Why Businesses Are Moving to the Cloud and How to Do It
As society becomes more dependent on the Internet, many businesses are moving their operations to the cloud. Ninety percent of businesses plan to use cloud technology to create and support virtual work environments and workloads.
Cloud migration is when companies decide to make their applications and business data cloud accessible. Many technology customers are coming to expect cloud technology from their software programs and mobile apps. While cloud migration won’t happen overnight, the general trend over the past decade indicates most of the business world is heading this direction. Cloud migration is often used interchangeably with cloud adoption, but it’s not quite the same. Cloud adoption describes users who decide to adopt cloud technology, while cloud migration is taking something that was previously available only offline and putting it in the cloud.
There are some risks involved with most cloud migration strategies, but they come with many benefits, too. Choosing the cloud migration strategy that works best for your business will help set you up for success and the ability to meet consumer expectations.
Just like any other technology, the cloud isn’t perfect. You should be aware of the things that can go wrong before you decide to migrate.
One of the most appealing aspects of cloud technology is these programs can be accessed from anywhere. While that remote access is useful for your employees, it can also leave them vulnerable to people outside your organization.
If the server hosting your information goes down, you might not be able to access your data. This can also be problematic if data your customers need to access is stored on the server that goes down. Along with being inconvenient, such outages can end up losing you money.
Who owns data stored on the cloud, and who can see it? It’s not always possible to know who accesses or owns information stored in the cloud. If your company works with industry sensitive data, these questions might be enough to prevent you from migrating to the cloud at all. Certain sectors require confidentiality that just can’t be guaranteed through cloud technology.
Thousands of businesses wouldn’t be migrating to the cloud if there weren’t some serious advantages to it. Here are some of the biggest benefits of the cloud.
Cloud-based software programs are incredibly convenient. Companies across your entire organization can access business data from their own devices without having to rely on a local network. This can cut down the infrastructure necessary to support all of your employees, which saves money in your technology budget.
Ease of use also helps cut down on work time, since your employees won’t have to spend so much time trying to learn new programs. For example, business purchase order software can make it easy for employees and vendors alike to access work orders. Such access helps prevent confusion and mistakes that can come from trying to communicate this information manually.
While cloud security can leave some loopholes for access, it can also be more secure than storing data locally. Many cloud technologies also come with protection, so you’ll have some sort of warranty should something go wrong. Should one of your devices or accounts fail, the data is still available to others at your company.
Maintaining proper security practices can minimize the chance someone outside your company accesses business or client data.
Cloud technology is incredibly efficient, as it allows more people to quickly access a variety of data. Business changes happen in real-time, and now your employees can monitor them in real time, too. Collaboration is also much easier to do via the cloud. Employees in different locations can communicate in real-time to work on a project with a tight deadline.
Cloud based applications make it easy to streamline most business practices, like managing vendor relations. You and your team can access all the relevant information about your vendors, supply bids and related projects in a couple of minutes.
There are three main cloud migration strategies that can help you out in any stage of the process.
Cloud native applications are available to the public through the cloud. These software programs are designed to work with the cloud from day one and won’t need to undergo any cloud migration. However, the public may need to learn completely new programs to access these apps and some of them might not be willing to do so.
Cloud migration is when companies decide to make their applications and business data cloud accessible. Many technology customers are coming to expect cloud technology from their software programs and mobile apps. While cloud migration won’t happen overnight, the general trend over the past decade indicates most of the business world is heading this direction. Cloud migration is often used interchangeably with cloud adoption, but it’s not quite the same. Cloud adoption describes users who decide to adopt cloud technology, while cloud migration is taking something that was previously available only offline and putting it in the cloud.
There are some risks involved with most cloud migration strategies, but they come with many benefits, too. Choosing the cloud migration strategy that works best for your business will help set you up for success and the ability to meet consumer expectations.
The Dangers of the Cloud
Just like any other technology, the cloud isn’t perfect. You should be aware of the things that can go wrong before you decide to migrate.
Security
One of the most appealing aspects of cloud technology is these programs can be accessed from anywhere. While that remote access is useful for your employees, it can also leave them vulnerable to people outside your organization.
Outages
If the server hosting your information goes down, you might not be able to access your data. This can also be problematic if data your customers need to access is stored on the server that goes down. Along with being inconvenient, such outages can end up losing you money.
Privacy
Who owns data stored on the cloud, and who can see it? It’s not always possible to know who accesses or owns information stored in the cloud. If your company works with industry sensitive data, these questions might be enough to prevent you from migrating to the cloud at all. Certain sectors require confidentiality that just can’t be guaranteed through cloud technology.
The Benefits of the Cloud
Thousands of businesses wouldn’t be migrating to the cloud if there weren’t some serious advantages to it. Here are some of the biggest benefits of the cloud.
Accessibility
Cloud-based software programs are incredibly convenient. Companies across your entire organization can access business data from their own devices without having to rely on a local network. This can cut down the infrastructure necessary to support all of your employees, which saves money in your technology budget.
Ease of use also helps cut down on work time, since your employees won’t have to spend so much time trying to learn new programs. For example, business purchase order software can make it easy for employees and vendors alike to access work orders. Such access helps prevent confusion and mistakes that can come from trying to communicate this information manually.
Security
While cloud security can leave some loopholes for access, it can also be more secure than storing data locally. Many cloud technologies also come with protection, so you’ll have some sort of warranty should something go wrong. Should one of your devices or accounts fail, the data is still available to others at your company.
Maintaining proper security practices can minimize the chance someone outside your company accesses business or client data.
Efficiency
Cloud technology is incredibly efficient, as it allows more people to quickly access a variety of data. Business changes happen in real-time, and now your employees can monitor them in real time, too. Collaboration is also much easier to do via the cloud. Employees in different locations can communicate in real-time to work on a project with a tight deadline.
Cloud based applications make it easy to streamline most business practices, like managing vendor relations. You and your team can access all the relevant information about your vendors, supply bids and related projects in a couple of minutes.
Cloud Migration Strategies
There are three main cloud migration strategies that can help you out in any stage of the process.
Lift and Shift
Lift and shift is a process that involves replicating applications, tasks and workloads in the cloud. This process avoids changing your code, which means you don’t have to redesign your platform. While this approach may feel fast at first, the potential errors in data sets can create much more work in the long run.Replatforming
Replatforming involves changing the data before it’s moved so it’s compatible with the cloud. This process tends to be time-consuming at first, but often leads to a more complete database once finished.Cloud Native
Cloud native applications are available to the public through the cloud. These software programs are designed to work with the cloud from day one and won’t need to undergo any cloud migration. However, the public may need to learn completely new programs to access these apps and some of them might not be willing to do so.
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