Discover What Most IT Consultants Don’t Know Or Won’t Tell You About Moving Your Company’s Network To The Cloud.
Undoubtedly you’ve heard all the commotion around cloud computing and how it’s the “next big thing.” Yet, despite all the hype, no one really seems to understand what cloud computing is or how it can help your business. Because the fact is cloud computing is not a good fit for every company; and if you don’t get all the facts or fully understand the pros and cons, you can end up making some very poor and expensive decisions that you’ll deeply regret later.
That said, for many Chicago businesses, a cloud solution can actually lower their IT costs by up to a third, and greatly improve the ability for remote workers to connect and work, simplify their entire IT infrastructure and genuinely solve a number of technology problems that they’ve been trying to work around for years.
What Is Cloud Computing?
Wikipedia defined cloud computing as, “The use and access of multiple server-based computational resources via a digital network (WAN, Internet connection using the World Wide Web, etc.).” This broad definition can’t apprehend the full range of cloud computing applications presently in production use today. In fact, you are probably already experiencing the benefits of cloud computing in some way but hadn’t realized it. Below are a number of clouds computing applications, also called SaaS or “software as a service,” you might be using:
- Gmail, Hotmail or other web-based e-mail accounts
- NetSuite, Salesforce
- Constant Contact, Exact Target, Aweber and related e-mail services
- Zoomerang, SurveyMonkey and similar survey tools
- All things Google (search, Ad Words, maps, etc.)
Pros And Cons Of Moving To The Cloud
As you read this section, keep in mind there is no “perfect” solution. All options – be it an in-house network or a cloud solution – has both upsides and downsides. And which option has to be determined on a case-by-case scenario before you can come to a complete conclusion on which option will work for you. (Warning: Do not let a cloud expert tell you there is only “one way” of doing something.) Most companies end up with a hybrid solution where some of their applications are in the cloud and some are still hosted and maintained from an in-house server. We’ll discuss more of this in a later section; however, here are the general pros and cons of cloud computing:
Pros Of Cloud Computing:
• Lowered IT costs. This is probably the single most compelling reason why companies choose to move their network (all or in part) to the cloud. Not only do you save money on software licenses, but hardware (servers and workstations) as well as in IT support and upgrades. In fact, we save our clients an average of 30% when we move some or part of their network functionality to the cloud. So if you hate constantly writing big, fat checks for IT upgrades, you’ll really want to look into cloud computing.
• Ability to access your desktop and/or applications from anywhere and any device. If your employees travel a lot, if you employ remote workers or prefer to use an iPad while traveling and a laptop at your house, cloud computing will give you the ability to work from any of these devices.
• Disaster recovery and backup are automated. The server in your office is extremely vulnerable to a number of threats including viruses, human error, hardware failure, software corruption and, of course, physical damage due to a fire, flood or other natural disaster.
• It’s faster, cheaper and easier to set up new employees. If you have a seasonal workforce or a lot of turnover, cloud computing will not only lower your costs of setting up new accounts, but it will make it infinitely faster.
• You use it without having to “own” it. More specifically, you don’t own the responsibility of having to install, update and maintain the infrastructure. This is particularly attractive for companies who are new or expanding, but don’t want the heavy outlay of cash for purchasing and supporting an expensive computer network.
• It’s a “greener” technology that will save on power and your electric bill.
Cons Of Cloud Computing:
• The Internet going down. While you can mitigate this risk by using a commercial grade Internet connection and maintaining a second backup connection, there is a chance that you’ll lose Internet connectivity, making it impossible to work.
• Data security. Many people don’t feel comfortable having their data in some offsite location. This is a valid concern and before you choose any cloud provider, you need to find out more information about where they are storing your data, how it’s encrypted, who has access and how you can get it back.
• Certain line-of-business applications won’t work in the cloud, especially industry specific software applications, which need be confirmed by the vendor whether they can be migrated into a cloud solution.
• Compliance Issues. There are a number of laws and regulations such as Gramm-Leach-Bliley, Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA that require companies to control and protect their data. In a public cloud environment, this can be a problem. Many cloud providers won’t tell you specifically where your data is stored. It’s important that you ask for some type of validation that they are meeting the various compliance regulations on an ongoing basis.
