Cloud Enablement Services To Get Your Strategy on Track
8 Considerations for Success
It’s 2023. There’s very little chance that your organization isn’t already using cloud technology in some form or another. Have a Microsoft Office subscription? You’re using the cloud. Does your team use Salesforce? Slack? Congratulations, you’re already a cloud user. Of course, creating an account on an existing service and moving your organization’s entire data center capabilities to the cloud are two very different things.
Fortunately, transitioning to a new cloud platform doesn’t have to be nearly as daunting as it sounds. With the help of the right cloud enablement services expert, you can reap all the benefits of the technology without the stress that usually comes with a move like this.
1. What Is Cloud Enablement?
Cloud enablement includes everything it takes to help you acquire and use your very own cloud solution. From figuring out what cloud platforms and services your business can leverage to optimizing and maintaining your solution once you’ve migrated.
AISN can help make your organization’s transition to the cloud a smooth and stress-free experience. Get in touch with us to learn more.
Cost Savings
Availability
Disaster Recovery
Scalability
Security
More secure than on-premises
If you’re thinking of transitioning legacy systems to a more modern cloud environment or want to maintain a hybrid cloud environment, AISN can help. Get in touch with an expert on our team today to discuss your requirements.
Check out What is Cloud Enablement and Why Should You Care? to see how it could benefit your organization and how AISN can help you with the migration.
2. Are You Ready for a Cloud Migration?
Cloud sounds excellent and all, but is it right for you? How can you tell if your organization is ready to make the move? A cloud readiness assessment is a simple, data-driven way to determine which parts of your operations can move to the cloud and which might need extra preparation.
Make sure you examine which applications are prime candidates for migration, what’s driving your migration plans, the resources you already have, and the potential impact of migration on them.
Candidates
Motivation
Resources
You’ll find everything you need to start planning your transition in How to Conduct a Cloud Readiness Assessment.
3. Finding Security in Azure
The number one barrier to cloud adoption today is trust. Organizations are concerned about the security of their data and applications and are reluctant to put them in the hands of a third party.
A good cloud enablement strategy hinges on choosing the right partner. AISN has extensive experience moving organizations out of legacy systems — particularly antiquated government legacy systems.
Another critical aspect of the process is choosing the right platform.
Encryption
Look for a service that protects your information in transit and in storage.
Control
Make sure you retain full control over where your data is stored.
Compliance
Choose a company that keeps up with global compliance standards.
Microsoft’s Azure cloud is the top choice among businesses prioritizing safety and security in their cloud solution. Azure solutions rely heavily on industry-leading encryption and compliance standards, ensuring that control stays where it belongs — in your hands.
Learn more about the benefits of Azure in What You Need to Know About Azure Cloud Enablement.
Did You Know?
85% of Fortune 100 companies use Azure cloud.
The full version of “8 Key Steps for Cloud Enablement Success” is available to download here.
4. Developing Your Strategy
Once you’ve conducted your readiness assessment and determined that a move to the cloud would benefit your organization, it’s time to start strategizing.
If you have been considering upgrading your legacy systems to a modern cloud environment or want to set up a hybrid cloud environment, AISN can help.
We’ve made it our business to simplify cloud enablement for companies whose needs are too complex to do it themselves.
With AISN as your cloud migration partner, we’ll help you get clear on:
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What you hope to achieve by transitioning to the cloud
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Any challenges that might hamper your progress
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What type of cloud(s) you need
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How the transition will affect every part of your architecture
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Which cloud enablement services you’ll need (and how we’ll implement them)
Read through 4 Things Every Successful Cloud Enablement Strategy Needs for more information on developing a strategy that will ensure a successful cloud transition.
Did You Know?
The global cloud computing market is expected to reach $623.3 billion by 2023.
5. What’s Standing in Your Way?
It’s never a small undertaking to adopt a new technology or significantly change your processes or operations. As with any major transition, cloud migrations can come with pitfalls. With AISN as your managed service provider, we’ll help you avoid them.
Lack of Preparation
Underestimating Cost
Underestimating the time, financial and staff costs of your migration plan.
Inadequate Staff Training
No Stakeholder Buy-In
Everyone at all levels must support the migration and have their specific needs considered.
