Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade, you’ll be aware of (or at least heard of) the term cloud computing. Cloud services have taken the business world by storm in recent years, and with more and more companies now taking the plunge and moving to cloud-based networking, the cloud provisioning sector has become one of the fastest-growing areas of the entire IT and computer industry.
Moving your digital services to the cloud has multiple advantages over traditional, in-house networks, including increased security, scalability, adaptability, and 24/7/365 backup and protection from malicious intrusion. If you’re in any doubt about the benefits of cloud computing, check online for a comprehensive rundown to find out how the cloud could supercharge your company and its IT.
Preparing for cloud migration – a basic checklist
While the benefits of migrating your computer services to the cloud are beyond question, the move will (almost) inevitably cause some upheaval and an overall change to how you store and work with your company’s data. Below are just a few tips to help make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible.
Involve all stakeholders: If you’re like most modern companies, data likely forms the backbone of your day-to-day operations – whether that be simple email communications and web browsing or for more complex tasks like collaborative working and data crunching. Understanding how data is used in your firm is vital if you’re to make the transition to the cloud successful. Before starting down the road of shifting your IT to a cloud provider, you should liaise with team managers and staff to get the widest input possible so you have a clear idea of how you currently use data and how best to design your new cloud network. Of course, a professional provider will also assist you, but you’ll make their job considerably easier if you can give them a comprehensive overview of the status quo.
Assign a migration manager: While you should ensure you take the opinions of all relevant staff and departments in your firm, a migration will stall and lose direction if you have too many people calling the shots. It’s better to assign one person (or perhaps a small team) to coordinate the move with a cloud provider like https://www.avepoint.com/ and work on designing your new, cloud-based network.
Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): There’s little point just saying, ‘we need to move to the cloud’, unless you first establish key reasons and criteria to justify the migration. Agreeing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) won’t just help you stay on track with the move – they will also be invaluable to your future service provider.
Agree on data and software that should be migrated: When thinking about what services you want to move to the cloud, in many cases, it’s quite likely you’ll discover components or software that work perfectly well as they are. Rather than taking a blanket coverage view by moving all your services, you should first study how data and software are used and isolate those areas that will benefit from being in the cloud. Again, a professional provider will also help with this – but it’ll do no harm to plan ahead.
