Top Five Things SMBs Should Consider Before Moving to the Cloud

Embracing the Cloud may be the smartest move for an SMB in today’s dynamic business world. But can such a big decision be made without proper research? To enjoy a seamless journey to Cloud success, organizations must fine tune their approach and turn their focus towards the smallest details.

To move to the Cloud represents major opportunities to companies of all sizes, especially the SMBs.

Why?Because traditionally, these companies have not been able to afford the same services and resources that large companies use, limiting their potential, but now, thanks to Cloud technologies, they too can reap the same benefits.

However, a recent study by IBM reveals that less than 10 percent of SMBs believe their existing IT infrastructure is fully prepared to address the next wave of Cloud Computing, mobile proliferation, social media and data analytics. Yet, for business decision makers of both small and medium sized enterprises, Cloud adoption is critical, and here is a list of five significant things to be considered.

Is there a plan in place?A clear project plan is the first and foremost, and yet the most overlooked, step towards successful Cloud implementation. The project plan must clearly define the goals of the project, analyze the requirements, propose a timeline and evaluate risks. The Cloud is a strategic weapon that will affect your people, process as well as your existing technology, and therefore as a decision maker, you must be prepared to handle the ripples of the move.

Have you assessed your CSP?

• What uptime guarantee does your Cloud Service Provider offer? – What security measures are deployed by them? – Do they have a proven track record? – Are they flexible to accommodate the varying needs of the growing organization?

Choosing the right CSP is a true differentiator in the journey to the Cloud. Talk to the customers of Nirvanix, who were left stranded when the company filed for bankruptcy in late 2013, and you can garner some valuable lessons on the significance of partnering with the right CSP.

How to deal with legacy applications?Though considered as a common obstacle for larger enterprises, more than 59% of the SMBs consider integration of legacy systems as a major complexity to deal with. Not all legacy applications can reside in the Cloud. Most applications that have to be migrated to the Cloud must be redesigned to make it suitable for the Cloud environment.

Companies must adopt the right migration approach, tools and services to leverage the benefits of the technology. Alternatively, organizations can start with new projects in the Cloud during the initial stages before planning the migration of the already existing systems.

Have you read the whole story about Cloud costs?Cloud is a major enabler of cost savings. But on the other side, Cloud migration comes with a cost and organizations must learn about the various factors that impact the cost before taking a dive. For instance, some CSPs charge in-network communication costs separately, thus adding to the total service cost by almost 50% and there are other CSPs on the market who do not consider this as a separate expense.

Do you have a robust SLA in place?Every application within the business environment exists because it contributes to the smooth functioning of the enterprise. Outages and security breaches have traveled with the Cloud since the nascent stage and even business giants like Microsoft and Google have succumbed to it. An application-level SLA is therefore critical to deliver optimized performance and availability during Cloud migration.

Migrating to the Cloud is not rocket science and getting these factors right is not insurmountable. However, while looking for top Cloud Companies, organizations must adopt a more granular approach and ensure that all above mentioned considerations are duly acknowledged for outstanding success in the Cloud.

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