Do you know exactly what your organization’s cloud needs are? Do you know how much it would cost and how long it would take to set up a cloud-based solution? Have you identified which cloud provider is the best fit for your organization? If you’re not sure about any of that, then prepare yourself for a trip through the clouds. The benefits of moving to a cloud-based solution are obvious: the cost of maintaining such a service is fixed and it scales automatically with the growth of your organization. As such, organizations transitioning to the cloud experience less risk in their decision making process. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t risks involved in doing so as well – especially when it comes to migrating workloads. To reduce your organization’s risk and increase its adoption rate, it’s important to have an idea of what your organization needs from its new cloud environment before committing to any options. This article discusses some key considerations that every organization should take into account before, during and after committing to a new cloud platform.
Before Committing to the Cloud
Before committing to a specific cloud provider, it’s important to have a thorough understanding of your organization’s current and future needs. This means that you need to map out your organization’s current workloads and future plans. Doing so might help you identify areas where cloud-hosted solutions are a good fit for your organization. Next, it’s important to research the cloud providers. While you could just choose a provider and move forward, not all providers are created equal. It’s important to do your research on the various cloud service providers so that you have an idea of what your organization’s migration path is going to look like. Having this information in hand when making your decision will help you avoid costly mistakes.
Have a thorough understanding of your organization’s current and future needs
One of the first things you want to do before committing to a new cloud solution is to understand your organization’s current and future needs. This can be accomplished by conducting a cloud readiness assessment (CRAWA). The purpose of a CRAWA is to discover and assess your organization’s current cloud-based needs so that you can determine whether the new cloud environment is a good fit for your organization. You can also perform a CRAWA with your current cloud environment if you’re already committed to migrating to another cloud provider. Doing so can help you identify areas where migrating to a new cloud environment can be beneficial.
Research the cloud providers
Once you’ve identified the areas where migrating to a new cloud environment can be beneficial, the next thing you want to do is research the various cloud service providers to identify the best fit for your organization. This offers a number of advantages, including being able to decide on the right cloud provider for your organization and having an idea of the costs associated with using the different cloud providers. Although migrating to a cloud isn’t a complicated process, it can be expensive. Making sure that you pick the right cloud provider can help keep your migration costs to a minimum. It’s important to note that you don’t want to pick a provider that’s not a good fit for your organization solely because it’s cheaper.
Determine an upgrade path
As you begin your research on the various cloud providers, it’s important to determine an upgrade path. This involves identifying a path that, if successful, will allow your organization to move workloads to the new cloud environment and maintain control of them. It’s important to note that, in many cases, organizations have to pay again when they decide to move to a new cloud environment. Make sure that you can identify a path that will allow your organization to migrate workloads to the new cloud environment without incurring any costs.
During the Migration Process
Once you’ve researched the various cloud service providers and identified one that’s a good fit for your organization, the next thing you want to do is start the migration process. It’s important to note that the migration process is different for every organization, depending on the size and type of workloads being migrated. To help you get started with your migration, select a good cloud service provider.
After The Migration
If you’ve followed each of the steps outlined above, your organization should have a thorough understanding of its current and future needs, identified a provider that’s a good fit for your organization and started the migration process. Once the migration process is complete, it’s important to keep your new cloud on track. There are several things that you need to keep an eye on in order to avoid costly problems down the road.
Conclusion
With many organizations feeling uncertain about the benefits of a cloud solution, there’s a good chance that you’ve looked into the idea. However, if you haven’t done so yet, it’s important to have a thorough understanding of your organization’s current and future needs, find a provider that’s a good fit for your organization and start the migration process. Committing to a new cloud solution is a significant decision that should not be taken lightly. Making sure that you’re prepared for the transition will help ensure that your organization has a smooth and successful transition.