How to Plan for a Move to Cloud Computing in the New Year

The new year is fast approaching. Many companies use this time to prepare their strategies for growth and improve their processes, procedures, and technology to position their business better and meet the new year’s challenges. A big goal for many companies in recent years involves adding more cloud computing resources.

While cloud computing has been around for years, many companies have been reluctant to integrate it into their business practices until recently due to security concerns. But cloud computing has proven to be reliable and secure when implemented correctly. Additionally, it offers many business benefits, including business continuity after a disaster, which explains why many companies are planning a move to the cloud in the new year.

Data about cloud computing shows that it is growing faster than ever. For instance, the public cloud computing market is estimated to be worth $800 billion by 2025, and 70% of companies using the cloud currently plan to increase their cloud computing budget.

Many leaders now understand that cloud computing is great for their bottom line and enhances their flexibility regarding workforce collaboration and scalability. But planning for a move to cloud computing can still be daunting. The following actions can help your organization plan to be more prepared for a move to the cloud in the new year:

• Define your goals. While a few of the benefits of cloud computing have been mentioned, each organization is unique and will experience greater or lesser benefits, depending upon many factors that impact the business. Therefore, before migrating, it is worth reflecting on what you want to achieve by adopting cloud computing and defining a way to measure your progress in achieving those goals. Identifying your goals will make it much easier for you to find the right cloud computing partner to meet those goals.
• Apply metrics and KPIs related to your goals. A move to cloud computing should enhance your business by helping you meet your defined goals. Unfortunately, collecting data is the only way to tell if it’s working. Every cloud migration should have metrics and KPIs that tell you if you are making progress in achieving the defined goals. KPIs can also help the cloud service provider determine the project’s success or identify obstacles encountered during the cloud migration.
• Identify team members who may play a key role in the migration process. You will want to identify members of your team that can assist with the cloud migration. At a minimum, you will want a team of qualified individuals, such as a project manager, a cloud solutions architect, a system administrator, a cloud security manager, and a compliance specialist.
• Identify what you want to move to the cloud. Depending on your company and industry, you may opt only to move some of your data, platforms, apps, and resources to the cloud. Cost constraints are another barrier to moving fully to the cloud. In these instances, you should identify and prioritize what you want to be moved and what you want to keep off the cloud. This list provides a great starting point for your team and your cloud service provider to begin planning the migration.
• Find a cloud service provider. Successful cloud migration can be a very involved process, usually requiring a team of specialists. You can meet with multiple cloud service providers to determine their capacity and recent project performance. It is also worth inquiring about their ability to provide support before, during, and after the migration to ensure that you get the level of communication and updates that you want.
• Back up your data. Regular backups are a best practice for multiple reasons. Data redundancy can save you during a cyber attack, but it can also be great if something goes wrong during a cloud migration. While the chances of this occurring are low, it’s still always good to ensure that you have a copy of all your data somewhere should you need it.
• Plan for the migration with your cloud service provider. At this point, you should be prepared to develop a plan for migration, which can be simple for some companies and highly complex for others, depending on the migration’s resources. You will want to work very closely with your cloud service provider to determine the steps in the process and ensure they occur at the right time.

Moving to cloud computing can be a huge change for many companies. And even with a competent team and a reputable cloud service provider, the process can be complex. For more information about cloud computing and the benefits it can provide, contact Sagacent Technologies today.

Sagacent Technologies offers technology management and support, including proactive/preventative maintenance, onsite and offsite data back-ups, network and security audits, mobility solutions, disaster planning, and emergency business resumption services. The company serves clients of 10 to 150 employees within the Silicon Valley region.