The 4 Things You Need To Know Before Migrating Your Business To The Cloud

The 4 Things You Should
Know Before Moving Your
Business To The Cloud
Presented by:
Vic Kimmel
CEO, Bright

Introduction
• The proliferation of cloud services, from storage to software applications
and more, presents businesses with a choice – if and when should they
move to the cloud? And if they decide to make the move, how should they
go about doing so?
• This webinar will discuss the conditions which make moving to the cloud an
attractive option, and then cover the various steps necessary to enable a
smooth transition process when the decision to move is made.
3

What is the cloud?
• Cloud computing refers to services available to end-users in real-time over
the Internet that traditionally would have been on-premise, and typically only
available to Enterprise size companies.
• Cloud services can include, but are not limited to, storage solutions that
enable companies to retain data in the cloud without having to purchase
and maintain their own hardware and, increasingly, Software as a Service
(SaaS), the ability to use software applications from the cloud.
5

The other two main options for cloud-based
software solutions are:
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): In an IaaS model, a third-party provider
hosts hardware, software, servers, storage and other infrastructure
components on behalf of its users. IaaS providers also host users’
applications and handle tasks including system maintenance, backup and
resiliency planning.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): A PaaS solution delivers hardware and
software tools, usually those needed for application development, to its
users as a service. This frees users from having to install in-house
hardware and software to develop or run a new application.
6

Separation of responsibilities
7

Who should be considering a move to the cloud?
• A company seeking maximum flexibility and control over the development
process would prefer IaaS, while using SaaS solutions requires little if any
development work on a company’s part, with PaaS being somewhere in
between
8

2. What factors might
motivate a move to
the cloud

What Factors Might Motivate a Move to the
Cloud?
• A variety of factors come into play when considering a move to the cloud
• We have listed below those typically cited as most significant in motivating
such a migration:
– Cost savings: Moving to the cloud allows your company to utilize web-based software and
to store data without the need to buy and maintain costly servers and purchase expensive
licenses outright
– Remote connectivity: By enabling remote connectivity, cloud based services can
substantially enhance productivity
– Security: Migrating your data to the cloud can reduce the expense and effort involved in
securing such data
10

What are the benefits to migrating to the cloud?
– Collaboration: The cloud makes collaboration on shared documents and solutions easy as
long as all parties have access to an Internet connection
– Collaboration: The cloud makes collaboration on shared documents and solutions easy as
long as all parties have access to an Internet connection
– Business continuity: The cloud, by storing data over multiple redundant servers, provides
built-in business continuity
– Scalability: The cloud offers tremendous flexibility in terms of scalability, whether in terms of
adding storage capacity or acquiring solutions
11

When your company outgrows its existing
technology base
• As a business grows, its demand for technology typically increases
correspondingly. SMEs (small and medium size enterprises) may find that
upgrading or purchasing new hardware and software to keep pace with that
growth can add unexpected costs to their technology budget
• Whilst the overall cost of cloud computing services, depending on your
company’s IT needs, may not necessarily be much less than purchasing
equipment of your own over the long term, expenses for this purpose are
typically incurred in a more predictable manner, allowing for more accurate cost
analysis
• This helps in the planning process when budgeting for IT resources. In addition,
aside from direct hardware purchase costs, the need to train or hire staff to
service and secure physical assets can add significant costs to maintaining your
own hardware
13

When you want to enhance your firm’s focus on
its core competencies
• As technology grows more complex, dependence on the increasing levels of
expertise necessary to manage a firm’s IT infrastructure rises accordingly
• This includes maintaining and upgrading a firm’s infrastructure as well as
securing the data stored within
• For many firms, moving to the cloud is not as much about saving money
specifically as it is about focusing the organisation’s energy on its main
value-adding endeavours
• By outsourcing the operation and maintenance of its technology services, a
firm doesn’t have to devote time to training staff to perform tasks which are
not related to its core business function
14

