So You've Decided to Make the Move to the Cloud...
Once you’ve decided to move to cloud and devised a blueprint and roadmap, the journey doesn’t end there. The beauty of cloud is that it allows you to be agile enough to innovate and adapt to change over and over again.
Migration can be a confusing and difficult process for a number of reasons, including the sheer number of options available, and the critical importance of consistency. Yet even with the risks involved, adopting a cloud approach still offers enough to make the transition worthwhile.
Even with a 30-step plan in place, it’s entirely possible to run into different roadblocks and interruptions during a transition as large as moving communication solutions.
However, that doesn’t mean your team should run in absolutely blind. It is imperative to assess the situation and arm yourselves with as much knowledge and understanding as possible to help ensure the transition is as smooth as it can be.
Tips for an Easy Transition
Utilize and embrace a hybrid approach to ease the transition
Migrating to the cloud does not have to be an all-or-nothing situation. It is entirely possible to find the best of both worlds and develop a platform that fits the needs of your organization. In fact, most medium to large sized organizations will probably benefit the most from a cloud adopted solution, while the smaller teams will want to embrace a cloud only approach. With a hybrid deployment, your team can slow the migration period down, without having to place all your bets on black.
Constantly test with slow deployments
Like any new platform or application roll out, do not rush into adopting the platform organization-wide. Testing your new environment is a critical aspect to a successful adoption. Attempting to onboard everyone at the same time is just opening up a can of worms, asking for problems. Slowly roll out the new solution and test before massive adoption. Just be aware not to fall into comfort with the success of a pilot program, and underestimate the necessary requirements for a wider-spread adoption. Just because your internet can handle 20 users doesn’t mean the same bandwidth can handle 20 more.
Recognize and address security concerns
Security should be an absolute priority for any business, not just large organizations. With malicious attacks becoming more and more common, like ransomware, every business needs to ensure their data and their client’s data is as protected as possible. It is imperative to ensure that you have the level of security necessary for your organization and industry. Discuss in detail with the vendors to better understand their security and privacy practices.
Embrace, don’t avoid, re-training
Even the tiniest changes within the user experience can throw off users, requiring them to relearn their existing processes. Instead of attempting to save on your investment by avoiding training, embrace it. Re-train the departments adopting the new platform to ensure the highest level of acceptance, leading to improved productivity. After all, that’s a big reason your organization will want to be moving the solution into the cloud, after all.
Constantly monitor and adjust
Many technology solutions aren’t exactly a “set-it-and-forget-it” approach. Your team may run into a number of issues or roadblocks. At the end of the day, you can only do so much testing and it takes real world scenarios to understand how the platform will perform. Constantly monitor your solutions: call quality, conference call connectivity, actual application usage, and more. Make the necessary adjustments when you do notice an issue begin to show its head, and avoid letting problems grow worse over time.
Let's Sum It Up
At the end of the day, your team must come to decision whether or not a migration to the cloud will benefit the organization. Jumping ship from on-premise solutions just to follow the trend of cloud focused platforms isn’t necessarily the answer. While the FOMO is real, especially when your team is looking to gain an advantage over the competition, abandoning existing solutions and processes can cause more issues than they solve.
With the proper transition plan and period in place, your team can ensure that adoption of a new cloud deliver solution with run as smoothly as possible. By setting clear organizational goals and expectations, establishing a plan of action, and following through with the necessary investments, your team will be better prepared to handle this massive change.
Trying to figure out if a move to the Cloud is right for your business? Contact Plow Networks.
About Plow Networks
Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, Plow Networks is a Total Service Provider (TSP) with several distinct business practices that, when consumed together, offer our clients a unique, best-in-class experience. We give organizations peace of mind, valuable time back and the economies of scale that come with having one technology partner that is focused on exceeding their expectations with every engagement.
