Cloud Adoption Is A Marathon, Not A Sprint
Date:01-06-2019
The benefits of cloud applications are obvious and well-known but there are still numerous obstacles to the widespread adoption of cloud computing among enterprises. Reasons range from security concerns and legacy systems to the complexity of preparing a business to be cloud-ready. Start-up companies have more leeway to make the move to the cloud since they don’t have any existing baggage.
Established companies with monolithic hardware will likely opt for hybrid cloud solutions: a combination of physical and virtual infrastructure services, some of which are hosted on-premise and through cloud service providers. The existence of high-performance networks in the local market today also make it easier to move towards a hybrid IT solution.
Hybrid IT solutions lower capital investments and accelerate the business’ ROI by reducing applications and services time to market, especially when they are now deployed in the cloud. They are also more cost-effective since businesses can scale their virtual infrastructure depending on their resources and needs.
If a hybrid IT solution sounds attractive to you, take into consideration the following guiding principles:
- Take baby steps: Don’t migrate all of your existing applications right away. Get an idea of what challenges your business may face by building and testing a structured proof of concept with no dependencies in the cloud.
- Match cloud adoption with refresh cycles: If your business is going to move office soon, or update its human resources and training systems, this is an ideal time to adopt cloud computing or renew your cloud computing licenses.
- Move systems as a single unit: You don’t always need to break up applications into fragments. Hybrid IT solutions now allow businesses to deploy applications and data geographically closer virtually through the cloud or third-party data centres.
- Get everyone on-board: In order for a successful move to a hybrid IT solution, all the company teams must be on-board. Take time to explain the move to staff. You might experience some resistance due to different team priorities but the end result is worth it.
- Engage vendors with cloud expertise: Don’t just flock to any vendor that claims to offer cloud computing services. Look at their certifications, capabilities, and experience. Which technology partners do they work with and what kind of solutions do they provide?
Many enterprises are choosing to do things gradually as they adopt a hybrid IT solutions model, so that they can focus on innovation. This isn’t a surprise as cloud adoption has been described by many IT experts as a marathon, not a sprint – it takes time and patience to complete, there is a lot of preparation involved.
You will also need a strong support network of capable partners who will help you succeed. NetOne Asia is your ideal partner as we have over 10 years experience in the ICT industry and is a certified VMware Premier Partner with a Master Services Competencies for Data Center Virtualization. If you would like your business to take its first step into cloud computing, contact us today at this link for a free cloud readiness assessment.