More and more companies are moving infrastructure and data to the cloud. The cloud offers a number of advantages, such as reduced IT costs, business continuity, automatic app updates, and more. The cloud also gives employees access to company applications and data from anywhere with an internet connection. However, moving to the cloud is a massive undertaking, and it might not always be the right choice.
Top Questions to Ask When Moving Your Infrastructure to The Cloud
Asking yourself, your team, and potential cloud providers these questions can help you evaluate whether moving to the cloud is right for your business.
Why Do I Want to Move to The Cloud?
Moving to the cloud will affect many aspects of your business. The first question you should ask is what you expect to gain from moving your infrastructure to the cloud. This will help you understand your strategic motivations for moving to the cloud. You need to determine your objectives to ensure that you allocate resources for the cloud migration.
Is my Infrastructure Vulnerable?
There are more access points into your company network when you move to the cloud. This is great for productivity but leaves your network open to more potential cyber attacks. You need to ensure that you have the proper cybersecurity defenses in place to address these threats. Most cloud providers offer comprehensive security solutions to ensure that your network stays up and running.
What Happens If My Network Goes Down?
When your infrastructure moves to the cloud there is still the possibility that you will experience network disruptions. Even the biggest companies in the world experience this problem. At some point, your network will go down. The important part is knowing what to do when your network has an issue. You need to ensure that your cloud provider has a backup plan in place when you face inevitable network issues.
Does My Infrastructure Work with The Cloud?
Companies may face compatibility issues when they move their infrastructure to the cloud. You need to ensure that the tools and applications you use daily will work on the cloud. Cloud providers can offer support to ensure applications move seamlessly to the cloud. You will also want to work with your cloud provider to optimize your applications on the cloud.
How Do I Move to Another Provider?
In a perfect world, you would work with your cloud provider indefinitely. However, that is not always the case. You need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. There have been instances where companies have been abandoned by their cloud provider. You need to understand how you can move your infrastructure if you decide to work with another cloud provider. You also need a clear answer from the cloud provider about what happens to your data after the business relationship ends.
The cloud is a great way to improve your business operations and efficiency. However, moving to the cloud is not right for everyone. You still need to perform due diligence to ensure that moving your infrastructure to the cloud is right for your business.