virtualisation & cloud computing
The Big Move
Are you equipped for the cloud ? Many businesses underestimate what a migration to the cloud involves when it comes to the overhaul of an existing IT infrastructure . Stuart Nielsen-Marsh , director of Microsoft cloud strategy at Pulsant , discusses the importance of assessing your readiness .
With businesses desperate to benefit from the opportunities afforded to them by the latest technology , the majority often throw themselves headfirst into adoption mode before considering whether they ’ re truly prepared . It ’ s happened many times in the past , and we ’ re seeing the same thing now with cloud technology .
In the race to capitalise on the opportunities that cloud brings with it , organisations are failing to consider whether they are technically and logistically ready to undergo such a major overhaul of their IT infrastructure . Instead , businesses are simply walking into the situation blindfolded and hoping that , once fully migrated to the cloud , all their issues and concerns will disappear , and they ’ ll start seeing financial and operational benefits almost straight away . Unfortunately , this is rarely the case at all , and the majority that fail to assess whether they ’ re prepared for the move will likely end up suffering as a result .
Before even beginning the process of migrating to the cloud , all businesses should ask themselves what their aspirational goal is . Is it to undergo a total migration ? Or maybe it ’ s simply to encourage a strong , cloud-first mentality across the business ? Whatever the case may be , this should be determined and there should be a plan in place to ensure your business actually achieves it .
Once this is done , the business can begin the process of a ‘ cloud readiness assessment ’. This takes the pre-determined goal and works backwards from there to determine the best plan of action , the changes that will be involved as part of that plan and the impact that might be felt across all areas of the business .
Typically , a cloud readiness assessment is split into three different categories .
20 | July 2017