July 25, 2019 | By Greg Dougherty
As the buzzwords of modernization and digital transformation are being used more in conversations, you probably know it’s time to make a move to the cloud if you haven’t already. If you’re still at the crossroads regarding cloud migration, there are a number of indicators that will tell you when the time is ripe to embark on your own cloud migration project. Here are five (5) of them:
1. Your employees are increasingly using mobile devices for work-related tasks
Even if you don’t make the move to the cloud, your employees might already be there. Most employees now take their mobile devices to work and use apps to accomplish work-related tasks. They use cloud-based apps for email, note-taking, file sharing, messaging, and many others.
All this translates into a highly vulnerable and potentially compliance-violating practice known as shadow IT. By making a deliberate move to the cloud, you can incorporate strict BYOD policies and regulate the use of cloud-based apps in a more secure, monitored, and centrally-managed environment.
2. You have team members working from home
Geographically dispersed teams require collaboration tools to work more efficiently and to complete projects on time. Cloud solutions are perfect for this because they’re inherently equipped with internet connectivity and online collaboration capabilities. By moving to the cloud, you can provide teams access to company-managed tools for web conferencing, file sharing, emailing, instant messaging, and others.
3. Business is growing but hardware acquisitions are hurting your cash flow
In order to support your growing business, you might be forced to purchase more servers and network devices, which will in turn need additional floor space as well as raise cooling and energy costs. This usually requires huge upfront and operational costs that will immediately hurt your cash flow even while much of the acquired infrastructure remains underutilized.
The better option would be to move to a cloud-based infrastructure, where the CAPEX requirement is almost zero and where infrastructure costs are incurred gradually.
4. Downtimes are unacceptable
Some organizations involve critical processes that simply can’t afford downtimes. When you have processes like these, you need redundant, highly resilient systems backed by load balancing and failover mechanisms to keep services highly available.
Cloud infrastructures are perfect for these scenarios because it’s much easier and more affordable to use their virtual machines in setting up redundant, load balanced, and failover systems. In addition, the underlying physical infrastructure of reputable cloud service providers (CSPs) are already equipped with highly resilient systems and can even span multiple data centers, thereby providing even greater resiliency and high availability.
5. You encounter peaks in demand
Ideally, every time you encounter a considerable surge in demand (whether sudden or seasonal), you need to beef up your computing resources. This will ensure products and services are constantly delivered quickly and efficiently. Then once the demand subsides, it would likewise be great if you could just get rid of the excess resources.
Unfortunately, you can’t do that with an on-premise IT infrastructure. For example, you can’t just add servers during peak season and then discard them after. This is, however, possible in a cloud environment. In a cloud environment, you can easily spin up virtual machines during peak demand and then spin them down when that demand subsides.
These are just some of the tell-tale signs indicating your business is ready to move to the cloud.
Contact us to discuss solutions tailored to the needs of your organization!