New technologies continue to move the business world forward. Simultaneously, they create a lot of confusion and apprehension among business people and owners who tend to get intimidated by new business concepts.
While cloud computing had been growing in popularity over the last few years, it’s still a reasonably new concept to most people. Perhaps, you have thought about transitioning your company’s software, and computing needs to a cloud environment. If so, it’s very likely that you would have questions about the transition process and how cloud computing works.
To help you move closer to making the right decision about your company’s data needs, it makes sense to offer you a few answers to some common questions about this concept. The following question/answer format should help provide you with the answers you seek.
Question:
What does the transition process encompass, and how long will it be before my data servicing is fully operational offsite?
Answer:
The transition process requires some level of participation by company employees. However, hiring an IT professional consultant with related experience could help remove a lot of the burden off of your employees’ shoulders. Your company’s employees could focus on their everyday responsibilities while the IT consultant concentrates on implementing a parallel system with the cloud-computing facility.
As for time requirements, experts claim the entire transition process will usually take 10 to 14 days, depending on business size, the amount of data involved, and the services required.
Question:
How will my company’s data access be affected should there be a complete loss of Internet connectivity?
Answer:
The answer to this question is complicated. If you maintain updated synchronized copies of your data in-house, your employees might be able to continue working off of your local server. If not, your company would face one of two possible scenarios.
First, you could be out of luck if your service provider was a single office environment. You would have to wait until they were able to restore access. Under the second scenario, your primary facility’s location might be one of many sites your provider maintains. If that’s the case, it’s doubtful that all of their facilities will experience the same issue simultaneously. If the provider supports substantial redundancy, you might be able to access your cloud-computing environment through an alternative location.
Question:
How will a slow Internet connection affect our company’s work productivity?
Answer:
Data connection issues are hit and miss. Some days, the connection speed is adequate, while other days, it might be unbearably slow. The most feasible solution for this type of problem is the simultaneous synchronizing of data between the cloud-computing facility’s data servers and your in-house data server.
Here is how that might work. Most operating systems, Microsoft’s Windows included, offer a feature that can facilitate this kind of synchronization process. Somebody can do work on either server, with the data updated on the opposite server within seconds. Suppose your company is experiencing a slow period of connectivity. In that case, your employees could easily switch to working from the in-house server, knowing the data input will hit the cloud-computing server in short order.
Question:
How secure are cloud environments? Will we need to sacrifice some of the protection we have in-House?
Answer:
Of course, your number one concern will focus on security and the protection of your data. You need to understand that there is nothing about your ability to protect data in-house that can’t be replicated in a cloud environment. Your cloud-computing provider probably has access to substantial financial resources they can use to create multiple layers of security.
Another issue worth considering is that your employees are likely to make errors that could compromise the security located around your in-house server. That might include downloading files with viruses or forgetting to use secure passwords. For a cloud-computing provider, their reputation often rests on their ability to keep the client’s data safe. It’s a good bet they have procedures in place to protect against potential errors.
Question:
How easy is it to reclaim data should our company go out of business?
Answer:
At the point of implementation, you should receive information about how to proceed in case of an emergency. The information should include detailed instructions on how to recover all of your data without assistance from the facility’s personnel. If you were to encounter any problems, you should also have access to the emergency contact information that would put you directly in touch with someone who could help you proceed.
Ensure you receive copies of the facility’s disaster recovery plans, corporate insurance policy information, specific information about backup procedures, the exact location of your secured data, and any software licensing information you might need.
The bottom line is your provider is your data partner. They should be there to help you under any circumstance, even if your company is going out of business. Never settle on a provider that is unwilling to offer total transparency.
Question:
Will there be any special hardware requirements placed on our company?
Answer:
There is lots of good news here. By committing to a cloud-computing solution, you would need to invest less money in your data infrastructure. At most, you would only need one server to use as a backup, plus the workstations and printers you would need for your employees. You would also benefit by not needing to purchase state-of-the-art components because the real thrust of your computing power would be residing with the cloud-computing facility. The money saved could be quite substantial, depending on the size of your company.
Question:
Is there adequate protection against disasters, viruses, and errors that could affect our data?
Answer:
Again, cloud computing providers rely on reputation. Through economies of scale, they can provide all clients with a protection level that each client would have trouble providing for themselves.
Question:
Will training be available for my employees?
Answer:
Yes, your employees would get ample training related to accessing data and monitoring backup procedures. The training would come in the form of face-to-face live training sessions or through online webinars. Nothing would be permitted to go live until you feel your employees are up to speed and ready to go.
Question:
Is this the best data solution for a company with limited financial resources?
Answer:
The short answer is an emphatic yes. Your company would likely experience substantial annual savings in a lot of areas.
First, this data option offers the benefit of workforce savings. You would likely need less emphasis on hiring an IT professional because the biggest hardware concerns would fall under the cloud-computing provider’s responsibilities. You would not be responsible for hardware installations, maintenance of updates, and software licensing.
Second, you could save a lot of money on software if you were to choose a generic software system that’s already available on the cloud’s servers. Custom software programs can get quite expensive.
Finally, you could save money in the form of higher productivity among your employees. Instead of worrying about IT issues, they can focus on doing the jobs for which they are getting paid.
