If your tech company is thinking about moving some of its resources to the cloud, it’s vital to first address several questions to guide the process and improve the chances of the best possible outcome. Here are some ideas that should spark the discussion. 

1. What’s the Company’s Migration Budget?

The financial resources your tech company will devote to the migration should certainly come into conversations at an early stage. As you think about whether now is the right time to put money towards the cloud, consider that committing to certain associated upfront costs now could give your business more resilience and flexibility later. 

For example, one survey found that almost 48% of people at businesses that had adopted cloud technology said it was instrumental in helping them offer critical services to customers and meet increased demands. Conversely, the majority of respondents also reported encountering unexpected costs during their migrations.

However, working with service providers that are well-accustomed to helping customers move to the cloud can help control costs. It’s also useful to utilize cloud-monitoring tools that give increased visibility into the infrastructure and highlight issues that could result in uncontrolled costs if left unaddressed. 

2. Why Is the Company Moving to the Cloud?

Tech company representatives must also narrow down the specific reasons why they’re thinking about moving to the cloud. It’s not sufficient to just make that move because it seems like the right thing to do or because competitors have already moved many of their workloads to the cloud. 

First, people should link the cloud adoption plans to business purposes and goals. For example, how would a decision to transfer legacy data to the cloud strengthen a company? If a company’s representatives can’t answer that question confidently, the hesitancy is a good reminder that companies don’t need to move all their data to the cloud. Many organizations still maintain some degree of on-premise storage. 

Thinking about a company’s reasons for moving to the cloud also makes it easier to nail down associated goals. Most discussions with providers that help with migrations will center on what a customer hopes to achieve. That’s why it’s great to have a reasonably firm idea of desired outcomes before starting those conversations. 

3. Who Will Assist With the Cloud Migration?

You’ll also need to determine which companies are best-equipped to help a cloud migration succeed, provided you decide to go through with one. One important thing to remember is that you don’t necessarily need to restrict your search to the local area.

For example, Spaulding Ridge is a Chicago-based company serving customers worldwide, but primarily in the United States. As you look for partners to help you move ahead with cloud migration, it’s a good idea to look over reviews and see if the companies on your shortlist have won any awards. Getting feedback from customers will help set your expectations. Plus, receiving other recognition is a strong sign of a standout company. 

Besides choosing external service providers, you’ll also need to assign roles to people within your tech company to increase the chances of positive outcomes. For example, as you might expect from their position name, data migration leads handle all aspects of extracting assets and moving them to the cloud. Then, the test engineering lead oversees performance tests and all other evaluations of system integrations. 

4. How Will the Company Ensure Data Security?

The desire for tighter security is often a driving factor influencing cloud migrations. After all, the leading cloud providers follow numerous best practices to keep data safe and out of the wrong hands. However, deciding to move data to the cloud does not guarantee more security. 

A September 2021 survey revealed that 48% of respondents cited data leaks and cyberattacks connected to cloud migrations as among the largest worldwide threats. Another takeaway from the study was that 81% of respondents mentioned they’re prioritizing cybersecurity. 

Taking the time to ensure your company can keep data safe during and after a cloud migration will go a long way in preventing unwanted events. Those could otherwise make it more challenging to maximize the returns on investment you see from your cloud adoption. Using automated tools to scan your cloud environment could also identify configuration errors and other vulnerabilities. 

Is Your Business Ready for the Cloud?

Letting these four questions shape your discussions about a possible cloud migration is an excellent way to keep your efforts on track and not lose sight of underlying goals. 

While answering these questions and others, aim to involve people at all levels of the organization. They’ll likely have useful input about whether a cloud migration would make their jobs easier, harder or not have a major impact. 

A final thing to keep in mind is that it takes time to see a cloud migration’s full effects. Committing to any plan for the long term and identifying metrics to track its results will help you confirm what’s working and if you need to adjust a strategy.