
• Implement governance and security best practices: Establishing best practices early on will ensure that innovation is scaled effectively.

This foundation ensures innovation is sustainable, not just a short-term fix.

The CACI approach: Building a cloud that enables innovation

Ready to build a cloud foundation that enables innovation?

Don’t leave your cloud strategy to chance. Our specialist cloud architects and optimisation experts have helped leading organisations modernise, streamline and unlock innovation without compromise. Contact us today to start your cloud optimisation journey.

Cloud adoption is no longer seen as a means for storage, but a foundation for intelligent business capabilities. Businesses that have adopted the cloud are able to reap benefits far beyond cost savings, enhancing operational flexibility, enabling faster disaster recovery and much more. In the first blog of our cloud security series, we explore the key advantages of cloud adoption. 

Flexibility

Cloud infrastructure is the key to operational agility, allowing you to scale up or down to suit your bandwidth needs. The pay-as-you-go model offered by most cloud service providers (CSPs) also means that you pay for usage rather than a set monthly fee, making IT spending a more manageable operational expense. The ability to scale resources according to demand also ensures performance will be optimal during peak times and eliminate waste during downtime. 

Reduced cost

Kind to your cash flow, cloud computing cuts out the high hardware cost. The availability of the aforementioned pay-as-you-go models can significantly cut costs. Not to mention the cost-savings of reduced resources, lower energy consumption and fewer delays.  

Disaster recovery

From natural disasters to power outages and software bugs, if your data is backed up in the cloud, it is at a reduced risk of system failure as the servers are typically far from your office locations. You can recover data anywhere to minimise downtime by logging into the internet’s cloud storage portal. 

Accessibility

We’ve all heard that the office is dead. Workers want the ability to work anytime, anywhere. With cloud (and an internet connection), they can. The cloud enables workforces to be distributed through secure access to data and applications from any location, which is critical in today’s hybrid working world. 

Greater collaboration

Cloud infrastructure makes collaboration a simple process, changing the parameters of how and where teams can work. The cloud can drastically improve workplace productivity, from online video calls to sharing files and co-authoring documents in real-time. It offers a centralised, secure and real-time working environment that bolsters communication and helps streamline workflows. These cloud-native applications are designed to make our lives more efficient through greater collaboration.  

Strategic value

Ultimately, businesses that have adopted the cloud typically experience greater cost efficiencies, faster speed to market and enhanced service levels. Adopting the cloud not only reimagines business models and builds resilience but also enables organisations to be agile and innovative. For example, adopting DevOps methodologies can be an essential element for businesses looking to get ahead of their competitors. 

But what about security? Earlier this year, a reported 61% of organisations felt security and compliance were their primary barriers to cloud adoption. Rushed application and the resulting lacklustre security have only intensified security concerns as cybercriminals increasingly target cloud environments. 

Download our comprehensive guide to cloud security and start securing your cloud today.

Cloud computing continues to be the engine of digital transformation for organisations across the UK. It enables agility, scalability and innovation, but it also introduces new risks. As cloud adoption accelerates, many IT leaders are discovering that overlooking security and compliance early in the journey can have serious consequences. 

For IT Directors, Digital Transformation Leads, Heads of Innovation and CTOs, embedding security and compliance from the outset is no longer a technical preference – it’s a strategic necessity. 

Cloud security & compliance: More than just technical checkboxes

Security and compliance are often treated as items to be ticked off once workloads are live, but this reactive approach can leave organisations exposed. From GDPR violations to data breaches and operational downtime, the risks of neglecting these areas are significant. 

Regulatory frameworks are becoming more complex and digital sovereignty is increasingly under scrutiny. If sensitive data is stored in the wrong region or accessed without proper controls, the fallout can be severe – both financially and reputationally. Security and compliance must be considered as foundational elements of cloud architecture, not optional extras. 

How cloud security & compliance gets overlooked in the rush to innovate

In many cases, cloud security failures aren’t the result of negligence – they’re the by-product of speed. Teams move quickly to deploy new services, often bypassing governance in favour of agility. This can lead to misconfigured resources, overly permissive access controls and a lack of visibility into where data resides and who can access it. 

Shadow IT is another common issue. When departments provision their own cloud tools without central oversight, it becomes difficult to enforce consistent security policies. Over time, this decentralised approach creates a fragmented environment that’s hard to monitor and even harder to secure. 

