Scaling for Global Growth with Modern Cloud • David Anderson • GOTO 2024

Modern cloud transformation requires executive sponsorship and making modernization the top priority - it cannot succeed as just an architecture initiative

Three key architectural principles for unlocking agility:

• Flexible evolution to handle uncertainty
• Event-driven architecture (EDA) as foundation
• Serverless-first approach to reduce operational burden

Well-Architected Framework should be treated as a living concept within the company, not an annual audit:

• Used continuously to assess workload health
• Helps teams move quickly while maintaining quality
• Covers reliability, performance, security, cost, operational excellence

Organizational transformation elements:

• Shift from functional teams to empowered product teams
• Enable psychological safety and experimentation
• Domain-driven design principles
• Clear alignment between business and technology strategies

Key enablers for scaling:

• Internal developer platform
• Standard set of skills/practices
• Well-defined domains and events
• Strong observability across distributed systems
• Automated compliance and security

Cost awareness should be built into architecture:

• Teams should know their workload costs
• Cost is treated as an architectural concern
• Cost intelligence dashboards for visibility

Critical success patterns:

• Start with proving value on hardest problem first
• Allow teams to experiment and learn
• Reduce cognitive load through standardization
• Focus on business capabilities over systems
• Enable continuous improvement

Event-driven architecture benefits:

• Common language across organization
• Asynchronous communication between domains
• Better scalability and flexibility
• Improved observability

Modern cloud platforms should:

• Leverage managed services over custom builds
• Enable self-service for development teams
• Automate security and compliance
• Provide clear standards while allowing flexibility

Transformation requires:

• Clarity of purpose for teams
• Quick experimentation capability
• Focus on long-term value creation
• Balance between standards and team autonomy