You know the benefits of doing business in the cloud. But are you ready to make a conscious, company-wide move? Before you do, it pays to carefully consider questions of cost, security, availability, and maintenance. Here are seven tips to make your migrations as seamless as possible.
1. Learn the language
As the cloud computing landscape expands, so does the terminology used to describe it. To learn the basics, check out TechRepublic’s mini-glossary of cloud computing. If your needs are more advanced, explore Techopedia’s searchable database of every IT term imaginable.
2. Know what you want
Are you looking for data storage? File sharing? Software as a service? What kind of security do you need? How about recovery or backup plans? Having a clear idea of your needs will help you better sort through the myriad options.
3. Embrace commitment
Your relationship with your cloud service providers is ”a marriage of sorts.” Your vendors will essentially become part of your company, and often their products will reflect your brand to your customers. So think of the relationship as a partnership, not just a transaction.
4. Set goals
Define your goals in choosing a cloud service and share those goals with your service provider. If they know what you’re after, they’ll know what to offer, from pricing structures to maintenance schedules to long-term scalability options.
5. Prioritize security
Security is both a major reason companies move to the cloud and a concern they have about cloud computing. Think about potential threats to your security and operations, and make sure your provider can deliver the level of security your industry requires. TechTarget has a good list of security questions to ask SaaS providers.
6. Consider a hybrid solution
In the past only large businesses had the luxury, but today companies of all sizes can take advantage of hybrid IT environments. Many businesses choose to move some workloads, like visitor management, to hosted cloud services, while keeping other essential activities, like user credentials and local networking, in-house.
7. Seek out training and support
Cloud-based apps and services will only benefit your business if your employees know how to use them. Look for providers with excellent track records of training and support. This will make all of the difference for getting buy-in across your organization. A cloud-based visitor management system will instantly improve your visitor sign-in process and your office security. Learn more about moving your visitor management into the cloud. 
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