Architecting for security from the start

A secure cloud environment begins with a well-defined architecture. At CACI, we use frameworks like AWS’s Well-Architected and Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework to guide organisations in building resilient, compliant cloud foundations. These frameworks are informed by thousands of real-world deployments and help define what “good” looks like in cloud security. 

Whether migrating legacy workloads, building cloud-native applications or operating in a hybrid model, the architecture must reflect the unique risks and requirements of each scenario. Security isn’t one-size-fits-all: it must be tailored to the workload, the data and the business context. 

Shift left: Embedding security into the development lifecycle

One of the most effective ways to reduce risk is to integrate security early in the development process – a practice known as “shifting left.” By embedding security into CI/CD pipelines, teams can identify vulnerabilities before workloads reach production, reducing rework and accelerating delivery. 

This proactive approach ensures that workloads are secure by design, not just secure by default. It also fosters a culture of shared responsibility, where developers, architects and security teams collaborate from the beginning rather than retrofitting controls later.

Defence in depth & limiting blast radius

Modern cloud threats require layered protection. Defence in depth introduces multiple safeguards across the environment, so if one control fails, others remain intact. This approach is particularly important in multi-cloud or hybrid environments, where complexity can increase exposure. 

Equally critical is the concept of limiting blast radius, which ensures that if one asset is compromised, it doesn’t jeopardise the entire environment. Segmenting workloads, applying fine-grained access controls and enforcing least privilege principles all help contain threats and reduce lateral movement. 

Even small missteps like sharing credentials or resetting machines without proper controls can introduce vulnerabilities. Architectural discipline is key to maintaining a secure posture. 

Landing Zone Accelerators: Secure foundations at speed

For organisations looking to move quickly without compromising security, Landing Zone Accelerators (LZAs) offer a fast-track to secure cloud environments. These pre-configured environments provide guardrails, segmentation and automated policy enforcement from day one. 

Rather than granting broad permissions to “just get things working,” LZAs encourage incremental, secure buildouts that maintain architectural integrity. They help teams avoid the temptation to open everything up and instead focus on building with security embedded throughout. 

Cloud security & compliance are continuous disciplines

Security and compliance aren’t one-time tasks – they’re ongoing disciplines. Cloud environments are dynamic, with new workloads, users and integrations added regularly. Each change introduces potential risk, which is why continuous monitoring, automated patching and regular reviews are essential. 

Tools like AWS Security Hub, GuardDuty and Inspector can help maintain visibility and enforce policies across the workload lifecycle. However, tools alone aren’t enough.

Organisations need a strategy that combines automation with governance and cultural alignment.

The CACI approach: Secure by design, resilient by default

At CACI, we help organisations build secure, scalable cloud environments that support long-term growth. Our approach is grounded in architectural best practices, automation and real-world experience. We start by understanding your current environment, identifying risks and designing frameworks that embed security and compliance from the outset. 

We don’t just implement tools; we build strategies. From governance frameworks to workload segmentation and continuous optimisation, we provide the support needed to stay secure, compliant and resilient in a fast-moving digital landscape. 

Want to explore how your organisation can build a secure cloud foundation that enables innovation? 
Speak to our cloud architecture specialists today. 

Key issues for countries and the businesses that operate within them to address in terms of climate change unfolded at the recent 28^th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28). These issues urge immediate and significant action to be taken on fossil fuels and clean energy, national adaptation and climate finance, methane reduction, land use and more.

What does environmental sustainability in business mean?

Environmental sustainability in business is the operation of a business that does not compromise the environment. A business that has considered environmental sustainability prioritises the environment’s best interest, with society and its ecosystems coming before making a profit. It involves responsible decision-making that minimizes carbon footprint or waste while simultaneously improving the quality of life for humankind and the natural world alike.

Unfortunately, however, operating businesses as usual has had an increasingly detrimental impact on our planet. According to the latest State of the Global Climate report by the WMO, 2023 was the warmest year on record at about 1.4C,increasing pressure to shift their operations to more environmentally sustainable practices. This inevitably causes businesses to consider—where do we start? How do we begin making a difference?

What is the importance of environmental sustainability in business?

According to an article published by Maryville University, businesses that do not act responsibly will result in “the majority of many species not surviving past the 21st century”, reiterating how critical it is for businesses within every industry to take part in improving their environmental surroundings.

Although companies have a way to go before fully grasping the repercussions of ever-growing carbon footprints, those willing to tackle this challenge early on will get a head start on reshaping perspectives and realities.

