Do you need a different Service Transition for Cloud Services? In my opinion the answer is an emphatic no. However, your Service Transition process should be applicable to all types of Services and irrespective of where they are hosted.
There are however, areas of Service Transition that need increased emphasis and likewise other areas that are less relevant. I find the following three areas are prominent causes of concern for Cloud Services.
The first area I find deficient in many major organisations is the lack of a Data Centre Strategy. Organisations often have their own Data Centre and DR Centre, they partly use suppliers Data Centres and multiple Cloud Data Centres but often have no clear strategy on where services should be deployed.
The financial control of Cloud Services to deliver the forecast benefits realisation is often not put in place and therefore not managed in Business As Usual. Cloud Services have variable charges and are volume related and therefore need to be managed.
Security is another area that companies have increased concerns when deploying Cloud Services. Security criteria, policy, process, procedures need to reflect deployments into the Cloud. Pen testing is also given a greater priority.
There are also areas that need less emphasis. Areas such as Capacity Management, Availability Management and Infrastructure Event Monitoring are all delivered by your Cloud provider.
In conclusion, a traditional Service Transition used to delivering to a traditional Data Centre can be changed to cater for Cloud Services but increased control is required in certain areas whilst other areas are not applicable or need a lighter touch.