Cloud computing has become an important part of the tech business in recent years. How companies use their computing resources is changing because of it. The idea isn't new; its widespread adoption and the numerous advantages it brings have made it a major point of technological progress. 

Moving to the cloud isn't just a snap of the fingers. Making the switch to cloud-based systems requires careful planning and consideration due to the various benefits and challenges involved in the transition. As we progress, we'll explore why businesses see value in cloud systems and discuss the challenges you might encounter. 

The Upsides of Cloud Migration: Advantages and Opportunities

Shifting data to the cloud has many advantages, making managing IT resources easier for businesses. Understanding these benefits helps explain why more organizations are opting for cloud environments. 

1. Scale Up Your IT as Your Business Grows

As your company grows, so do your IT requirements. Traditional systems can be inflexible, making it difficult to adapt. Cloud migration helps solve this problem. The cloud allows you to adjust your computing power easily. This agility helps your business keep pace with changing demands like Slack, a popular communication platform. 

Slack uses the cloud's capabilities provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) to seamlessly scale its IT resources to accommodate its millions of users. This ensures continued efficiency for its global teams. 

With the cloud, you can ditch outdated equipment and manage your IT needs as your business evolves without being tied to long-term contracts. This flexibility ensures your organization isn't held back by inflexible technology, allowing you to focus on what matters most – achieving your strategic business goals. 

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2. Security

Many businesses worry about security when moving to the cloud. However, the cloud can offer greater security than traditional systems. Major cloud providers come with built-in security features like analytics, regular updates, and broad visibility across businesses. 

These providers invest heavily in security by offering automatic updates, advanced tools, and continuous monitoring to combat cyber threats. In fact, a Microsoft Office 365 survey revealed that 94 percent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) value the cloud's enhanced security.¹ 

One key aspect of this security is encryption, making data inaccessible to hackers. Plus, many providers allow users to customize security settings. 

Companies like Amazon also prioritize security in their cloud services, designing them with privacy and security in mind. They hold various compliance certifications like ISO27001, PCI-DSS, AICPA/SOC, and HIPAA, ensuring that organizations' data remains secure in the cloud. 

3. Cost Efficiency

Transitioning to the cloud means paying only for the services you use, cutting the need for expensive data centers. In the same Microsoft Office report, 82 percent of SMBs experience cost reductions by using cloud technology, with 70 percent reinvesting the savings from cloud costs back into their businesses.¹ 

Cloud pricing models let you pay for the exact capacity you utilize. Instead of investing in on-premises capacity in anticipation of potential scalability needs, cloud deployment lets you pay for your current capacity and scale up or down as needed. 

For instance, a significant public-sector agency saved 20 percent by optimizing cloud services to match application requirements. It eliminated unused assets, established basic storage tiering guidelines, and updated instances to the latest version.²

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4. Integration

Moving to the cloud helps your business integrate systems and improve efficiency across all services. Unlike traditional data centers that require costly and time-consuming infrastructure updates, cloud migration offers a more streamlined solution. 

Businesses can now migrate their applications to the cloud instead of undergoing expensive hardware refresh cycles. This process is expensive, time-consuming, and repetitive, consuming valuable resources and time. 

In the cloud, the provider handles hardware and software updates, resulting in cost and time savings. This guarantees that applications remain supported by the most current infrastructure available. 

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5. Access

Since all your data is stored in the cloud, it remains accessible regardless of what happens to your physical equipment. When you migrate to the cloud, your team can access important data and business information from anywhere in the world using any device. 

This allows your business to grow and meet operational needs without being limited by location. With cloud services, you won't experience work disruptions due to events like snow days, as your team can work securely and productively from anywhere without downtime. 

Cloud services offer monitoring for critical applications and machines. This alerts you of issues and expedites service restoration, saving time and money compared to traditional methods. Backup and logging services are also essential for disaster recovery and troubleshooting, ensuring smooth operations and faster problem resolution. 

Common Cloud Migration Issues

Moving to the cloud can be complicated and involve many different aspects. Here are the challenges organizations often face when transitioning to the cloud. 

1. Strategy Gap

Many organizations rush into cloud migration without a clear plan. However, successful cloud adoption and implementation requires thorough planning for the entire process. Cloud migration might demand a different strategy and could take considerable time, depending on the application and dataset. 

This is why organizations must have a clear business reason for migrating each workload. Organizations risk delays, unexpected costs, and inefficiencies in their cloud transition without proper planning. 

2. Managing Expenses

Organizations fail to establish clear metrics to gauge their expenses or savings after migrating to the cloud. This makes it difficult to determine the migration's economic success. 

It's important to recognize that cloud environments can change rapidly and can lead to potential cost increases as new services are adopted and application usage grows. For instance, without proper cost tracking, an organization might inadvertently overspend on cloud services. This could result in budgetary strain and financial inefficiencies. 

3. Vendor Lock-In

Cloud services can sometimes tie companies to specific vendors, making it difficult to switch providers if needed due to incompatibility with other platforms. For example, EcomGlobal, a leading e-commerce company, faced vendor lock-in after transitioning to the cloud for scalability and efficiency. 

However, they found it challenging to switch providers due to extensive integration with their current vendor's proprietary technologies. This lock-in restricted their flexibility and exposed them to potential price hikes and service alterations. 

4. Data Protection and Compliance

One big challenge with moving to the cloud is keeping data safe and meeting compliance requirements. Moving data can be risky, as it involves transferring sensitive information and setting up access controls for applications, which can expose data to threats. 

Cloud services operate under a shared responsibility framework. The provider secures the infrastructure, and you're responsible for securing your data and workloads. It's up to you to ensure all your services and applications have the right security measures, even if the cloud provider has strong security protocols. 

5. Disruption to Operations

One of the trickiest parts of large organizations is moving and syncing huge amounts of data without causing downtime. If your data isn't available to users during the migration, it can disrupt your business. This is also true when you're syncing and updating systems after the initial migration. 

According to 98 percent of businesses, an hour of downtime can cost over $100,000.³ Even established companies experience significant losses: Apple incurred $25 million in losses during a 12-hour outage in 2015, while Facebook suffered $90 million in losses in just 14 hours in 2019.⁴ 

These figures pale in comparison to the $150 million that Delta Airlines lost during a five-hour downtime in 2016. Studies also show that downtime can cost businesses anywhere from $5,600 to $9,000 per minute; for big companies, it could mean losing $300,000 in revenue per minute. 



UNLOCK THE POWER OF CLOUD MIGRATION WITH ALLIED ONESOURCE’S SPECIALIZED IT SOLUTIONS

At Allied OneSource, we're committed to simplifying your journey to the cloud and optimizing your data management processes. Our consultants are equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to address the intricate IT challenges that often accompany cloud transitions. 

By partnering with us, you can navigate the complexities of remote data storage and management with confidence, knowing that your data is in safe hands. Contact us now, and let us empower your business to embrace the full benefits of cloud technology. 

References 

1. Microsoft Office 365. Driving Growth Together: Small Businesses and the Cloud. info.microsoft.com/rs/microsoftdemandcenter/images/driving-growth-together-small-businesses-and-cloud-infographic.pdf. 
2. "Lower Cloud Costs without Destroying Value." McKinsey & Company, www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/more-for-less-five-ways-to-lower-cloud-costs-without-destroying-value. 
3. “Average Cost of Downtime per Industry.” Pingdom.com, www.pingdom.com/outages/average-cost-of-downtime-per-industry/. 
4. Atlassian. "The Cost of Downtime." Atlassian, www.atlassian.com/incident-management/kpis/cost-of-downtime.