Have you ever wondered if there were downfalls to switching to cloud computing? You can easily provide the common or potentially damaging pitfalls to avoid when switching to cloud computing if you have already been there. These minor pitfalls can cause executive officers to stop initiatives to increase cloud migration and potentially lose faith in their IT managers for suggesting the changes. Switching to cloud computing changes everyday jobs such as data storage, app development, and resource allocation. Here are three significant pitfalls you should avoid when migrating to the cloud.
Underestimating Costs
Everyone that looks into cloud computing knows about the cost savings you get from switching, but they do not think about the costs associated with the migration process. Most providers do not charge for the actual data migration into the cloud, but it potentially could take weeks to months, depending on the size. You want to think about the size of your data before you start your migration. The migration could also cause your IT team to be distracted, whereas they might be otherwise focused on work-related jobs but focus on the migration instead. This could slow down or postpone projects that need to be completed.
Proper Training That Is Needed
With every new process, there is necessary training needed to ensure that you are getting everything out of the cloud services you purchased. If you do not have properly trained people, it could cost you more money to find cloud-savvy people who can assist you with anything you need to do with your cloud. Without knowledge of the cloud, any migrations can take longer than they should, and you could possibly run into other issues. There is also a possibility that the IT department will move its old problems on-premises to the cloud. “One of the mistakes we made early on is not fully appreciating how scary this can be to people who have been in IT for a long time,” said Pacific Life’s Trujillo.
Not Expanding Past “Lift and Shift”
Moving past the legacy ways of thinking will help avoid the pitfalls of cloud migration. The cloud entails much more than just picking applications and adding them to your cloud. You want to make sure you take advantage of all cloud services, such as mobile back-end services or performance management services, and not just use them as cheap storage. The cloud requires you to think of new ways of doing things within the cloud, which proves to be different from what we have grown up with. One of the most significant changes would be that there is no longer a need to wait for a server as you previously would have as there can be one readily available in a couple of minutes.
The pitfalls that you can see yourself falling into using the cloud can often be avoided by making sure to use all things available in the cloud and make sure you evolve with the cloud.
