Key Questions to Answer before the Actual Cloud Migration Process

Some technological revolutions in the professional world have been very visible. Computers were once too large to take anywhere. Now, there’s a smartphone in the pocket of every professional. Mobile phones migrated from being a rare privilege in the 1980s to becoming absolutely intrinsic to the way business operates today. One of the most important technological revolutions in business is happening right now, and it’s completely invisible.

Companies worldwide are migrating their work to the cloud. Chances are there are at least a few things your company should move there, too. From storing and backing up important data to allowing your team to access project files while on the go, cloud storage and file management are driving a new revolution in how we work and how we service our clients. If you are a business that’s considering moving some of your workflow to the cloud, what questions do you need to ask before starting the actual cloud migration process? Here are five to get you started.

1) Should I start small or do all my research first?

Whether you work at a startup company or a large enterprise that must carefully vet each step of the cloud migration process, it’s important to make the cloud a part of your workflow as early as possible. One way to start immediately is with a cloud-based file hosting service like Dropbox, Google Drive or Box.net. These services make sharing files easier and faster, expediting the sending of files through email, text and other communication. By creating a special “sync” folder on your desktop, sharing files is as easy as placing the file in the folder, and right-clicking it to get a link. Then, just share the link like you would any URL. It works the same for files that are very small or quite large. And it completely eliminates the upload time for large email attachments that you send frequently: just place in the sync folder, keep the link handy and paste it into emails whenever necessary. The best part is that the file is now available anywhere on all of your devices, one of the primary benefits of moving your work to the cloud.

This small introduction of a cloud service into your workflow will help concretize some of the primary benefits of migrating to the cloud: your work is backed up automatically and available anywhere.

2) Which parts of your company’s data should be kept in the cloud?

While cloud storage and cloud computing services are a tremendous resource, they may not be suitable for all of your data. By law, some information cannot be stored online, including credit card numbers and other sensitive information entrusted to you by clients and employees. As this particular area of the research process entails making many legally significant decisions, it would be wise to involve your legal team as well as a qualified technology consulting firm with expertise in cloud services. 

Once you have determined which parts of your company’s data can be safely and legally kept in the cloud, then determine how much data you have, and which parts of it will need to be accessed most frequently. For instance, your company may have digitized records for work done over five years ago that are only kept for archival purposes. Since those projects are finished and they will only need to be accessed on rare occasions, a slower, cheaper cloud storage option would be most appropriate. In contrast, data for current projects will need to be accessed much more frequently. To best service those clients, it will be worth spending more for faster access to projects stored in the cloud, until the project is complete and can be migrated to the a cost-effective solution.

3) What are the different cloud solution companies and what are their pricing schedules?

Now that you have an idea of what data you’d like to keep in the cloud, you can explore the cost of moving your data to the cloud as you research cloud storage providers that may be a good fit for you. Some self-service cloud storage solutions may seem adequate at the on-set, while offering the most competitive pricing, but as your company grows, you may find that the solution is no longer adequate. If your experience with the cloud is limited only to consumer and “prosumer” (consumers with professional experience) products like Dropbox and Box, you may find that relying on the advice of professional technology consultants is your best option. As cloud storage and cloud computing become more common, the number of options are growing and so are the pricing options related to computational power, memory, storage capacity, and a multitude of network access options. While in theory, “the cloud” is a limitless place filled with infinite possibilities, the reality is that the cloud is actually stored on server farms that have limited resources. It’s important to find out what those limitations are, what your access options are in the event the cloud goes offline temporarily, or in the case of a service company’s failure, permanently. It is crucial to find a company that fits your needs now and will grow with you.

As the potential cloud solutions to myriad ways of doing business increases, so does the difficulty of selecting the right solution. A professional technology consulting company can be essential to the decision making process. A good firm will have experience across a wide array of clients in different industries. Because they are technology experts, they can give valuable guidance on which cloud options are the best to meet your organization’s specific business needs, and which have the most competitive prices. They may also have existing relationships with cloud service providers that they can leverage to get you even better pricing and service.

4) How fast will you need access to your data, and what is the company’s network response time?

Some of your data may only need to be accessed rarely, if ever. There are some cloud solutions tailored to these needs, including the aptly named service from Amazon called “Glacier.” This service is suitable for storing data for long periods of time that you will rarely need to access, and when you do, you won’t mind waiting hours or even days to retrieve the data. This is obviously not suitable for backing up active projects that change by the minute. When clients ask for information, it usually isn’t ideal to make them wait hours or days for the answers. Make sure you choose a solution that is best suited to your client’s needs as well as your own.

5) What kind of support does your prospective vendor offer?

If issues or unique circumstances arise, what kind of customer support does the vendor you are considering offer? Are they available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week? Is support outsourced to another country on the weekends, and if so, which country? .There are even varying support offerings from self-service vendors. Some offer basically no help if you are having issues, while others have incredible customer service. Remember: regardless of the industry you work in, the support your vendor offers directly impacts the support you can, in turn, offer to your own clients.

In conclusion, the cloud is increasingly an indispensable part of the way we are doing business. Preparing well before migrating to the cloud will not only save your company money, but will better position you to service your own clients. Investing in an initial consultation with veteran technology consultants is the right way to being for many companies, saving time and money in the long term and eliminating potentially harmful pathways before starting down the road to elevating your business up into the cloud.