Critical Questions To Ask Your IT Company Or Computer Consultant BEFORE Letting Them Move Your Network To The Cloud (Or Touch Your Network!)
Q1: How many clients have you provided cloud services for to date and can you provide references?
Good Answer: You don’t want someone practicing on your network. At a minimum, make sure they have migrated several companies to the cloud and at least 1 in your industry.
Q2: How quickly do they guarantee to have a technician working on an outage or other problem?
Good Answer: Anyone you pay to support your network should give you a written SLA (service level agreement) that outlines exactly how IT issues get resolved and in what time frame. They should also answer their phones live from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and provide you with an emergency after-hours number they may call if a problem arises, including weekends.
Q3: What’s your plan for transitioning our network to the cloud to minimize problems and downtime?
Good Answer: We run a simultaneous cloud environment during the transition and don’t “turn off” the old network until everyone is 100% confident that everything has been transitioned and is working effortlessly. You don’t want someone to switch overnight without setting up a test environment first.
Q3. Do you provide a no-risk trial of our network in the cloud to test the proof of concept BEFORE we commit to a long-term contract?
Good Answer: We provide all of our clients a free 30-day cloud “test drive” using your servers, applications and data so you can see, first hand, what it will be like for you and your staff to move your servers to the cloud. While this isn’t a full migration, it will give you a true feel for what cloud computing will be like BEFORE committing to a long-term contract.
Q4: Where will your data be stored?
Good Answer: You should receive full documentation about where your data is, how it’s being secured and backed up and how you could get access to it if necessary WITHOUT going through your provider. Essentially, you don’t want your cloud provider to be able to hold your data (and your company) hostage.
Q5: How will your data be secured and backed up?
Good Answer: Make sure they are SAS 70 certified and have a failover plan in place to ensure continuous service in the event that their location goes down. If they are building on another platform, you still want to find out where your data is and how it’s being backed up.
Q6: Do they INSIST on doing periodical test restores of your backups to make sure the data is not corrupt and could be restored in the event of a disaster?
Good Answer: We perform a monthly “fire drill” and perform a test restore from backup for our clients to make sure their data CAN be recovered in the event of an emergency. Upon completion, we then give our clients a report showing this test restore was conducted and that all systems are a “go.”
Q7: Is their help-desk US-based or outsourced to an overseas company or third party?
Good Answer: We provide our own in-house help desk and make sure the folks helping you are friendly and helpful. We consider this one of the most important aspects of customer service, plus we feel it’s an important step in keeping your data secure.
Q8: Are they familiar with (and can they support) your unique line of business applications?
Good Answer: We own the problems with all line of business applications for our clients. That doesn’t mean we can fix faulty software – but we WILL be the liaison between you and your vendor to resolve problems you are having and make sure these applications work smoothly for you instead of pointing fingers and putting you in the middle.
Finally, A Cloud Readiness Assessment
As a prospective cloud customer, it is obviously necessary to conduct some sort of Cloud Readiness Assessment and cost analysis. This Assessment typically has three parts and is conducted by your potential cloud integrator:
1. Cost Analysis And Inventory: the first step is to look at what your current network consists of in hardware, licenses, data, and applications. Next, compile an IT cost assessment to reveal your total spend on IT, including Internet connectivity, support and other fees. Most business owners have never really look at their entire IT costs this way and often this report alone is an eyeer. Why do this? Because the goal is to find ways to significantly lower those costs while simplifying and improving your workflow.
2. Health Check: Perform a thorough diagnostic of your entire network to look for potential problems, security loopholes, spyware and other hidden problems that you might not know about. Often a health check reveals faulty backups, out-of-date anti-virus software, faulty firewalls and missing security patches that, if left unaddressed could end up costing you MORE in new hardware, support, business downtime and data loss.
3. Cloud Readiness: After assessing the above areas, it’s time to look at how you and your employees work and share information and see what applications or processes we can safely move to the cloud to improve ease of use and, of course, lower costs.
Is your business ready for the cloud? Probably, but until you take the time to systematically review the pros, cons, and unique IT infrastructure of your business, you can’t be sure. It’s absolutely worth the time to have a qualified IT support company perform a network assessment and IT audit to help you make an informed decision as to whether a cloud computing solution can help cut your costs, improve productivity, and empower innovation.
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