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The 4 Things You Should Know Before Moving Your Business To The Cloud Presented by: Vic Kimmel CEO, Bright

The 4 Things You Need To Know Before Migrating Your Business To The Cloud

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Page 1: The 4 Things You Need To Know Before Migrating Your Business To The Cloud

The 4 Things You Should Know Before Moving Your Business To The Cloud

Presented by:Vic KimmelCEO, Bright

Page 2: The 4 Things You Need To Know Before Migrating Your Business To The Cloud

Introduction

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Introduction

• The proliferation of cloud services, from storage to software applications and more, presents businesses with a choice – if and when should they move to the cloud? And if they decide to make the move, how should they go about doing so?

• This webinar will discuss the conditions which make moving to the cloud an attractive option, and then cover the various steps necessary to enable a smooth transition process when the decision to move is made.

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1. What is the cloud?

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What is the cloud?

• Cloud computing refers to services available to end-users in real-time over the Internet that traditionally would have been on-premise, and typically only available to Enterprise size companies.

• Cloud services can include, but are not limited to, storage solutions that enable companies to retain data in the cloud without having to purchase and maintain their own hardware and, increasingly, Software as a Service (SaaS), the ability to use software applications from the cloud.

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The other two main options for cloud-based software solutions are:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): In an IaaS model, a third-party provider hosts hardware, software, servers, storage and other infrastructure components on behalf of its users. IaaS providers also host users’ applications and handle tasks including system maintenance, backup and resiliency planning.

• Platform as a Service (PaaS): A PaaS solution delivers hardware and software tools, usually those needed for application development, to its users as a service. This frees users from having to install in-house hardware and software to develop or run a new application.

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Separation of responsibilities

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Who should be considering a move to the cloud?

• A company seeking maximum flexibility and control over the development process would prefer IaaS, while using SaaS solutions requires little if any development work on a company’s part, with PaaS being somewhere in between

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2. What factors might motivate a move to the cloud

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What Factors Might Motivate a Move to the Cloud?

• A variety of factors come into play when considering a move to the cloud• We have listed below those typically cited as most significant in motivating

such a migration: – Cost savings: Moving to the cloud allows your company to utilize web-based software and

to store data without the need to buy and maintain costly servers and purchase expensive licenses outright

– Remote connectivity: By enabling remote connectivity, cloud based services can substantially enhance productivity

– Security: Migrating your data to the cloud can reduce the expense and effort involved in securing such data

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What are the benefits to migrating to the cloud?

– Collaboration: The cloud makes collaboration on shared documents and solutions easy as long as all parties have access to an Internet connection

– Collaboration: The cloud makes collaboration on shared documents and solutions easy as long as all parties have access to an Internet connection

– Business continuity: The cloud, by storing data over multiple redundant servers, provides built-in business continuity

– Scalability: The cloud offers tremendous flexibility in terms of scalability, whether in terms of adding storage capacity or acquiring solutions

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3. When to move to cloud

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When your company outgrows its existing technology base• As a business grows, its demand for technology typically increases

correspondingly. SMEs (small and medium size enterprises) may find that upgrading or purchasing new hardware and software to keep pace with that growth can add unexpected costs to their technology budget

• Whilst the overall cost of cloud computing services, depending on your company’s IT needs, may not necessarily be much less than purchasing equipment of your own over the long term, expenses for this purpose are typically incurred in a more predictable manner, allowing for more accurate cost analysis

• This helps in the planning process when budgeting for IT resources. In addition, aside from direct hardware purchase costs, the need to train or hire staff to service and secure physical assets can add significant costs to maintaining your own hardware

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When you want to enhance your firm’s focus on its core competencies

• As technology grows more complex, dependence on the increasing levels of expertise necessary to manage a firm’s IT infrastructure rises accordingly

• This includes maintaining and upgrading a firm’s infrastructure as well as securing the data stored within

• For many firms, moving to the cloud is not as much about saving money specifically as it is about focusing the organisation’s energy on its main value-adding endeavours

