Migrating to the Cloud can be a confusing task and mistakes can be made. Make sure you have an understanding of how these can be avoided.

When considering migrating to the Cloud or changing your Cloud vendor, you need to do your due diligence to ensure you work with the provider that is best for your business and provides the right solution for you.

You need to really get under the bonnet of your potential cloud provider, make sure that they have a strong and highly integrated stack of partners and a proven track record of delivery for other customers with needs similar to your own.

If you are considering moving to the Cloud – make sure you read the 4 common mistakes below, so that you can ensure plain sailing on your Cloud migration journey.

1) Thinking all Clouds are created equally

No one cloud solution is the same. Each setup will be different depending on the needs and requirements of your business. If you choose the right vendor, they can be unique to you and offer flexibility and scalability as you change and grow. You also need to understand the difference between the different Cloud solutions available and what will work best for you – a Cloud consultant can help you with this.

2) Being unprepared before going to market

Before looking for a cloud provider, you should think about your IT infrastructure, needs and usage so you know what you’re looking for and can get the right advice and offers. If you have your expectations in mind beforehand then you know what to discuss with your potential provider.

3) Not understanding your business requirements and what you are trying to achieve

If you don’t have the needs and requirements of your business set out before approaching and taking on a Cloud Provider, how can you compare and measure each one? Start by forecasting how you will use the Cloud and what your storage and capacity needs are now, but also in the future. If you are looking to grow your business, you’ll want a Cloud Provider that will give you the freedom to do so.

Below are some of the main drivers that our customers spoke about when they started their initial conversation with us:

“I want to reduce operational costs”

“I have ageing IT infrastructure that is too expensive to run”

“I have undergone an acquisition or merger and am looking at migrating our IT systems”

“I have a new business process design that I need advice on”

“I would like to increase our efficiencies, productivity and margins”

“I dream of expanding into new territories but my current set-up is limiting me”

“It is time I mobilize my workforce and take a more flexible approach”

“I need to collaborate all my data”

4) Assuming your vendor is covered during a disaster

Your company may have their disaster recovery plan in place, but what happens if a disaster strikes your vendor’s data center? Make sure your vendor has a contingency plan in place should this occur. Do they have a backup location that automatically assumes control without user action? It is also worth finding out about your prospective Cloud’s backup solution. Is it included in the price or an extra charge? Are there any costs involved in retrieving and restoring files? Can you agree on a recovery time target or do they work to their own that is acceptable for you?

Renaissance Data Solutions is a Cloud Solutions provider that has the capacity to be your entire Outsourced IT team. We provide you with the flexibility to adapt your Cloud Platform to suit you. Read more about our Cloud Solutions here.

If you are just looking for some advice then we also have a Cloud Consultancy Service that can help you understand and navigate the Cloud landscape.