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How to Max Out Your Cloud Migration Benefits

We have a bit of good news/bad news to deliver. Let’s go with the positive news first – you can start reaping cloud migration benefits with minimal business disruption.

Not long ago, you had to set aside a weekend (or more) and ask a few employees to come in on a day off to get everything set up and tested. Today, seasoned cloud service providers like Zimcom have streamlined the entire migration process. Setting up your cloud environment is faster than ever.

What you can’t speed your way through is the planning process. If you try, all the cloud migration benefits will go out the window. We want to see you have a stress-free cloud migration and put together this quick guide to make the planning phase as easy as 1-2-3.

3-Step Guide to Max Out Cloud Migration Benefits and Build Resiliency

Follow the 3 steps below and set yourself up to max out your cloud migration benefits.

Step 1: Do Your Homework

Before you can migrate to the cloud, you need to figure out if you’re moving to a public or private cloud environment. Here’s what you should know to find the best fit for your business

You’re already familiar with the public cloud

Google Cloud, Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are public cloud options. Anyone can sign up and only pay for the digital resources they consume (like storage). The hardware and infrastructure are managed by the third-party provider.

The public cloud is convenient but can be difficult to manage on your own

Picking your way through a Microsoft Azure or AWS invoice is an easy way to lose several hours of productivity. Billing is intentionally opaque, leaving you to wonder if you’re paying too much or have more storage than necessary.

It’s a Bad Idea to DIY Your Cloud Migration

Here’s Why

Decide how you want to store and manage resources

Your data is still private in a public cloud. The “public” part refers to the server. It’s a multi-tenant solution, meaning you get your own space on a shared server. This helps keep costs low. However, some people want additional control over security and resources. In that case, a private cloud, single-tenant solution is the better option because the server is solely dedicated to your company.

Get a private cloud without maintenance

You can house your server on-premise, or you can hand maintenance off to us. With our datacenter services, you still know precisely where your servers are located and don’t have to deal with security or maintenance. We take care of it for you.

Step 2: Have the right frame of mind

Zealous marketing campaigns sell the cloud as the end-all-be-all of money-saving, empowering business technology. In many ways, you can believe the hype – if you frame it correctly.

Understand where and how you can save money

The cloud is touted as a cost-cutting machine, leading business owners to start planning how they’ll use their newfound budget surplus. It’s not that straightforward.

The move to an operational expenditure model frees up money in the near-term

How the cost appears in your budget changes, but it’s still there. At the end of the day, you may only have marginal savings in the cloud.

Smartly scaling resources can save you money

A seasonal business can realize real savings if they sync their consumption of cloud resources with their business cycle. An example would be an accounting firm adding personnel and using more resources during tax season, then scaling back both for the rest of the year.

Productivity gains drive value

Cloud platforms like Microsoft 365 create centralized workspaces that are more efficient than traditional ways of working. Instead of emailing back and forth about a project, people can collaborate in real-time on a document or hop on a quick call and screenshare as they make changes.

Admittedly, this is harder to measure and assumes your team is prepared to adapt.

Be willing to quickly learn new tricks

You’ll never realize the benefits of a cloud migration if you make the move and then continue with business as usual. Have a change management plan to help your team adopt new technologies. Then create a plan for staying up to date on the latest releases.

How to Secure Your Digital Workspaces

Get the Guide and Stay Safe

Step 3: Create business resiliency

Solidify your security strategy

Automatic security doesn’t exist. Staying safe in the cloud takes effort. It’s up to you, or your cloud service provider, to put in place the right protections. Here’s a quick overview of the best practices we follow to safeguard our clients and keep them compliant:

  • Air-gapped and encrypted backups protect against ransomware
  • Multifactor authentication obstructs malicious actors
  • Endpoint Detection & Response prevents breaches
  • Cloud-based monitoring blocks distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks
  • FIPS 140-2 certified AES256 encryption
  • Web Application Firewalls keep hackers away while improving site performance

For private cloud environments, vet the security at your datacenter

On top of digital defenses, anyone with a private cloud environment has to consider physical security of their datacenter, too. Your site should have:

  • 24x7x365 security guards and an on-call Network Operations Center staff
  • Video surveillance set up inside and outside
  • Key card security for rigid access controls
  • Man traps
  • Revolving entrance doors
  • Cage security
  • Locking cabinets
  • Reinforced physical structure

Know who has your back(up)

Data is a business essential. You can’t afford to lose your valuable client files, proposals or projects. We believe this so strongly, that we decided to build 30 days of backups into every client solution. There’s no extra fee. We’ve seen businesses try to recover data without a backup and want to prevent you from falling into this situation.

If you want more than 30 days, we’ll happily work with you to create a tailored backup solution.

Cloud Migration Made Easy

Zimcom’s knowledgeable team of experts can help design an efficient migration and deployment plan that meets the unique needs of each individual client. Our comprehensive suite of tools support the seamless migration process from on-premises systems to secure cloud environments with absolute reliability, offering scalability and cost-efficiency along the way. We provide superior cloud migration services thanks to our cutting-edge technology, experienced team of professionals, and industry-leading uptime commitment. This powerhouse combination ensures that your data is securely migrated and stored with zero disruption, so you can get back to what it is that you do best – running and growing your business.

There’s Only So Much Planning You Can Do On Your Own

At some point, you’ll want to talk to an expert about your cloud migration. Whether you’re ready to get started or want guidance as you evaluate your options, we’re here to help. Call us today.

Talk to a Cloud Migration Expert

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