• By outsourcing the operation and maintenance of its technology services, a firm doesn’t have to devote time to training staff to perform tasks which are not related to its core business function

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To help facilitate collaboration between geographically distant employees

• Especially for SMEs lacking access to the resources necessary to build and maintain a corporate intranet for their employees to use, the cloud can be an invaluable resource for enabling collaboration between employees at geographically dispersed locations

• Even companies operating out of a single location may find that their sales staff benefits from ready access to information, and employees, based in the main office when out in the field on sales appointments

• The cloud is a great enabler of the virtual office, essentially allowing a firm’s employees to be productive wherever they may be, as long as they have access to an Internet connection

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When your company operates in a highly volatile market sector

• With the help of the cloud, the popular just-in-time inventory management approach used to optimise a company’s systems for dealing with demand for its products can be applied to its technology usage

• A company in a sector where the demand for personnel or products varies widely can avoid excessive IT expenditure by migrating to the cloud

• The ability to scale technology usage up or down in response to business conditions allows your firm to avoid paying for expensive hardware, only to find out later that it is not being used to its full potential, or worse, not used at all

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4. How to move to cloud

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How to move to the cloud

• Moving data and operations to the cloud can be a challenge. To minimise the possibility of disruptions to your business you should develop a comprehensive plan for the undertaking well before launching the process.

• The plan should cover all aspects of the migration, including setting and achieving milestones once the plan is executed

• The following slides outline the series of steps to take to help enable a smooth migration to the cloud

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Map out your current IT processes

• Ideally, migrating your IT infrastructure to the cloud should not alter your fundamental IT processes. However, some changes may be necessary either by design or to accommodate any new solutions or infrastructure being adopted concurrently with the migration

• Prior to considering any changes, an IT process map or flow chart should be drawn up to record your current processes

• This documentation can be used to help plan out any changes to your current approach or any challenges likely to occur in the process of moving to the cloud

• It also helps any third parties working on your migration understand your way of working, thereby minimising the chances any major changes will be made in your IT process that could be detrimental to your business

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Select a migration team

• Rather than using ad hoc groups to accomplish a move to the cloud, form a team that is focused on prepping for and completing the migration

• The team can consist of employees responsible for IT duties as well as any consultants or outside IT firms retained to help with the move

• It also means you can ensure that people with the appropriate expertise are assigned, reducing the risk of problems during and after implementation

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Communicate the migration plan to employees

• Depending on how it is accomplished, a move to the cloud may involve a certain amount of system downtime and new processes for accessing and storing data

• Robust employee communication in regards to all relevant aspects of the migration is recommended to ensure the move goes as smoothly as possible

• This will also give both employers and employees the ability to highlight who needs training, and at what level

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Work with your cloud provider or IT consultants to develop a training plan

• Once the decision to move to the cloud has been made, your staff will need to follow a new set of procedures for accessing and working with the firm’s IT assets

• It is essential that a training plan be in place, and preferably in progress, prior to the migration so that the move will entail as little disruption as possible to your IT processes

• Utilising your implementation team to deliver this training should result in a more comprehensive plan, tailored specifically to your requirements

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Setup a test environment

• Whilst countless companies have successfully moved their operations to the cloud, as with any IT process, things don’t always go smoothly right from the start

• To reduce potential disruptions and ensure full software/hardware compatibility, familiarise yourself with the new system by performing an initial test in a controlled environment before launching the full migration process

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Maintain the potential for redundant operations for a period of time:

• Continuing to operate redundant systems even after the migration has been accomplished can help your company deal with any unexpected hiccups in the process

• Becoming comfortable with all the ins and outs of your new cloud solutions can take your staff some time – retaining the ability to operate your legacy systems for a period of time as a failsafe if something goes wrong is a worthwhile policy to pursue in conjunction with a migration

• It can also provide peace of mind to companies who have reservations about moving to the cloud and ensure that, in the event of a cancellation during a cooling off period, services can be restored quickly and easily

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Thank you