10 Steps to the Cloud

1. Evaluate your existing IT infrastructure – now and in the future

• What do you need to stay on premise and why, what can be delivered via the Cloud and will it be effective for all users.
• Understanding where your capital outlay is and where you can save time and money, don’t always assume that the Cloud will be a lower cost option.
• Evaluating what daily tasks can be outsourced but still retaining control of the IT infrastructure

2. Which ‘type of Cloud Service best suits my business?

• By understanding the different types of Cloud will help you to decide what is best for your business. 
• Choosing a Public Cloud solution such as Office 365 or Google Apps might night be the best solution if you need any customisation to integrate with your existing applications
• Choosing a Private Cloud solution will give you greater security and flexibility but will most certainly come at a higher price.
• Let’s not forget that Hybrid (A term used for a blended approach) will most likely be the best option, choosing a supplier that can provide an aggregated approach will most definitely save time and money. A list of Cloud Industry Forum accredited suppliers can be found here. 

3. What are the financial implications?

• No capital expenditure = minimal start up costs, this is a true statement to a degree, costs will balance out if you need to improve connectivity or require additional technical assistance to get to your end goal. 
• Change from a Capital Expenditure to Operational Expenditure, this is the most significant change from a financial perspective. It will help cash flow and has significant tax savings. 
• Whatever solution suits your business, any Cloud element will most likely be on a “Pay as you go” basis and therefore you only pay for what you need. All Cloud Services by definition should have the capability to increase and decrease depending upon your usage requirements.

4. How can the Cloud help me work better?

• There are many different ways that the Cloud can improve productivity, Collaboration being a good example. Connect with colleagues, customers, partners and peers via the cloud.
• Having an improved Work/life balance equals happy employees, the Flexibility to work from home, other offices, on the train. The possibilities are endless.
• One important factor which is often overlooked is the reduced downtime. Applications and services delivered from the Cloud have massively demonstrated the reliability which often plagued traditional on premise applications, therefore reduced downtime and greater productivity. 

5. How secure is my data in the cloud?

• Data Security is often cited as a barrier to adopting a Cloud Service, in a recent survey by the Cloud Industry Forum of 250 Businesses, Business security and privacy concerns were still at 37%, which is still very high, yet of those polled that are utilising Cloud, less than 0.5% had actually experienced a security breach which demonstrates clearly that it’s a perception rather than reality. 
• Cloud Security doesn’t just apply to the data, it also applies to the operation and availability. A traditional on promise environment rarely has backup power, air-conditioning and all the other facilities that a data center provides. This includes 24/7/365 manned security.

6. Is the cloud environmentally friendly?

• We’ve all seen the sprawl of servers that litter server rooms within any business, this is largely due to software suppliers stipulating that applications need to be spread across multiple servers to function correctly, in some instances this can mean dozens of servers. Servers and associated equipment produce lots of heat and consume vast amounts of electricity. 
• One real positive about a Cloud solution is that everything is centralised, often sharing key components and utilising the latest technology and natural resources. They’re not necessarily environmentally friendly, but they are a step in the right direction when using low cost power, offset carbon emissions etc. Some organisations have cited a 90% reduction in carbon emissions from utilising the cloud. 

7. How does the cloud make IT easier?

• Whether your utilising Cloud/Hybrid/On-Premise, the solution you have will most certainly require routine husbandry and maintenance such as updates etc. 
• The Cloud does makes purchasing new infrastructure very easy, especially for short term projects or to increase memory, storage or compute capabilities. Which if required on premise does involve purchasing new equipment, building new servers and installing software which does take time and resources let alone leave redundant if no longer required. 

8. How do I ensure business continuity in the event of a crisis?

• This is a particular area where the Cloud trumps on premise massively, by nature a Cloud Service from a reputable supplier, Microsoft, Amazon or Google as examples are highly redundant at every level. They utilise leading edge technology to ensure complete redundancy across the storage platform, the compute platform and networking. In addition they replicated everything to a secondary location with exactly the same architecture.
• From a business perspective, if you have all of your servers/applications on site and you experience a significant disruption you may no longer be able to access your systems/data. Anything that runs from the Cloud can be easily accessed from any computer at any location quickly and efficiently.
• One area that I think does need consideration, even with a Cloud environment, if an employee or engineer accidentally deletes data there is a risk that you may not be able to recover it, so it’s important to learn what measures are in place to avoid data loss in addition to compute. 

9. Does the cloud really help me grow my business?

• Let’s take a start up business as an example, if they want software applications that will help them compete they’ll need to spend a significant amount of money to do so. The Cloud does give the capability to access enterprise-class technology and resources for Start Up’s and Small Businesses which has the ability to expand as their business grows.

10. What are my next steps?

• Knowledge - There are lots of resources to help you understand the solutions available to you, The Cloud Industry Forum has a fantastic E-Learning course which is completely Independent and will give you the knowledge transfer to successfully adopt the Cloud. Click here for more information.
• Be clear on your needs and constraints, understanding these will ensure you get the best solution for your business.
• Understand the breadth and depth of providers, don’t just accept what your incumbent supplier is telling you, get advice from an impartial consultancy who will advise you on all the services available and which ones will work for you. 
• Understand providers’ operating procedures and practices, this is commonly overlooked and indeed overlook by many companies which aggregate other supplier’s solutions. Check that your supplier has achieved industry accreditation, such as the Cloud Industry Forum’s Code of Practice. You can click here to check.
• Make sure you know what your buying before you enter into a contract, any exclusions could be expensive and in some cases irreversible. 
• Setting milestones will ensure that any project is delivered on time and on budget. To often business set out with good intention to migrate services to the cloud, lack of planning and project scope will inevitably mean you won’t have a project delivered on time.
• Education – it only takes one person within an organisation to have a bad experience with any new system, whether in the Cloud or not and it may be doomed to fail. Make sure everyone in your organisation receives training, ensure the contract includes it. If needed give extra training to those that may be able to educate others and truly champion the solution.