Buying a new solution or software comes with a unique set of onboarding challenges, from project kickoff to enablement to close. Without a proper plan in each step, those challenges can lead to poor adaptation and ultimately a failed solution.
Rest assured, our fantastic onboarding and implementation team is here to support you. Like how a dedicated fitness regimen and the right trainer can help you achieve your physical goals, a well-structured project management plan to your onboarding project with defined objectives, a skilled project team, and a realistic timeline are crucial to a successful onboarding experience with Cloudinary. Consider us your Cloudinary Personal Trainer!
The foundation of Cloudinary’s onboarding and implementation is built on three key points: your goals, the team, and shared success. In this blog post, we’ll focus on shared success. How do we define that? Since onboarding and implementation projects are a balance of working speedily and diligently, we want to get you up and running on Cloudinary fast, and for you to start realizing the power and value of Cloudinary as early as possible. Your success is our success.
To further guide you through the onboarding process, we’ve created five project phases called CLOUD — collaborate, landscape, operationalize, understand, and drive — so you and the Cloudinary team can monitor the project, manage the scope, and measure progress. We’ll walk you through each phase.
The “Collaborate” phase is a crucial step in the project’s journey. It’s an opportunity to ensure all relevant parties understand the project’s goals. This alignment not only fosters a collaborative working environment, but also facilitates strategic decision-making and provides a strong foundation for a successful project outcome. Involving executive sponsors and key stakeholders at this stage is fundamental to aligning the entire team, including Cloudinary experts, on the project’s overarching goals and objectives. It’s not just about what the project is going to achieve but also why it’s being done in the first place, establishing clarity and consensus. With executive sponsors and key stakeholders on board, they can help define the project’s strategic importance and secure their commitment to its success.
Cloudinary Solution Design sessions are a collaborative meeting between your team and Cloudinary’s team of experts. During the session, the customer should be prepared to communicate their needs, goals, and constraints, as well as be willing to clarify their objectives and expectations.
Your Cloudinary team will gather this information, analyze the requirements, and propose solutions. Ultimately, the goal of the Solution Design phase is to develop a solution that aligns with the customer’s needs and sets the stage for a successful project or initiative.
Asset migrations will likely be a critical step in your Cloudinary implementation, especially when transitioning from a legacy solution. Ensuring that all relevant assets are migrated in a timely and efficient manner is paramount to the project’s success.
Having used our Solution Design sessions to meticulously plan for the migrations, a well-executed asset migration typically shouldn’t take longer than four weeks. This time frame allows for thorough preparation, testing, and the actual migration process. This will ensure that nothing is left behind, and the integrity of the assets are maintained throughout the transition.
Integrating the Cloudinary solution into your existing workflow will be a crucial part of the project. Taking a proactive approach in identifying business-critical integrations early in the project will allow us to collaborate closely with your technical team to stand these up during the initial implementation and will be key to the success of the onboarding phase.
Efficiency and diligence are paramount to achieving a realistic go-live target. We understand the importance of a timely onboarding process, which is why we emphasize working swiftly. Our goal is to streamline the path to the go-live date, ensuring that your project is executed with precision and efficiency, and to get your solution up and running as soon as possible.
Timeliness is key, and our experienced Cloudinary team is here to assist every step of the way. We’ve helped thousands of customers with their implementations, and we’re committed to helping you swiftly and effectively reach your go-live milestone.
Once the Cloudinary solution is ready, our focus shifts to seamless user enablement and training. We adopt a “train the trainer” approach. Depending on your implementation package, we provide computer-based training or a custom instructor-led training program, so your in-house team can utilize your Cloudinary solution with confidence.
Our training strategy incorporates blended learning methods, combining online resources, in-person training sessions, and our comprehensive Cloudinary Academy, ensuring that users can access knowledge at their own pace and convenience. This multifaceted approach helps make the transition smoother and empowers your team to make the most of the new solution.
The “Drive” phase marks the conclusion of the onboarding project. During onboarding, the focus was on getting the project off the ground, establishing the necessary infrastructure, and training team members. Reaching this stage signifies that the groundwork has been laid, and you’re now ready to transition out of onboarding.
To help you with this transition, the Cloudinary team prepares a transition plan that includes a system handover, knowledge transfer, and ongoing support arrangements, ensuring that you can maintain and enhance the solution developed during the project.
The ultimate objective of this phase is to empower you to drive success with the implemented solution. It’s not just about completing a project but about realizing its benefits in the day-to-day operations of your organization.
So, as you transition from working with your onboarding team, you’ll be reunited with your customer success manager, who will provide you with the resources and support you need to make the most of the solution. This means ensuring that you’re well-equipped to use Cloudinary effectively and optimally, and to continuously improve it to meet your evolving needs.
We hope that this blog post has given you the confidence to embark on your onboarding project with Cloudinary. Ultimately, your success is our success, and we’ll get you over the finish line. So flex those project management muscles, make sure every step in the onboarding process is efficient, and use the robust solution to its fullest potential.
