Questions To Ask When Building Your Cloud Strategy

Questions To Ask When Building Your Cloud Strategy

Moving to the cloud is a big move for your business. Soon, you’ll have new resources and technology at your fingertips. The possibilities are endless—if you build your network correctly. As exciting as cloud migration is, the first step is to create a realistic and useful strategy to make the transition as smooth as possible. You have a lot of decisions to make about your new cloud network, but let’s start with the basics. Here are a few of the initial questions to ask when building your cloud strategy.

What Changes? What Stays the Same?

The truth is that you’re probably not going to bring everything to the cloud. Different applications, storage tools, and procedures might stay exactly the same. Take time to examine the different parts of your infrastructure to determine what you can change and what needs to stay the same. Some applications and procedures can benefit from an upgrade, while others are fine the way they are. Alternatively, you might have parts of your infrastructure that need to span both your current system and your new cloud service. Identifying all of these details will help you prepare and preserve processes as needed so that you don’t lose anything when you move to the cloud.

Are You Going Public, Private, or Hybrid?

Cloud services come in public, private, and hybrid environments. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these options, so it’s important to evaluate each one to see what would work best for your business. Make sure you learn the differences between the public and private cloud before making your decision. Keep in mind that you might benefit from both types of environments. In that case, a hybrid environment that mixes the two services might be best for you. No matter what kind of cloud you adapt, you’ll have unique security and management issues to attend to. Learning your way around your specific environment will help you make the most of every service your cloud provides.

How Will You Manage Your Cloud?

A good cloud strategy does more than just help you through the migration progress. Once your new system is in place and you’ve met your short-term goals, how do you find continued success in the cloud? You need to ensure that your cloud system stays efficient, cost-effective, and flexible as technology evolves and your business grows. To do this, you need a strong and experienced management team to help you continue making the most of your cloud network.

One of the most important questions to ask when building your cloud strategy is whether you want an in-house or outsourced management team. An in-house management team is closer to you and always available, but it can be costly to keep and continuously train cloud experts on your team. That’s why many companies opt for a managed services provider who knows their cloud system in and out. No matter what you choose, make sure a reliable, long-term management plan is part of your cloud strategy.