Three IT Professionals Share Cloud Insights

Discover the three most common cloud migration problems and learn effective ways to deal with them in order to transition to the cloud with relative ease.  

More than 96% of businesses use cloud computing to some degree. It has simply become an integral part of doing business in today’s world; however, the high adoption rate doesn’t mean that every single business is using cloud computing to its full potential.

Many companies are faced with three big challenges that make it hard for them to optimize their cloud computing platforms to save time and money while boosting profits. These challenges are:

• Not knowing how or where to start, making it difficult to create a realistic, step-by-step plan to ensure an easy, seamless transition process
• Cybersecurity issues that could lead to data breaches during or after the transition process
• Dealing with mistakes by employees who aren’t tech-savvy and/or who are unfamiliar with the new cloud-based set-up.

Thankfully, these challenges don’t have to get in the way of creating an efficient, effective IT set-up that will boost profits while enabling you to cut costs in your workplace. Following is expert advice from three IT managed service provider owners that can help you avoid problems as you transition to the cloud or deal with issues quickly as and when they arise. These IT experts also offer encouragement to help you understand the many benefits of transitioning to a cloud service provider.

Creating a Plan

Michael Nelson from TLC Tech in Sacramento accurately notes that one of the biggest problems with transitioning to the cloud is that many companies don’t understand what they need from a cloud service provider.

Such companies often start transitioning to the cloud, discover the cloud cannot support their needs and then experience downtime as they attempt to resolve the issues. Furthermore, as Ian Brady at Steadfast Solutions in Melbourne points out, not all cloud service providers can support all file types. Architecture firms and other firms that use unique file types may have problems moving certain files to the cloud or opening them once they are on the cloud.

Holden Watne is the Director of Business Development at GenerationIX, a leading Los Angeles-based IT managed service provider. He suggests testing cloud migration with a small group of employees, moving select programs and files to the cloud to see how things work. If problems occur, they won’t affect your entire business and can be solved before the main cloud migration takes place.

Furthermore, as Ian Brady points out, you need to have a plan for backing up the file on your cloud storage site. Such a plan can not only help you avoid downtime should a disaster occur but also enable you to stay in line with industry requirements for your company.

Dealing with Cybersecurity Issues

Holden Watne accurately notes that the secret to avoiding cybersecurity problems when transitioning to the cloud is to understand your existing IT set-up. Some questions to ask yourself are:

• What type of application do we use?
• Where is the data stored?
• How do employees currently access stored data?
• Are files stored in the right place or do we need to move certain files to other folders before the transition?
• Should employees be allowed to access data outside the office once the transition process is complete? If so, should this privilege be offered to all employees or just a select few?

Once you fully understand your current cybersecurity set-up, you can determine if you should keep it, adjust it, or create an entirely new set-up.

It’s also important to note that you will need to ensure your files are secure as they are being moved to the cloud. Your server may be secure and the cloud storage provider may offer a high level of security but this doesn’t mean your files are safe as they are being moved online. Hackers can easily steal your company’s proprietary information if you don’t use a VPN to ensure a secure transition process.

Providing Employee Training

Michael Nelson points out that providing employee training before transitioning to the cloud is a must, and the best way to do it is to partner with a firm that specializes in offering the needed training programs. Many IT managed service providers can provide ongoing IT training that will not only help your staff members learn how to use the cloud with ease but also avoid common cybersecurity pitfalls that could result in a data breach.

Moving to the cloud can be a difficult process but the results are more than worth it. Cloud servers are far more secure than in-house servers. What is more, they allow you to access data at any time, in any location. As an added benefit, you can easily increase storage space without having to buy new equipment. Keep these benefits in mind as you plan your transition process and work with experts to create a smooth migration program that meets your company’s needs and budget.

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Interesting related articles:

• “What is Information Technology?“
• “What is Cloud Computing?“