Consulting stakeholders in various positions will give you a complete picture of the impact of cloud migration on your organization and secure buy-in from teams that matter most. Budgeting resources appropriately — including time, money, and staff — is essential for the transition and subsequent training. AISN can guide and assist you with all of this.
In How to Avoid 4 Common Cloud Migration Pitfalls, we go into more detail about common migration issues. Helping you navigate this potentially tricky terrain to achieve a successful transition is our area of expertise.
6. Making the Move to Cloud
Once we’ve assessed your readiness and identified goals and potential challenges, we’ll architect a customized cloud solution to meet your needs. Let’s take a look at what the actual migration will look like.
Readiness Assessment
Planning and Architecture
Strategy and Prioritization
Migration
Testing and Optimization
Operations Maintenance
Working in partnership with the relevant stakeholders from your organization, AISN will oversee the migration process from start to finish. We will ensure nothing gets overlooked as we move your data and applications to their new cloud home.
Reading What You Need to Know for Your Cloud Migration Strategy will help you will help you understand how crucial it is to have the right team on the job. Having a smooth, successful cloud transition depends on it.
Did You Know?
Analysts predict 28% of key IT spending will be cloud-related by 2022.
7. What Happens After Your Migration?
As your cloud migration partner, we won’t disappear once the transition is complete. Our role in your operations is just beginning. With the migration completed, we’ll optimize and maintain your solution.
Look for a cloud solutions partner that will:
Optimize
Work to improve uptime, performance, security and more
Report
Provide you with an inventory of your cloud assets and their performance
Secure
Proactively work to secure your platform against threats and vulnerabilities
Maintain
Regularly update and patch for continued security and compliance
Support
Provide you with support during outages or issuesAs your cloud partner, AISN will have guided you through every stage up to this point. However, at this point, we really come into our own. Our services go well beyond essential maintenance. We will continually optimize your cloud platform to address problems, leverage new technology, and meet your changing needs.
Take a look at How to Get the Cloud Enablement Services You Really Need to see the lengths we’ll go to in order to ensure your cloud strategy not only is a success, but also remains one.
Did You Know?
Research suggests 80% of all organizations will migrate to cloud, hosting and colocation services by 2025.
8. Common Cloud Enablement Use Cases
Backups and Disaster Recovery
The amount of information businesses generate and use daily is increasing exponentially — and so are the costs associated with losing access to your data or applications. A rigorous system is necessary to protect your data from harm and recover it if and when the worst happens.
But how do cloud backup and disaster recovery solutions stack up against traditional, on-premises competitors? While internal servers and hard drives still have their merits, a case must be made for the security a cloud solution can offer.
Did You Know?
1.89% of hard drives failed in 2019.
Check out Cloud Backup vs. Traditional Backup: Which is Better? for a closer look at how cloud solutions stack up.
Cloud Computing in Accounting
Accounting firms always handle their clients’ sensitive data and provide critical services that their customers need daily. Cloud solutions offer benefits that accounting companies shouldn’t be without:
- Automating data entry to save time
- Ability to adapt and respond quickly to disruption
- Improved communication between departments and with clients
- Improved security
- Strengthened backup and disaster recovery options
Did You Know?
94% of enterprises are already using some form of cloud.
Explore what you stand to gain from a cloud migration by reading the Benefits of Cloud Computing.
Standards Compliance
Many institutions and organizations bound by government or industry compliance standards mistakenly assume that a cloud solution is not an option. The developments in cloud technology and security often make the cloud the better option when faced with aging infrastructure.
But not all cloud solutions are created equal. Suppose you are constrained by specific regulations or contractual obligations that govern how you must protect your data. In that case, you must choose carefully — an experienced cloud services partner like AISN can help. Talk to our experts to find out more.
Did You Know?
Microsoft employs 3,500 cybersecurity experts to ensure security and compliance.
Take a look at How to Get FERPA-Compliant Cloud Service to learn more about compliance and cloud solutions.
A Partner You Can Trust
At AISN, we don’t believe that ‘one-size-fits-all’ is the way to offer cloud solutions. Our business model is built on the belief that our clients deserve customized cloud platforms designed to meet their compliance, security, and operational needs.
If you’ve got questions about our cloud services or even the cloud in general, contact us today. Our experts will be happy to discuss your needs and address any concerns.