Running a True Cloud Operating Model

Why platform alone is not enough

Enterprise IT has spent the last decade modernizing infrastructure. Hyperconverged stacks replaced siloed compute, storage and networking. Software-defined infrastructure delivered consistency. Automation reduced manual effort.

And yet many organizations that have deployed modern platforms still do not operate as a cloud.

The reason is simple: A cloud platform is not the same as a cloud operating model (COM).

The platform is the foundation, not the outcome

Modern platforms such as VMware Cloud Foundation provide a powerful substrate:

• Standardized compute, storage and networking
• Integrated lifecycle management
• Built-in micro-segmentation
• Kubernetes-native infrastructure
• API-first control planes

This is essential. It creates consistency and operational integrity. But infrastructure standardization alone does not create:

• Self-service consumption
• Financial transparency
• Policy-driven governance
• Proactive operations
• Dev-ready platforms

Without these, IT remains reactive — even if the infrastructure is modern. To operate as a true cloud, two additional control planes must sit above the platform, reinforced by security and sustained through people and processes.

The two control planes that create cloud

1) Observability: From monitoring to operational intelligence

Observability is not about dashboards. It is about decision intelligence. With VCF Operations, enterprises gain:

• Full-stack visibility (infrastructure, network, Kubernetes)
• Capacity forecasting and rightsizing
• Cost and license analytics
• Log intelligence and event correlation
• SLA-driven health monitoring
• Proactive remediation insights

This transforms operations from reactive firefighting to data-driven governance. In a traditional data center, teams respond to incidents. In a cloud operating model, teams predict, optimize and continuously improve. Observability provides the feedback loop that makes cloud sustainable.

2) Serviceability: From provisioning to platform engineering

Infrastructure becomes cloud when it is consumable. VCF Automation enables:

• Infrastructure-as-Code blueprints (YAML-based)
• Self-service catalogs
• Organizational tenancy models
• Region quotas and resource governance
• Multi-zone workload placement
• Terraform-based automation
• Extensibility via VCF Operations Orchestrator

This is where IT transitions into platform engineering. Instead of tickets and handoffs, organizations deliver:

• Policy-driven deployment
• Standardized service offerings
• Developer-ready infrastructure
• Repeatable, versioned environments
• API-first provisioning

Without serviceability, infrastructure remains a managed asset. With it, infrastructure becomes a product.

Security as a continuous control layer

In a true cloud operating model, security is not bolted on — it is embedded. Micro-segmentation. Identity federation. Certificate lifecycle. Policy-based access. Compliance visibility. Security must be:

• Automated
• Enforced by policy
• Integrated into provisioning workflows
• Continuously monitored

Modern cloud platforms enable this, but governance discipline determines whether it is realized.

Most overlooked components: People and processes

The shift to a cloud operating model is not about replacing IT professionals — it is about elevating them. I'll explore that further in a separate article. That elevation is necessary because cloud is not something you install, but something you operate. Technology does not create cloud. Operating model does. A true cloud operating model requires both role and process evolution.

Role evolution might look like this, for example: 

• From Infrastructure Admin → Platform Engineer
• From operations → site reliability engineering
• From budget control → FinOps

Process evolution might look like this, for example:

• From ticket-based change → API-driven automation
• From static environments → versioned blueprints
• From periodic reporting → continuous observability
• From capital allocation → consumption governance

Without this shift, even the most advanced platform becomes a modernized data center, not a true cloud.

A practical cloud operating model framework

A mature cloud operating model consists of four layers:

1) Cloud substrate: 

• Standardized, lifecycle-managed infrastructure.

2) Control planes:

• Observability (operational intelligence)
• Serviceability (self-service and automation)

3) Governance and security:

• Identity
• Policy enforcement
• Compliance
• Segmentation

4) Operating discipline:

• Platform engineering
• DevOps alignment
• FinOps accountability
• Continuous improvement

When these layers operate together, IT transforms from infrastructure management to service delivery.

The strategic shift: IT as a product organization

The ultimate transformation is not technical — it is philosophical. In a traditional model, IT manages infrastructure. In a cloud operating model, IT delivers platforms as products. That requires:

• Defined service offerings
• Clear SLAs
• Measured consumption
• Transparent cost models
• Continuous optimization

The platform enables it. Observability sustains it. Serviceability empowers it. Security protects it. People and process make it real.

Key takeaway

Cloud operating models are not rigid frameworks. Industry standards exist to provide guidance, not constraint — and their value comes from being adaptable. The most effective cloud operating models are intentionally shaped to fit the unique priorities, culture and objectives of each organization. 

The organizations that succeed will not be the ones with the most advanced technology, but the ones that align platform, control planes, governance and culture into a cohesive operating model.

Deploying a modern infrastructure stack is an achievement. Operating it as a cloud is a transformation. That is where cloud becomes not just an architecture, but an advantage.