Environmental sustainability in business practices

Businesses can rely on the three R’s– reduce, reuse and recycle– to begin reducing their environmental impact. However, there are several other examples of practices that businesses can incorporate into their operations amplify their reduction, including:

• Life cycle assessments
• Designing environmentally friendly products/services
• Optimising product efficiency
• Decreasing supply chain carbon footprint
• Re-evaluating CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) expenses

Benefits of environmental sustainability in business

Reduces the impact of business costs

While the cost-of-living crisis is skyrocketing, improving the energy efficiency of business operations and decreasing waste will go a long a way in bracing for the impact of unexpected business costs. Using more energy efficient lighting or reusing existing resources can be quick-fix solutions for lowering costs.

Improves a business’ reputation

Environmentally sustainable businesses are viewed as a plus, and companies are eager to highlight this fact. Companies that can go “green” show that they’re serious about making a difference in the environment and are interested in more than just profitability. Businesses that can market themselves and develop their identity around their commitment to the betterment of the planet will notice incredible results in terms of their reputation.

Who is responsible for improving environmental sustainability in a business?

Businesses have been expected to pave the way towards environmental sustainability due to their notably significant contribution towards polluting the environment through waste, gas emissions and plastics generated. The responsibility does not necessarily begin with one individual within a business though– employees at every level of the business must work together to bring about change. A few examples include:

• Business owners and leaders: Business owners and leaders are typically capable of leading strategic decision-making that influences the wider business. They can develop effective sustainability strategies and initiatives that have the power to change policy and induce change.
• Business managers and supervisors: Managers and supervisors can supply valuable insights due to their more hands-on roles. They also typically have different perspectives and understandings as to how to improve business sustainability.
• Employees: Employees can supply valuable contributions when encouraged to voice their opinions and concerns on how the business can become more sustainable.

Impact of environmental sustainability in business

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is striving to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. It’s going to take strong leadership, business-wide alignment on operations and an engaged corporate culture to successfully execute and maintain environmentally sustainable business practices. Businesses that start addressing these issues and challenge existing business processes will find themselves making a breakthrough towards becoming more environmentally sustainable while protecting the world around them.

How can CACI help you overcome these obstacles?

Our newly developed Mood Environmental Hub helps track all of your assets across multiple geographic locations and assess the environmental impact of your business.

With a single click, users can drill down from multi-site, business-level functions, to departments or even individual teams to determine asset types and locations, enabling a quick assessment of priority focus areas for improvement. It can also visualise existing data through user-friendly dashboards that show carbon impact, consumption and cost at an enterprise level.

The advanced modelling feature also outlines potential improvements, indicating ROI and carbon reduction impact. Additionally, you can easily check performance against carbon commitments such as Social Value through the initiatives tracker.

Producing carbon reduction target tracking reports or modelling for a business case is now a click away – to see how it works, you can book a demo here.

In my last blog, I explained the reasons for transforming to a Zero Trust Model. In this next blog of CACI’s Zero Trust series, I’ll explore some of the benefits and challenges to implementing Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA) in your business.

Benefits of implementing Zero Trust Network Architecture

ZTNA not only improves your network security, but also enhances your business processes and protects your end-users. A few of the ways in which you and your business can benefit from Zero Trust include:

Your Network

Traditional on-premises architecture cannot support remote access at scale. ZTNA allows more remote users to securely connect to your company network via multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Secure cloud adoption
ZTNA enables the classification of access rights on the cloud so that only authorised users can access your selected assets

Overall Security

You can secure confidential data by implementing least-privileged access control and strict user authentication. This minimises the blast radius in any data leakage incident. – Protection against threats Any configuration changes are automatically triggered and analysed for suspicious activities in ZTNA, keeping down the overall risk exposure.

User Enablement

ZTNA sets up your network infrastructure so that global employees and business contractors can access your company network safely via a Virtual Protected Network (VPN). – Optimised customer experience ZTNA allows your customers to securely access any confidential data and to complete transactions anywhere by verifying their identities.

Challenges to implementation

Transforming to modern technology is always easier said than done. There are a few common hurdles to overcome in order to complete the Zero Trust journey:

‘Implicit trust’ in the legacy system

A few of my clients’ legacy systems still rely on ‘implicit trust’, which conflicts with the core principles of ZTNA. Some of their upper-layer applications are built from older protocols or conventions from when the public internet was a trustworthy space. These dated applications have been bolted onto security and data encryption layers since the evolution of technology.

