Why are businesses migrating over to cloud computing?
The cloud is now one of the most integral parts of today’s market. A lot of businesses are choosing to migrate over to the cloud via cloud computing. It is expected that the cloud service market will hit 454 billion pounds by 2023 worldwide which further supports its popularity and choice of system (1). So why is it so popular? Cloud computing provides businesses with high on-demand data storage, resources and other cloud services to help proactively support businesses. Migrating to the cloud will also help to keep your costs down. If you are planning to move your business to the cloud here are 5 steps to making your transition as smooth as possible.
Is cloud migration the right solution for your business?
To ensure that you make the right choice in migrating to the cloud, you first need to look at the different options / factors that come with this decision and whether this change will meet your expectations.
Firstly, you need to look at your existing resources and have a clear understanding about the capacity and size that is required for your business. You must look at every single piece of hardware and application that you have in order to successfully determine whether the cloud is able to store and process all of your crucial data. You should also look into the different types of services that are offered within the cloud i.e. servers, storage, apps and databases in order to find what best suits your business. The majority of businesses strictly rely on their databases or Line of Business application, which Azure, a service within the cloud, offers many options for.
Organise a cloud management team
A specialised cloud team will help you manage this migration and ensure that it is executed smoothly from start to finish. You should be able to contact this team directly, if you come across any problems or concerns. This team will adjust and monitor your applications as they migrate over to the cloud. They will also fix any functionality issues whilst collecting data and feedback from users. We offer cloud services at Solutions4IT with a team that manages these transitions and hosting 24/7/365. To learn more, visit our Cloud Services page here.
Choose the right platform for you
Think about all your options, compare them and pick the one that best suits your business. There are three main levels of cloud services:
IaaS – Infrastructure as service
PaaS – Platform as a service
SaaS – Software as a service
Once you have decided on the levels of service that your business requires, you are now ready to pick a cloud provider. Solutions4IT offers cloud hosting services and guidance, for more information click here or call our specialist team on 0121 289 4477.
Collect baseline data
Before your migration, ensure that any baseline data is collected as this will allow for you to draw comparisons between the two different services and see whether cloud migration is going to work well for your business. This information will also help you identify and understand any issues that may appear during your migration process and allow for them to be easily corrected. Baseline data can also be collected after your migration so you will also be able to see whether user experience, speed and other factors have improved since the transition.
Start out small & finalise your migration to the cloud
In order to ensure a smooth transition, we would suggest a phased approach starting small and moving one piece of data / application over at a time. If any issues arise your cloud team will be able to home in on the issue and resolve it quickly.
You are now ready to migrate over to the cloud! Once the migration process has completed, you should measure and check the performance of your applications using the help of KPIs. This will help you identify any changes that have occurred to this data as a result of the transition and fix any problems.
Need more advice regarding migrating over to the cloud?
Solutions4IT are cyber essentials certified with years of IT experience. Get in touch today to receive advice and help with moving your business over to the cloud. Contact us now on info@solutions4it.co.uk or call 0121 289 4477.
