💰A million euros and a revolution ✊ | Cloud Core

Finnair migrated to cloud 3 years ago (with the help of us, obviously 😎 ). But, more recently, licence costs were due to skyrocket…and they wanted to save money and tackle technical debt.

So, they needed help modernising these applications, with zero margin for error. 

Yep, when working with mission-critical applications, if there’s any disruption, we’re not just talking about a few people in a back office somewhere who can’t access their data. We’re potentially talking about planes not taking off. 

Pretty important stuff, right?

Here’s what happened:

⏰ We had 8 months to modernise mission-critical applications before the cost increase

✈️ It was finished with 2 weeks to spare

💶 Finnair is on track to save €1 million over 3 years (meaning the modernisation pays for itself many times over). 

The story’s just been published, so read it here.

🤔  Just me?

Is it just me, or are tech and cloud summits all starting to feel a little bit samey?

I’ve had it up to here (stretches hand above head and stands on tip-toes) with the same-old mind-numbingly boring cloud events that feel like a never-ending PowerPoint marathon.

So, when Nordcloud’s event ninjas were rumoured to be launching a new, groundbreaking event concept, it’s safe to say we got a little bit excited.

It’s called the Cloud Revolution Summit.

It’s going to be a revolutionary summit. About, well, cloud.

And what do we mean by revolutionary? Well, the event will be driven by you, the audience, not by us. It’ll be live and spontaneous. It’ll change what you think events should look like.

So, if you’re tired of falling asleep to canned presentations, or fed up with leaving events with nothing but a headache and a handful of useless swag - say no more.

This time, you’re in charge.

Register your interest here.

And watch this really very cool video to get a little bit excited:

🌎  How’s your ESG data looking?

You might remember that last month we had World Earth Day. So, it’s a good time to remind you about the not overly exciting but highly important topic of… the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Handily known as the CSRD, it’s pretty high on the agenda right now.

But have you got everything sorted for it? Or maybe you’re drowning in a sea of sustainability jargon? Fear not, because our experts Tatu and Tijana have written this useful article to help you get your ESG data ready for the the CSRD. 

Give it a read to learn some of the strategic benefits of CSRD compliance - as well as a framework and some tips for getting your ESG data CSRD-ready. Read it here.

😩  Does your IT team feel overworked?

There are a few reasons why IT teams struggle as digital transformation progresses and product team demands increase:

⏱️ Legacy SLAs and processes – can’t keep up with the pace of product and feature development, and the infra partner is slow and manual

🤖 Not enough self-service – to meet ‘give me services now’ demands

💰 Costs are too high – and the promises made before cloud migration aren’t fully materialising

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Confusing accountability – who’s supposed to do what across IT support, CCoE and the infra partner?

How do you address these problems systematically? The latest blog post from our CTO Ilja Summala should help. Read it here.

📢  Cloud quote of the month

“Ultimately, every company can benefit from taking a proactive approach to complying with the CSRD – by discovering your own opportunities for improvement and growth that arise from the process of getting your data CSRD-ready.”

Sounds like you should take a proactive approach to the CSRD, then.

 📰  What we’ve been talking about this month

🌐 Eurovision and a particularly creative use of the Windows 95 logo

🏢 Elon Musk's xAI to spend $10bn on Oracle AI cloud servers

🔒 Cloud security needs solutions.. not more alerts

🤖 Private cloud makes its comeback, thanks to AI

👋 AWS chief to step down after three years

🗓️ Some dates for your diary:

Events

4 June - Stockholm: AWS Summit Networking Event

After a day at the AWS Summit, come along and join Nordcloud, Red Hat and AWS for drinks and a bite to eat. Join us.

11 June - Google Cloud AI Day Live + Labs, Helsinki 2024

Lights, camera, AI action. Come along and meet our experts at this half-day Google Cloud event to learn about the latest advancements in AI. Register here.

11 June - Berlin: GirlCode Panel

Nordcloud’s Olivia Menzel and Carolina Düerkop join an inspiring evening dedicated to empowering women in the tech industry. Book a seat.

11 June - Amsterdam: Nordcloud Connoisseurs Club: Lunch & Learn

Hear from our AI Lead Allan Chong and Microsoft about how businesses can take the next steps to being truly AI-powered.  Join us.

18-21 June - Brühl: CloudLand

A cloud event at Phantasialand, a big theme park. Say no more.

19 June - Zurich: Cloud Leadership Day networking event

Join Nordcloud, Microsoft and Helvetia for an exclusive networking event after Cloud Leadership Day in Zurich. Register here.

25 June - Berlin: AWS User Group Women

Passionate about cloud and AWS? Join a vibrant community designed to provide a safe and inclusive space for women in cloud. Register here.

26-27 June - Munich: ServiceNow Meetup

Meet up with colleagues in your area to learn the tips and tricks of ServiceNow Application Development. Join us here.

18 Sep - Amsterdam & Virtual: The Cloud Revolution Summit.

I’ve mentioned this already, but in case you didn’t quite get the message, we’re overthrowing the standard cloud events and doing something pretty cool. Register your interest here.

Cloud Training

10-13 June - Virtual: The Machine Learning Pipeline on AWS. Register here.

10 June - Virtual: AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials. Register here.

11-13 June - Virtual: Cloud Operations on AWS. Register here.

12-13 June - Virtual: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals. Register here.

27 June - Virtual: Google Cloud Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure. Register here.

🎧 Something to listen to in the home office

There’s a revolution coming, so here’s some music for the revolution.

Thanks for reading, 

I’ll be back with more fresh thoughts next month.