We share a lot of information and knowledge about the benefits of migrating to cloud-based storage solutions, and there is a lot of ‘chat’ about this across the digital world. But what is the step before this cloud migration? How can you make sure your business is as prepared as possible before you make the leap? Our experts have put together this check list for you to work through to make sure your business and it’s data is ready whenever you decide the cloud is calling!
Know your reasons
Moving to the cloud should not be something you do just because everyone else is doing it! The transition takes time and money and should be carefully considered to ensure it is done in the best way for your business. There are several reasons you might be favouring the move, including
- Enhanced disaster recovery capabilities
- Easier remote data access and sharing
- Lower cost but increased storage space
- Scalability and flexibility
Choose your strategy
When it come to deciding the way forward, the 6 R’s of cloud migration will help you determine the best route for your business:
- Re-hosting – if your current solution is providing a good service, but is proving expensive, ‘lifting and shifting’ the same functionality to the cloud could prove more cost effective
- Refactoring – optimising your existing infrastructure to support cloud architecture
- Re-platforming – similar to ‘re-hosting’, retains the current functionality but requires a few changes to meet the requirements of the new cloud solution
- Repurchasing – leaving an old system in favour of a new, but similar cloud-based solution
- Retire – if you have an older system that no longer meets your requirements, now might be the time to decommission it and move to a completely new solution
- Retain – in some cases, now is not the right time!
Carefully consider providers
Not all cloud storage providers are the same. Now that you have your reasons and your strategy, you can start to look for a cloud provider that is best suited to your businesses specific requirements. While there are many providers, just spending a few moments talking through your requirements with our experienced experts could narrow your search right down. Other things you should consider when making this decision include
- Costs – while cloud is often the cheapest option, make sure you consider ongoing costs, as your storage use scales, costs are likely to increase with this.
- Security – make sure you’re happy with the security arrangements that come with a new cloud solution as they vary with each provider.
- Users – something often overlooked is the consultation of system users. It is worth spending some time with those who use the system the most to capture any of their pain points and requirements.
- Compatibility – consider early on if a new system will need to work with any other internal system and processes and how this might work.
Review current data and systems
Before making any final decisions, review your current systems to see if a new provider could combine multiple systems in one to help streamline processes. Also consider what data you might be migrating across – is it all necessary? A migration such as this is a good opportunity for some housekeeping!
Plan for now and the future
Make sure you have a plan for the cloud migration, and make sure this plan is shared. To ensure a smooth transition, it’s important people know what is happening when, and what is expected of them at each stage.
But the planning shouldn’t stop there, take the new system as an opportunity to ensure you put in place a maintenance routine that is embedded across your organisation. If you’re ready to take the first step towards a cloud migration, reach out to our experts who will be able to talk you through each stage and help you along the way.
