In today’s market, for the vast majority of companies, the concept of cloud migration is no longer a question of if but when.
The advantages of the cloud are many – accessibility, agility, analytics, security, scalability, and flexibility. Cloud migration is likely to be financially beneficial as well! But don’t fall into the false premise that cloud migration is like pulling off a band-aid – it might be a bit painful at first but it’s over quickly. We’re going to look at five of the leading challenges that correlate strongly with cloud migration failures and how to overcome them.
Challenge 1: Poor Selection of a Partner
The initial step is realizing that your company will likely need to bring in consultants, on a national scale or through a local agency. Be sure to vet this person or company just as you would when hiring a full-time employee or team. This is not the time nor place to look for a cost-cutting high-risk partnership.
Challenge 2: Refusal to Adapt
The way apps run locally is different from how they run in the cloud or at least it should to maximize cost savings. Some apps run at full consumption speed when open if left unmodified and moving this application to the cloud results in huge costs.
Challenge 3: Too Many Consultants, Not Enough Consulting
If you are planning to make a large shift to cloud-based solutions, don’t rely solely upon consultants. Often times, companies outsource almost all cloud-related matters upfront to experts but, in the long run, you need those skills and knowledge in a full-time department as well.
When too many outside consultants are brought in, communication becomes isolated and the same jobs are paid for multiple times. Plus, with too many outside consultants making key decisions, subtle nuances of how your business runs are often lost in the mix. It’s important to remember that you and your employees are the true experts.
Challenge 4: Isolated Decision Making
Far too often, a company doesn’t really understand how much is affected by augmenting from a localized set up to the cloud. There are likely a ton of facets of your business that you do not work with directly on a daily basis; however, each part is integral to your company as a whole. Thus, you need to ensure that all angles and possible challenges are planned for upfront.
Challenge 5: It’s the Moon or Bust
Many times, companies get lost in the lure and potential of moving to the cloud expecting that their business will grow and transform quickly. While growth is the goal, it does not always happen immediately. Setting measurement timelines is key to determining how well the migration is moving forward but you have to be realistic in these expectations. Do your research upfront so that you’re educated on what a realistic timeline for implementation will look like.