To help facilitate collaboration between
geographically distant employees
• Especially for SMEs lacking access to the resources necessary to build and
maintain a corporate intranet for their employees to use, the cloud can be
an invaluable resource for enabling collaboration between employees at
geographically dispersed locations
• Even companies operating out of a single location may find that their sales
staff benefits from ready access to information, and employees, based in
the main office when out in the field on sales appointments
• The cloud is a great enabler of the virtual office, essentially allowing a firm’s
employees to be productive wherever they may be, as long as they have
access to an Internet connection
15

When your company operates in a highly volatile
market sector
• With the help of the cloud, the popular just-in-time inventory management
approach used to optimise a company’s systems for dealing with demand
for its products can be applied to its technology usage
• A company in a sector where the demand for personnel or products varies
widely can avoid excessive IT expenditure by migrating to the cloud
• The ability to scale technology usage up or down in response to business
conditions allows your firm to avoid paying for expensive hardware, only to
find out later that it is not being used to its full potential, or worse, not used
at all
16

How to move to the cloud
• Moving data and operations to the cloud can be a challenge. To minimise
the possibility of disruptions to your business you should develop a
comprehensive plan for the undertaking well before launching the process.
• The plan should cover all aspects of the migration, including setting and
achieving milestones once the plan is executed
• The following slides outline the series of steps to take to help enable a
smooth migration to the cloud
18

Map out your current IT processes
• Ideally, migrating your IT infrastructure to the cloud should not alter your
fundamental IT processes. However, some changes may be necessary
either by design or to accommodate any new solutions or infrastructure
being adopted concurrently with the migration
• Prior to considering any changes, an IT process map or flow chart should
be drawn up to record your current processes
• This documentation can be used to help plan out any changes to your
current approach or any challenges likely to occur in the process of moving
to the cloud
• It also helps any third parties working on your migration understand your
way of working, thereby minimising the chances any major changes will be
made in your IT process that could be detrimental to your business
19

Select a migration team
• Rather than using ad hoc groups to accomplish a move to the cloud, form a
team that is focused on prepping for and completing the migration
• The team can consist of employees responsible for IT duties as well as any
consultants or outside IT firms retained to help with the move
• It also means you can ensure that people with the appropriate expertise are
assigned, reducing the risk of problems during and after implementation
20

Communicate the migration plan to employees
• Depending on how it is accomplished, a move to the cloud may involve a
certain amount of system downtime and new processes for accessing and
storing data
• Robust employee communication in regards to all relevant aspects of the
migration is recommended to ensure the move goes as smoothly as
possible
• This will also give both employers and employees the ability to highlight who
needs training, and at what level
21

Work with your cloud provider or IT consultants
to develop a training plan
• Once the decision to move to the cloud has been made, your staff will need
to follow a new set of procedures for accessing and working with the firm’s
IT assets
• It is essential that a training plan be in place, and preferably in progress,
prior to the migration so that the move will entail as little disruption as
possible to your IT processes
• Utilising your implementation team to deliver this training should result in a
more comprehensive plan, tailored specifically to your requirements
22

Setup a test environment
• Whilst countless companies have successfully moved their operations to the
cloud, as with any IT process, things don’t always go smoothly right from
the start
• To reduce potential disruptions and ensure full software/hardware
compatibility, familiarise yourself with the new system by performing an
initial test in a controlled environment before launching the full migration
process
23

Maintain the potential for redundant operations
for a period of time:
• Continuing to operate redundant systems even after the migration has been
accomplished can help your company deal with any unexpected hiccups in
the process
• Becoming comfortable with all the ins and outs of your new cloud solutions
can take your staff some time – retaining the ability to operate your legacy
systems for a period of time as a failsafe if something goes wrong is a
worthwhile policy to pursue in conjunction with a migration
• It can also provide peace of mind to companies who have reservations
about moving to the cloud and ensure that, in the event of a cancellation
during a cooling off period, services can be restored quickly and easily
24

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