It’s become a buzzword of tech over the last few years and to many, it’s for a very good reason.
However, cloud systems aren’t necessarily something that is going to be suitable for each and every business out there. Sure, it’s becoming more mainstream, but there are a whole host of questions to consider before taking the plunge.
This is what today’s article is all about. Let’s now dive into some questions that you should pose if you are mulling over making a switch to a cloud provider.
Is your business regularly changing?
This first question is probably targeting start-ups, who often see a rapidly changing landscape in their first few years of operation. They might start out small but quickly increase in size. This is where a lot of waste in relation to IT resources tends to happen.
These businesses will purchase systems that are suitable for their current size but will keep buying more as they experience more success. This is where a cloud service can be invaluable; the requirements can be flicked up or down, which means it is a much more flexible solution.
Does it have peaks and an “off-season”?
This next question follows a similar vein of thought to the above. As we all know, some businesses are seasonal and will experience terrific highs during a year, as well as lows.
Well, this is another time where the flexibility of the cloud can help you immensely. If you can foresee these peaks in the year, your service can automatically scale up. It means that you don’t necessarily have to be paying for a system that is too heavy for your needs in the other, quieter periods of the year.
Do you manage sensitive data?
This next point is in relation to those companies who deal with sensitive data. Particularly with GDPR and a whole host of other data protection laws entering the picture over recent times, it means that companies are more careful than ever before.
For those that do hold this sensitive data, some do get nervous about hosting it elsewhere. Even though cloud services such as g cloud 11 from UKCloud are some of the most secure around, having the confidence to pledge this data with a third party can be quite daunting and needs to be considered.
How skilled are your existing team?
Contrary to popular belief, by moving to the cloud you don’t suddenly abandon your in-house IT team. Many companies believe that this is one of the easiest ways to save money; they are under the impression that absolutely everything gets outsourced.
As it turns out, you will still be relying heavily on your internal team. Not only that, but you require internal skills to cope with a migration project – which is no easy job. Without this insider knowledge, it might become very difficult and expensive to rewrite applications so that they successfully work on another platform.
As such, make sure you still have a team, and make sure they know about cloud migrations and the platform you are moving towards.
