Your business is growing, and you’re considering moving to the cloud. This is a giant leap into modernizing your IT infrastructure, so it’s vital that you obtain a solid grasp of cloud solution fundamentals. Different clouds offer different things, and each solution has unique pros and cons to evaluate. Not sure where to begin? Take a look at the following roadmap that walks you through the migration process. It’s critical to have an expert IT company in cloud management to navigate the waters for you, and we view one of the things that differentiates Pegasus from the pack is the time we take to dive in to each client’s requirements, so we can make the best recommendation for them – public cloud, private cloud, on-premise, or hybrid. We encourage any business thinking of making the cloud leap to consider 10 crucial steps:
- Make a list of Pros and Cons. Compare what features will change in the cloud vs. your current system, consider how security will change, and identify what will be lost and what will be gained.
- Involve Stakeholders. Incorporating the cloud will be a significant change, so make sure key personnel are included in the implementation process and understand the pros/cons list.
- Review Requirements. The cloud may have system requirements that are more rigid than the current system, including such things as operating systems, Internet bandwidth, network latency, permitted remote access, hardware and firewall specifications, web browsers, screen resolutions, and more.
- Analyze Costs. Financial considerations should be investigated, such as the total cost of ownership, what transpires at the end of a contract, when prices can rise, etc. These days, not all clouds are created equally. In fact, there are multiple cloud providers and modern on-premise solutions, not to mention the hybrid solutions, public cloud, and private cloud technologies that we noted before.
- Consider Agreements. Ask yourself the following questions: How long is the commitment term? Who owns your expansive and critical data in the cloud? How easy will it be to export the data in the cloud to a different cloud? What is the cost to export data or to cancel the contract?
- Get References. Make sure to choose a reputable provider. Find out how long they’ve been in business and inquire into their mission goals. What happens if the provider sells to a different company or takes on a new management team? You could land in between a rock and a hard spot with a faulty provider.
- Understand their SLA. Service Level Agreements define how quickly you will receive help in the event of a critical problem. Do you know how quickly you will get a response? More importantly, how long will it take to get a resolution? Does the cloud provider experience downtime, and will you be refunded for downtime or broken SLAs?
- Determine the Data Backup Structure. For some providers, “the cloud” is nothing more than a PC and cable modem in the owner’s basement- and they don’t even have a generator for when the power goes out. Your data should always be accessible through replicated sites with redundant power, air conditioning, and Internet.
- Plan for Problems. The support staff should be on-hand during the cutover in case anything unforeseen arises.
- Focus on Security. These days, every person and organization are a target of cybercrime. Ask yourself, what is the cloud provider doing to keep me cybercrime-resistant? Will they disclose when they’ve had a breach? When was the last time they had a security breach?
With Pegasus, you’ll be relying on a team of thought-leaders who live and breathe IT. Set aside ample time to consider the previous 10 steps, and give us a call when you’re ready to execute a cloud based solution.
