Moving to the cloud is a decision which can be taken after considering the local setup you have.
Cloud is the latest technology which is creating great results for companies. The most important and crucial aspect of this technology is the adoption or migration process. In fact, this stage is the most challenging for IT managers of the company in question. There are many aspects which if overlooked may become long time headache for them. Also, to a great extent, the benefits of this technology depend on these aspects.
There are many aspects which, if overlooked, may become a long-time headache for them. Also, to a great extent, the benefits of this technology depend on these aspects.
Let’s discuss those 6 aspects on which benefits of cloud computing actually depend.
Availability Levels
Do you know the availability levels of your current IT systems? Knowing the answer can be a good base for starting your cloud journey. It will also let you know the level of commitment you need from your cloud service provider.
Do you think the level of availability is decent and enough for your business or clients? As you migrate to the cloud, the expectations shoot upwards as well. Knowing the availability levels will help you to cope with it.
Service-Level Agreements (SLA)
The promised uptime from the cloud service provider should be much higher than what you are getting from your in-house setup. Uptime is a multi-factor feature which can tell you how probable the connectivity outage is, downtime due to server maintenance or server upgrades etc.
You need to calculate what you will gain by choosing the cloud service.
DR and BCP
Do you use a DR (disaster recovery) for your current in-house setup?
How about a BCP (business continuity plan)?
As you need to carry both these to the cloud, make sure that you have that expertise.
Will the cloud be able to help you minimize or reduce the time taken in case of a fail of DR?
Migration cost, time and effort
Have you calculated the time and effort you need to move to the cloud? This is no small amount of time.
What if you are unsatisfied with the cloud? Can you afford to move to another cloud? Or, can you afford to move back to local resources? Do you have the time, effort, and money required for each situation?
Customer Support
What type of support will they provide? Will they support you over the phone, or will they use email, live chat, or ticket escalation? Is their help available 24/7, or only during office hours?
Exactly why?
Finally, why do you really want to move to the cloud? Are you doing it to save costs? Are the operational expenses and not capital expenses the key influencing factor for you? Are you moving to the cloud for easy scalability, to hire new servers when needed and use them as per requirements?
The answer to all the questions above should be considered before you really plunge into the cloud, in hope of deriving benefits of cloud computing.
This was a guest article from Nexii Labs. Nexii Labs, established in 2008, is a global software solution company headquartered in U.S.A. with a presence in the UK, Dubai, and India. With over 300+ resources and strong competencies in an array of technologies, proven methodologies and global delivery models, we provide Application Development and Maintenance, Testing and Quality Assurance, and Support services in Mobility, Storage, and Cloud technologies.
