We’ve continued to discuss the benefits of migrating your business to the cloud.  Security, compatibility, flexibility and cost are four of the contributing factors that lead to the decision of migrating to the cloud. In step one of the cloud roadmap we discussed taking the first step in the process of a successful cloud strategy.

A roadmap to a successful cloud adoption features six parts. Each part with several categories. Each category is set up to ensure that your cloud strategy moves along smoothly. Putting the right team in place and setting the right amount of time aside to focus on the migration are the essentials to any successful cloud adoption.

Here is a checklist which includes the strategic planning that should go into the process of cloud implementation.

Determine your business’ goals and objectives: What is your company attempting to accomplish through the cloud?

We’ve seen the difficulties/challenges some businesses face. This next step is all about highlighting those challenges and implementing a cloud-strategy that can solve those problems. Proper planning and answering the necessary questions prior to the start of the cloud adoption can cut the time to implement and limit mistakes.

What is the overall opinion about the shift to the cloud and how will it be viewed by C-level executives?

In this section or step, you want to make sure then entire organization is on board with the plan or planning of a cloud migration. Resistance from stakeholders could derail and otherwise well planned out migration.

What kind of information has been made available to the executive team?

A cloud presentation or a meeting highlighting the basics, the advantages, and the implementation process could prove to be extremely valuable in getting everyone on board, it could also change the perception of what the cloud can accomplish for your team.

Are there any budgetary constraints?

It is important to highlight and define the cost of the entire cloud migration operation. Important costs to consider are not only during the initial implementation of the cloud strategy but also some of the ongoing maintenance that may be needed afterwards. Typically, cloud costs can be a “pay-for-what-you-need/use” model, allowing your business to control costs and scale easily when ready to add more or downsize if needed.

What kind of impact will the cloud have on my current IT staff?

Once a cloud strategy has been adopted, the team in place should be aware of new cloud capabilities and offerings that would benefit the business and support the direction of the cloud adoption. With the right team in place, migrating to the cloud be can be made an effective opportunity.

These are the important questions that round up part two of the cloud roadmap strategy. Clearly defining the company’s IT goals and cloud strategy can lead to an improved IT environment, allowing your business to access your data faster, more effectively and consistently all while providing new cloud capabilities to your workforce.

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