Companies and businesses are increasingly leaning on cloud services to complete their digital transformation. Businesses that choose cloud hosting receive a host of benefits such as reduced costs, flexible storage, increased security, and little to no downtime. Not surprisingly, with more businesses shifting to a hybrid or completely telecommuting model, the cloud is a hot topic in C-suites as they look for a more holistic end-to-end digital transformation to replace piece-meal approaches.
The successful businesses of tomorrow will be the ones that navigate the challenges and changes rapidly. Choosing a cloud computing consultant that helps businesses augment their capabilities can make all difference in their digital transformation.
What Cloud Consulting Companies Do
Cloud consulting companies offer expert cloud computing services that include designing, implementing, migrating, and maintaining a business's cloud applications and processes or their computing systems. This generally involves software installation, hardware configuration, and customization to fit the business's needs. In addition, they will migrate data and integrate legacy applications.
Cloud consulting companies also help businesses choose the best cloud solutions and products that work together seamlessly, providing the best return on their technology investment. They help businesses choose a cloud plan and the applications or services that are best suited for cloud deployment.
The cloud computing consultant begins the process of cloud migration by transferring on-premises resources onto a cloud platform. A cloud consulting company can also offer managed services to ensure the smooth running of cloud workloads.
Commonly Asked Cloud Computing Questions
For some businesses, moving to the cloud is a significant change. Even ones who have embraced the change often have questions. Understanding cloud computing and how companies can take advantage of the many benefits can be a challenge at first. Below are some commonly asked questions about cloud computing.
What exactly is cloud computing?
Many businesses wonder if could computing is just a buzzword or a real thing. It often seems as nebulous as, well, a cloud. Cloud computing offers on-demand access to a network of remote servers that are hosted on the Internet rather than on a local server. It is basically using someone else's infrastructure to store, manage, and process data, reducing the amount of investment in network infrastructure and resources a business has to make.
What are the benefits of cloud computing?
No matter the size of a business, moving to the cloud offers many benefits, the main ones being scalability and flexibility. Other benefits include cost efficiency, business continuity, improved collaboration, automatic software updates, environmentally friendly, scalability and performance, and automatic software integration.
Are cloud services right for my business?
There are many reasons that companies decide to shift to the cloud. It offers scalability, flexibility, and cost savings balanced against concerns about availability. It is critical to determine if the cloud is a viable strategic and operational choice for your business.
The first thing to consider is if cloud services will work for the business from an operational and strategic perspective. Next, the business's current setup should be evaluated. A complete cloud migration can take several months, so an estimated timeframe must be developed. The duration of the migration will depend on the business's size as well as the amount of data and number of applications that need to be migrated. In addition, the business needs to assess which type of cloud they should migrate to and develop a plan and strategy for the migration. Proper preparation and a detailed management plan will help control costs.
What business services does cloud computing offer?
The business services offered by cloud computing are pretty much endless. Some of the things that can be done in the cloud include email, remote file backup, network monitoring, virtual server hosting, shared calendars, internet domain management, and more.
How to develop a cloud strategy?
Every business needs a cloud strategy to achieve a seamless cloud migration. Developing this strategy starts with outlining business and technical goals. An understanding of the business drivers that mandate the shift is key, as is understanding what solutions are required.
Once the business needs are identified, the solutions can be determined, and a roadmap and timeline for execution developed.
What does the business need to prepare for moving to the cloud?
Preparation is key to a successful cloud migration. This means taking a step back and assessing what is needed prior to migrating to the cloud. Cloud consulting companies can make preparing easy and the entire process go smoothly. The primary consideration is the business's network bandwidth. A cloud computing consultant can help advise you on upgrading your bandwidth to handle the load.
What workloads can businesses move to the cloud?
The nature of the business and the cloud strategy adopted will guide what workloads will be shifted to the cloud. Companies can decide to slowly move their entire IT environment to the cloud or just specific tasks. Most businesses rely on the cloud to back up their data in both the short and long term.
Application-based workloads such as marketing automation, CRM, and more can be moved to the cloud. The ability to create environments in minutes, scale them up or scale them down as needed, and access data from anywhere makes cloud services appealing for many businesses.
What workload is easiest to move to the cloud?
Backups are by far the easiest and most common tasks to shift to the cloud. This also helps lessen concerns about business continuity surrounding downtime and loss of data. Cloud-based backups may be used for many environments or just one. It depends on what restrictions the business puts in place on its cloud usage.
Do businesses need to hire additional IT staff for the transition?
Since one of the most significant benefits to businesses of using cloud security consultants and cloud consulting companies is that they can handle the details of their cloud transition, so additional IT staff should not be necessary when transitioning to the cloud. Having someone with IT expertise on hand can help the transition go smoothly. If the business does not have an existing IT team, a cloud computing consultant can offer advice and technical support.
Is the cloud secure?
Security plays an essential role in cloud technology, and cloud consulting companies take it very seriously. Businesses depend on them to keep their data and their network secure. In addition, there are numerous regulatory bodies as well as compliance requirements from many industries that drive the need for the cloud to be as accessible and as secure as possible.
What are the security parameters used in cloud computing?
With cyber attacks continually rising, security is a huge concern. Cloud security agencies put a number of security parameters in place to protect a business's data and restore it in the event of a cyber attack.
These tactics include identity management, encryption, and physical security. They will also have a business continuity plan in place that includes backup generators, redundant hardware, and additional measures to prevent or limit downtime. In addition, data center locations will have security measures in place such as security cameras, badge access restrictions, fences, and to name just a few.
Is personal information safe in the cloud?
With all the instances of high-profile hacks – Kroger, Target, and Hobby Lobby, for instance – of personal information in the last few years, cloud service providers have worked diligently to level up security measures for personal information.
Third parties have evaluated cloud services providers with certifications for HIPPA, SOC, and PCI-DSS, so they are considered qualified to securely handle personal and private information.
How do can businesses make sure they can access their data?
When businesses partner with cloud consulting companies and providers, they are given an outline of their access, security, and services as well as support. They will develop a service level agreement that details what will happen if there is an outage and also include customer protections in some instances.
What is a hybrid cloud?
In a hybrid cloud, applications run in a combination of different environments. This approach is widespread since many businesses have extensively invested in on-premises infrastructure over the years. Because of this, they rarely rely only on the public cloud. These businesses use a hybrid cloud that combines a public computing environment with a public one.
Why You Should Leave Cloud Services to a Professional
Businesses moving to the cloud face unique and diverse challenges. The process can be full of risks, cost more, and cause unforeseen delays without the right expertise and skilled resources. A cloud computing consultant can help the migration and transition go smoothly.
But choosing the best cloud computing provider for your business is difficult. A cloud services provider should be able to help your business run more effectively while also being flexible enough to respond to its needs. By outsourcing cloud management to a cloud security company – trusted experts and professionals who understand the infrastructure, support, and security requirements, businesses can improve their scalability, productivity, and data security. Cloud consulting companies can help keep your costs manageable and focus on your core business needs.
If are interested in cloud services for your business, contact us or call 561-229-1601 today.