So when we started using AWS, we really made a lot of mistakes by trying to replicate how we did things on-prem. And there was a lot of resistance to using cloud services; some people viewed it as a threat to job security. Others simply had a difficult time adjusting to the change in operations/procedures and philosophy.

This held us back quite a bit until we hired a few contractors who helped us better understand where we needed to change, which features worked well in the cloud (and which sucked). We brought the best contractors onboard as FTEs, and it's been a much better experience.

One of my employers 60% of the company had spent all or most of their professional career there - and things were scrolerotic at times - because there was a huge amount of group think, and a strong NIH/"the way we do it is fine" problem - simply because of a lack of indexing to how other players did it.

You ideally want around 50/50, 50% lifers, and 50% new blood, its even helpful to encourage employees to leave go get knowledge elsewhere and then come back later if they desire.