Myth-Busting Monday: Cloud is All or Nothing
Cloud computing is too often touted as the Holy Grail and the absolute future of information technology and services. The term “cloud computing” is overused to the point that most small and midsize business (SMB) decision makers remain confused about which products and services are actually “cloud”. With the hype and confusion, comes the misperception and fear that moving your business to the cloud is an all-or-nothing decision.
Nearly All Cloud Implementations Start with a Hybrid Approach.
While diving into the deep end can be fun, you are safer and will have more fun if you first learn how to swim. We recommend that you start by moving specific applications or “workloads” to the cloud in a way that integrates with the rest of your systems and services.
For many, the first splash comes from email, calendars, and contacts. Moving from Exchange/Outlook to Office 365 gives you first-hand experience with the convenience, reliability, simplified management, and mobile accessibility of cloud solutions. We will include flotation devices, such as advanced spam/virus protection, email archiving/ediscovery, and encryption services to make sure you comply with regulations and policies. With unlimited support, you have a life raft to ensure your team will swim, not sink.
Your second swim is where the business value of cloud begins to grow. You improve your ability to collaborate, with additional communication tools and file sharing services. With tools ranging from Skype for Business and OneDrive to Sharepoint and Planner, you can streamline businesses processes. Your team learns to work together more efficiently.
Future swims quickly compound the business value of your cloud services, as you move business processes and applications. The focus is to simplify your IT while improving the way you work. You can scale your resources to meet your needs, without big capital projects and without wasting your existing investments.
Start by defining your business goals and objectives, using these to drive your IT and information services priorities. From there, we can create a roadmap to the cloud that is pragmatic, effective, and affordable.
Looking to create or update your cloud strategy? Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation Cloud Advisor session to review your goals and create a roadmap.
This is the fourth of a multi-part series designed to help companies better assess the opportunity and value of cloud-based solutions.