You’ll need an appetite for bold change and significant investment to transform to ZTNA, and it won’t be built in one day! Most companies operate in a hybrid Zero Trust or perimeter-based mode while they make the transition.

No standardised frameworks for component creation

There are no standardised frameworks for creating commoditised Zero Trust components. Different frameworks are suggested by governments or experienced IT consulting companies based on their knowledge and experience. For instance, there are many competing products for user authentication, such as Microsoft Active Directory, Okta, Azure AD and OneTrust.

Insufficient workforce support

I’ve spoken to some companies that have admittedly not invested enough in their networking and security. This led to a lack of leadership support and security experts to drive their transformation to Zero Trust.

If this is the case in your business, you can partner with an IT outsourcing provider that will advise you on the best fit Zero Trust framework and equip you with a team of security experts to help you get there. We have some top tips on how to find the right IT outsourcing partner which you might find useful.

How CACI can help

CACI’s team of cybersecurity experts can help you improve the protection levels of your business, from Zero Trust Network Architecture, Threat Analytics, Systems Hardening, Network Analytics and Next Generation Firewalls. We perform a risk assessment to advise you on the comprehensive cybersecurity you need.

We also have experts in Cloud Network on-ramp Connectivity, such as Microsoft ExpressRoute, AWS Direct Connect, GCP Cloud Dedicated Connect and SASE/SdP/VPN technologies like Zscaler and Tailscale.

Stay tuned for my final blog, where I’ll be sharing some efficient ways to implement ZTNA. If you’d like the whole story, take a look at our Zero Trust Model whitepaper where we cover everything in these blogs.

Traditional cybersecurity paradigms focus on network-based security strategies like firewalls and other tools to monitor user activities on the network. However, digital transformation and social environment factors have driven new cybersecurity strategies to focus on protecting end-users, assets and resources. This is the prototype of the ‘Zero Trust Model’.

In this new blog series, I’ll explain the reasons for transforming to a Zero Trust Model as well as the benefits and challenges of implementing Zero Trust Network Architecture. I’ll also cover how you might efficiently implement it.

What is a Zero Trust Model?

But first things first, what exactly do we mean by ‘Zero Trust’? Well, Zero Trust is not a technology, it’s a security model with a set of guiding principles for workflow, system design and operations that can be used to improve the security posture of any classification or sensitivity level.

Zero Trust is a transformative journey rather than a complete replacement of technology. Ideally you should evaluate the security risks in your business model to before you start shifting to Zero Trust. Yet, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies were forced to quickly change their central-breakout remote access VPN to a Zero Trust using cloud-based equivalents such as Netskope, Zscaler or Tailscale. They then had to progressively apply Zero Trust principles, process changes and technology solutions that protect their data assets and business functions as they went along.

Now, they are often left having to operate in a hybrid Zero Trust/ perimeter-based mode while continuing to invest in IT modernisation initiatives and improve business processes – not ideal.

Why do we need a Zero Trust Model?

In the new working environment that we find ourselves, we need to look at a Zero Trust Model for a number of reasons:

Remote work and BYOD policy for employees

In the post-COVID era, remote working and a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy have become the new normal. The “castle-and-moat” network security model in fixed office locations and employer-owned devices cannot cater for every employee’s needs. More staff are working out of the office using their own devices and Wi-Fi networks which are less secure in a remote working environment than in an office. You need to take a micro-level approach to authenticate and approve every access request in your network to make sure it’s secure.

Digital transformation of customer experience

The customer journey is not limited to retail shops and customers are rapidly shifting their buying behaviour to the internet and mobile applications. Thousands of personal computers and devices across the globe connect to company networks to complete transactions. This means that identity verification is critical for customers before they access their confidential data.

The high complexity of network architecture

In response to the high demand for rapid and secure access to data, anytime and anywhere, your company may operate several internal and external networks. These can include on-premises systems and cloud environments. Perimeter-based network security is then insufficient once attackers breach it whereas Zero Trust Network Architecture adds additional security layers to identity verification, such as a least-privilege access control, multi-factor authentication and endpoint verification for improved security.

Zero Trust forms a strong defence line against cyberattacks

With all these social and network environment changes, the opportunity for your network to be attacked is much greater. The median cost of cyberattacks in the UK rose 29% in 2022 with an average attack costing a business nearly £25,000.

Legacy systems, regulations and compliance practices are no longer sufficient amid increasingly sophisticated threats. Cloud environments are attractive targets for cybercriminals aiming to destroy and steal confidential business data. Amongst these different types of cyberattacks, ransomware tactics have evolved and become the most significant threat.

