6 Cloud Adoption Framework According to the framework, current business practices in how firms approach learning, leading, scaling, and security, fall into three phases of cloud adoption: tactical, strategic, and transformational. Each phase has distinct characteristics that define the firms operating in each of those phases. For the purposes of this paper, we identified the participants in each phase as Infrastructure Optimizers, Cautious Strategists, and Transformative Innovators. Google Cloud commissioned Aite Group to survey 19 capital market firms to: • See how the Google Cloud Adoption Framework is playing out at those firms. • Identify what best practices the Transformative Innovators—the group at the forefront of change—adhere to today. • Chart what the industry can learn from each group across these stages of adoption. Tactical Strategic Transformational Learn Self-taught, 3rd-party Organized training, Peer learning and sharing, reliance 3rd-party assisted 3rd-party staff aug. only Lead Teams by function, New cross-functional Cross-functional feature heroic project manager cloud team teams, greater autonomy Change is slow and Templates ensure good All change is constant, low Scale risky, ops heavy governance without manual risk and quickly fixed review Secure Fear of public internet, but Central identity, hybrid Trust only the right people, trust in private network network devices, and services Figure 2. The Cloud Adoption Framework in capital markets