Cloud computing has reached a point where the majority of businesses are utilizing the technology to some extent. According to a 2014 survey, about 70 percent of enterprises either have infrastructure or applications in the cloud. As more companies migrate more of their operations to the cloud, we’re getting more questions about what it takes to make such a transition possible.
Here’s the advice we like to give people.
Survey Your Organization’s IT Environment
In the same way that you need to see if a PC has enough resources to handle a new piece of software, you need to look at your company’s computing environment to determine if it can handle a move to the cloud. For example, being more dependent on the cloud means that your office is going to need adequate bandwidth and certain connectivity capabilities.
Before you implement a cloud solution, be sure to have this conversation with your cloud service provider or IT consultant. Otherwise, you might get stuck with a cloud service that doesn’t perform like you need it to, which would cancel out the benefits you were expecting to gain by making the switch.
Ease Into the Cloud
When making the initial move to the cloud, it’s good to first “test out the waters” before going all in. You’ll want to ease into the cloud in order to avoid a worst-case scenario of running into an unforeseen error that hinders your productivity. Do this by starting your cloud migration with non-critical applications and business processes. If these applications are able to meet your performance needs, go ahead and move more mission-critical apps until you’ve reached your cloud migration goal.
Be Sure to Take Security Into Consideration
The cloud has the potential to be a secure computing platform, but it calls for different security protocols than a traditional IT infrastructure. The fact that your company’s most sensitive information will be beamed over the same Internet used by countless hackers, should be enough to make you want to take every security precaution possible. Before making the switch to the cloud, be sure to have a conversation with your cloud provider about what provisions they have in place to secure your company’s hosted information.
What about Maintenance?
One of the advantages of cloud computing is that it outsources maintenance issues that you would otherwise have to resolve with your in-house IT infrastructure. While moving to the cloud does wonders in terms of minimizing maintenance issues, it doesn’t totally eliminate problems. Therefore, before moving to the cloud, you’ll want to have a plan in place to take care of issues. If you don’t, then your cloud provider might surprise you with, “It’s not my problem.” Or maybe they will resolve a certain issue for you, but it will cost you way more than what you would expect. Processor magazine recommends:
Beyond considering technical requirements, consider longer term management and maintenance issues, including who in the organization will own the cloud service relationship and what will happen during emergencies.
These are just four considerations that your business needs to make before moving to the cloud. Before making such a move, you’re going to want to take time and consider all the benefits and risks, which will require an in-depth conversation with your cloud service provider. Business Solutions & Software Group is here to answer any of your questions about the cloud so that your transition will go as smooth as possible. Give us a call at (954) 575-3992 to learn more.