Most businesses use the cloud in some capacity these days, even if only in a small way. But there are many benefits you can enjoy from really utilizing this tech, including cost and time savings, scalability, data centralization and backup, security pluses, and more.
To do this, though, you need to let your IT manager or team work efficiently and not get held up by company bottlenecks and misunderstandings. It pays to create a cloud strategy that’s discussed and signed off on by all key stakeholders within your organization.
Table of Contents
Specify and Rank Business Goals
The first step is to work out what you want to achieve by using the cloud. Specify and rank your various business goals in this area by examining technologies, systems, and processes already set up and those you need to develop. Think about goals that are currently unmet that changing to the cloud can help with, your main driver(s) for adopting cloud integration, and what’s needed from and for different stakeholders.
Have all the representatives of the units in your business who will be affected by cloud choices provide input and rank goals according to importance for their teams. Putting together a clear list of ordered objectives will help you refine your strategy and ensure nothing important is missed. Once you’ve prioritized your cloud initiatives, make a plan for their rollout and integration.
Understand Your Current IT Set-Up and Its Limitations
It helps to examine your venture’s current IT set-up to understand where it’s working well and, in particular, any limitations causing issues. Think about your IT systems in relation to their readiness for a move to the cloud, too. You need to know whether what’s in place right now is enough to introduce new technologies and systems or if you must upgrade and invest in new products, services, or personnel first.
Change How Management Thinks about the Cloud
Part of your cloud strategy should involve ensuring everyone is on board for the data move. IT teams often find it tricky getting the resources and backing they need to utilize the cloud properly because leaders in their business aren’t interested. This may have to do with communication problems if IT staff talk in terms of technical specifications that seem like a foreign language to others.
The decision to adopt a cloud strategy needs to be business-wide and chatted about broadly, not just discussed and implemented by the tech team. After all, all departments will need to be involved in backing up and using data and related services. Remind employees that the cloud can offer a competitive advantage that will make their lives easier and achieving the firm’s goals more likely.
Get Clear on the Benefits of the Cloud
One way to get everyone on the same page regarding the cloud is to clarify how many advantages can come from utilizing it. For instance, the cloud can save time for people in many areas of the business, not just the tech staff members. It can also help save money, increase security, aid scalability and flexibility, and make downtime and other issues less of a problem.
The cloud helps with business agility and ensures data centralization so employees can upload, download, and edit information at any time of the day or night, from anywhere. It simplifies disaster recovery, too.
Determine the Best Cloud Deployment Model for Your Business Needs
A comprehensive cloud strategy will cover how you plan to deploy the cloud within your venture. As such, consider different models according to where your data and systems will live and how you’ll access and manage them. For example, you might want a private cloud service, a public one, or a hybrid option that gives you the best of both worlds. Keep in mind, too, that you don’t have to stick with just one cloud platform. You can use more than one for different needs, such as the well-architected framework of one company and the security comprehensiveness of another.
Some other key factors involved in developing an effective cloud strategy include:
- Selecting the right cloud service provider
- Identifying and mitigating the potential risks with moving to and using the cloud
- Establishing governance and management processes for your IT team and others to follow
- Sharing the comprehensive strategy to the whole team, so everyone knows what’s happening and how they’ll be involved
Take your time developing and then implementing this strategy since it’s so important and complex. Tweak things as new information becomes available and pivot as necessary with your plans, too.
About Carson Derrow
