Digital transformation continues to spread across sectors, revolutionizing the way people work. So, what’s behind this mass movement to the cloud?
Today, we’ll explore some of the main benefits of cloud migration for organizations. We’ll also look at some of the cloud migration challenges that you can run into if you’re not properly prepared.
As of 2021, 94% of companies already use some form of cloud service, and 66% have already adopted a cloud-centric approach to daily workflows. Moving to the cloud is no longer a matter of gaining a competitive advantage, it’s now a case of keeping up with new industry norms.
What are the benefits of cloud migration?
Let’s look at some of the benefits of cloud migration and why Microsoft Azure is such a popular cloud destination:
- Cost
Cloud computing platforms tend to follow a pay-as-you-go pricing plan. Some come with budgeting controls built-in, others might be a little trickier to find a consistent spend. But whichever platform you choose, you will almost definitely be saving a significant chunk of budget that might otherwise have been spent on hardware, upkeep of physical machines, servers, and ongoing security.
2. Scalability
The cloud is inherently scale friendly. It’s simply a matter of managing licenses and permissions for you employees as you scale. The cloud can shrink and grow alongside your company, so there is never a need to pay over the odds or underuse key features.
3. Flexibility
One of the benefits of cloud migration that sets it apart from traditional network computing is its flexibility. Not only is your entire network ready to move to remote working at the drop of a hat, but you’ll also have greater control of which machines are running and which aren’t, allowing you to streamline the way your teams work, in-office, remote, or hybrid.
4. Security
It might come as a surprise to some that data that is stored in the cloud is usually safer than data that is stored locally. It’s standard procedure for data to be encrypted (both in transport and at rest), and security protocols at physical data centers where cloud data is kept is extremely high.
Very few engineers are allowed inside, and when they are they are heavily vetted and usually under time constraints as to how long they can remain in the building. Compare that to the Solid State Drive (SSD) that Ian from IT is using to manually backup computers, one that could get lost, stolen, corrupted, hacked or broken. And as 94% of cyber breaches are down to human error, it’s probably best to eliminate that risk.
5. Back-up
Backing up on the cloud is another one of the benefits of cloud migration. Let’s look at Ian’s SSD scenario again. For his backup to work, he has to be present, he has to remember to carry out the backup and he has to not lose, damage, or corrupt the drive it’s stored on. That’s a lot of pressure for Ian.
By backing up on the cloud you bypass the need for a physical drive and all the issues that may come with it. You can’t lose the backup because it is stored remotely. If you can log into your account, you can backup, it’s that simple.
Cloud migration challenges
Cloud computing doesn’t come without its challenges. While it is a vast improvement on the old way of working, you do need to keep a look out for these common cloud migration issues:
Cost
Cost is one of the benefits of cloud migration, so how can it also be one of the challenges? Because of how easy it is to add new employees to your license and how simply you can spin up remote machines as needed, there is scope for accidental overspend. Leave a high-power compute running too long or forget to remove employees from certain licenses and you could be looking at a higher bill than you anticipated.
Of course, with proper governance this can easily be avoided. To be sure of avoiding overspend, partnering with a Microsoft specialist to guide you is another popular choice.
Getting buy-in
If your organization has got this far without moving to the cloud, chances are that there is something, or someone, preventing the transition. Getting the go-ahead from leadership teams can be difficult, especially if they are older and less tech-savvy.
Again, if this is the case, it may be best to bring in experts to properly diagnose your issues and help you make your case to the leadership team. Often leaders don’t realize how much of a risk their legacy system could be, and once a certified expert has explained the problem, they have a new level of motivation to move to the cloud.
Looking for help migrating to the cloud?
Moving to the cloud is essential but doing so without a solid plan is a sure-fire way to overspend and put your customers’ and employee’s data at risk. At ZAACT Consulting we help make the transition to the cloud painless. Our consultants are Microsoft experts, so moving to Azure is our specialty. We’ve helped companies from finance, construction, healthcare, manufacturing and more, make the move.
So, whether your organization needs hands-on help in the transition process, or a nudge in the right direction for your leadership team, we can help.
To find out how you can reap the benefits of cloud migration with Azure, contact our team today.