It's no surprise that most small to mid-sized businesses are finding the Microsoft cloud harder to ignore with its automatic updates, lower IT costs, advanced security, and increased storage space. While your team will likely be familiar with many of the tasks and processes involved in cloud computing thanks to common cloud applications like Gmail and Dropbox, there are some ways that you can help your team prep for the switch.
Most organizations choose cloud computing to better sync up geographically separate users, like employees spread out across multiple offices. Ask yourself whether its currently very easy for your remote users to access critical files and documents on your system. Can your IT team meet these requests?
Task: Prep your IT team for cloud computing by making sure that your system will be able to support a range of mobile devices.
How much time does your team currently spend on innovation vs. concepts like maintenance or day-to-day tasks? With Microsoft cloud solutions, it's likely your team will have much more time to retool existing systems or create entirely new ones to help your bottom line.
Task: Choose leading employees from your team and ask them to begin thinking about how cloud computing can help make processes like recovering lost passwords, upgrading software, and monitoring systems more streamlined.
Not all applications your team currently uses will make the smooth transfer to cloud computing. You may find, in fact, that some workflows need to adapt or some applications will work differently. Be prepared to watch CRM applications and data files carefully in case a switch needs to be made.
Task: Think realistically about your transition to the cloud. If productivity appears to drop rapidly following a migration to cloud computing, or your users report undue frustration, think about exploring cloud-specific applications to replace old, unresponsive ones.
Chances are good that the most stress during the transition to cloud computing will fall on your IT team. Transitioning from in-house servers to the cloud should make your IT team's lives easier, but it also may mean that your team will need to develop new skills.
Task: Ask IT staff members to familiarize themselves with cloud applications and processes ahead of the actual switch.
If you're nervous about the switch to cloud computing, consider gradually switching over key (but not critical) applications as you feel comfortable. Not only does this keep the transition running smoothly, but it allows team members the opportunity to train on individual applications over time.
Task: Monitor the progress of your transition to cloud computing and confirm that all processes are running smoothly before planning out the roadmap of how your business will make the full move to the cloud.
Vendors like Vorsite are familiar with common questions about server downtime and other issues with a transition to cloud computing; don't be afraid to ask questions. Your vendor should be able to provide details about how they managed the last downtime situation and the mechanisms currently in place for preventing system failures.
Task: Don't stop at the numbers included in vendors' brochures. Get specifics about vendors' real approaches to the frequent problems facing businesses in the cloud.
Provided you give your team plenty of notice about your impending switch to cloud computing and provide a solid roadmap, you can expect minimal problems during your transition. Most people are already accustomed to the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing through common applications. While you might face some resistance, expect cloud computing to improve the way your organization handles present everyday tasks, past documents, and future innovation.