The Zero Trust Model is another approach to combat the emerging threat landscape which legacy security systems and perimeter approaches can no longer adequately mitigate.

How CACI can help

CACI has cybersecurity experts who can improve the protection levels of your business. Capabilities include Zero Trust Network Architecture, Threat Analytics, Systems Hardening, Network Analytics and Next Generation Firewalls. We perform risk assessment to advise clients on what comprehensive cybersecurity they need.

We also have experts in Cloud Network on-ramp Connectivity such as Microsoft ExpressRoute, AWS DirectConnect, GCP Cloud Dedicated Connect) and SASE/SdP/VPN technologies such as Zscaler and Tailscale.

In my next blog, I will be discussing the benefits and the challenges of implementing Zero Trust Network Architecture. However, if you want the whole story, have a read of our Zero Trust Model whitepaper where we cover everything in these blogs and more. Download your copy now.

Notes:

• [1] Zero Trust Network Architecture (nist.gov)
• [2] Will Rishi Sunak reassess UK cybersecurity policies? (openaccessgovernment.org)

Met Office are responsible for collecting and processing observation data, used to analyse the country’s weather and climate, at weather stations around the world and coast. The observations are valuable to several different consumers, from meteorologists forecasting the weather to climate scientists trying to predict global trends resulting from global warming.

Met Office and CACI’s SurfaceNet

Met Office have been looking to build a replacement observations platform that is more efficient and appropriate for their current needs. CACI have been working with Met Office for the last two years to deliver the next generation system: ‘SurfaceNet’, with the primary requirements being that it is cost effective and scalable.

Given Met Office’s ethos of adopting a ‘Cloud First’ approach, and its partnership with AWS, it was an obvious choice to build the system in AWS’ Cloud.  The first important decision was to select what would be our main compute resource. The observation data would be arriving once a minute and, given this spiky arrival time, Lambda proved to be the most cost-effective solution, allowing us to only pay for small periods where compute was required. The platform processes several observations from roughly 400 stations every minute – equating to 15 billion observations per month – so any marginal improvements on compute cost would soon add up.

Choosing Lambda complemented our desire to have a largely serverless system to minimise maintenance costs, using other serverless AWS resources such as S3, Aurora Serverless, DynamoDB and SQS. This approach avoided the need to provision and manage servers and the associated costs involved with this. Serverless resources are highly available by design; Aurora Serverless mandates at least two Availability Zones that the database is deployed into, while DynamoDB and S3 resources have their data intrinsically spread over multiple data centres.

Most of the data ingest occurs by remote data loggers communicating via MQTT with the platform; AWS IoT Core was the ideal resource for managing this. Using API gateway, we developed a simple API on top of IoT Core allowing those administering the system to onboard new loggers, manage their certificates and monitor their statuses. The Simple Email Service (SES) allows ingestion of data from marine buoys and ships that transmit their data via Iridium Satellite. Both IoT Core and SES are fully managed by AWS, supplying an easy method of handling data from a range of protocols with minimal operational management.

From a development perspective, the stand-out benefit of working in the cloud has been having the ability to deploy fully representative environments to test against. Our infrastructure is defined using CloudFormation, enabling each developer to stand up their own copy of the system when adding a new feature.

Eliminating the classic ‘works on my machine’ problems that plague local development allowed for rapid iteration cycles and far fewer bugs during testing. The process means constantly exercising the ability to deploy the system from scratch, which will come in handy when an unforeseen problem occurs in the future.

Whilst this suggests a flawless venture into the Cloud sector, the journey hasn’t been without problems. CloudFormation has been incredibly useful, but given the scale and the number of resources, it has become cumbersome. Despite our best mitigation efforts there is still a large amount of repetition, and the cumulative lines of YAML we have committed is on par with the number of lines of python. We would consider using the newer AWS CDK if we were to approach the project again.

Additionally, we started off making new repositories for each new Lambda, but this has ended up limiting our ability to share code effectively across components, not to mention having to update ~40 repositories when we want to update buildspecs to use a new version of python.

It has been a fascinating couple of years and a main takeaway has been that large organisations such as Met Office, with large-scale bespoke data problems, see the cloud as a desired environment for building solutions.

The maturity of the AWS platform has shown the cloud to be both robust and cheap enough to satisfy the requirements of complex systems, such as SurfaceNet, and will certainly play a big part in the future of both CACI and the Met Office.