Eight Questions to ask Before Moving to the Cloud

The rapid pace at which organisations are adopting cloud usage continues. According to IDC, by 2023, more than 50% of enterprises of IT operations spend will be cloud consumption based.

Many organisations experience angst when considering migrating to the cloud. Before making the jump, it is important that business and IT are aligned. Here is a list of questions to consider when preparing for the move:

1. What are your drivers for moving to the cloud? What do you want to achieve by implementing a cloud strategy?
   Key stakeholders across the business need to be involved in building the business case for moving to the cloud, not just IT. Devise a joint strategy outlining the business problems that cloud solves, prior to any shift in strategic direction.
2. How will your security needs change by moving to the cloud?
   Moving to the cloud can increase your risk of exposure to cybersecurity attacks. You should analyse and define the applications and services at risk, rating their security needs on a case-by-case basis prior to migration.
3. Will moving to the cloud save my organisation money? Or will I get Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud bill shock?
   When cloud computing was first introduced, there was a hypothesis that moving to the cloud would cost less. Cloud delivers greater efficiencies and options for IT, rather that straight cost savings. As businesses move from Capex to Opex budgeting models, transparency of cloud spending becomes even more important.
4. What is the best cloud operating model – public, private or hybrid cloud?
   It is rare for organisations to operate in any one cloud model. The solution is more often a flexible approach, with a hybrid cloud model offering the option of maintaining specific IT systems on-premises and identifying applications more suited to operating in the cloud.
5. What back-up and disaster recovery options are available? Will moving to the cloud impact the recovery of your critical business systems?
   Work out what your critical business services are – what needs to work for the business to keep operating – and then work backwards to define the level of back-up required.
6. How do you minimise the risk of “Shadow IT” occurring – other departments deploying cloud applications other than IT without prior approval?
   Engaging users and providing self-service options can eliminate IT being a bottleneck and enables them to quickly deliver business outcomes. IT can easily manage all cloud applications in one place through a cloud management platform.
7. Should all workloads and applications be moved to the cloud? Or are there certain ones that should be kept on-premises? How will these be managed?
   Conduct an assessment to outline all workloads. Include ones currently on-premises and ones already in the cloud. Consider what requirements are needed by the business and identify what ones are more suited to cloud and on-premises.
8. How can you ensure compliance requirements in the cloud?
   Governance policies could be implemented which are enforced before any users can deploy services in the cloud. This will ensure you can meet your policy obligations.

How will you manage, protect, secure and govern your cloud deployments? Contact Buttonwood and find out how solve these challenges for our clients, adhering to their cloud policies strategy.