Cloud adoption has grown exponentially since March of 2020, but despite the massive exodus, plenty of computing and data storage is still performed at the local, ‘on-premises’ level. One might think that after the COVID lockdowns everybody has moved to the cloud to better accommodate a largely remote workforce – but they haven’t.
As a well-known, reputable member of the Charlotte IT Support community, ITFirm.com has been moving clients to the cloud for years - well before COVID struck. Whether a company uses a hybrid work model or maintains a sizeable full-time remote workforce, cloud computing is much more productive and secure than a local network.
Still, the rush to the cloud has slowed a bit, possibly because companies have gotten used to whatever their version of the ‘new normal’ is for their businesses. Given the changes in how America conducts business over the last three and a half years, businesses worldwide are wise to exercise caution. Mitigation of the challenges inherent in cloud adoption and migration are receiving extra scrutiny.
What are some major challenges with cloud computing?
While there are a number of issues that must be addressed when moving fully to the clouds, they fall under the umbrellas of the three major challenges:
Security
Performance
Cost
Security
The notion that once you move to the cloud, all of your data is safe is a common misconception, an outright myth. There are NO cloud hosting services that guarantee the safety of your data – that is up to you. Failure to properly configure and control cloud use in a public cloud will put your data at risk of theft.
It's smart thinking when businesses use a hybrid cloud approach, where sensitive, highly confidential data is relegated to a more expensive private cloud rather than a public cloud. A private cloud is just that – private, and security is more easily and pervasively implemented. The disparity between costs is as wide as seating at a ballpark. The ‘nosebleed’ section is always cheaper than a private box or behind home plate.
When using a public cloud, make sure that all security measure are properly configured, that all data is encrypted, and that your cloud host provides a security dashboard – typically these offer baseline reporting and proactive correction as part of the service.
Performance
Performance is an area of concern for your IT Support. It’s their job to make sure things run smoothly so that your employees aren’t plagued by delays and frustration. One common problem is storage access times. For applications with significant input and output operations per second (IOPS) – outages can happen for a variety of reasons if not configured correctly. Issues can easily occur when the application is sensitive to shifts in latency. Any applications that regularly cause high spikes in throughput or bandwidth compute nodes and storage are a valid concern which must be addressed.
The Best way to solve these issues is to analyze performance with metrics like latency, CPU utilization, and various application-specific measurements. These metrics provides a baseline for your systems that allows you to quantify performance
Cost
A common perception is that the #1 challenge is cost, or the illusion that cloud computing will cost a lot more – but does it? A cloud provider will arrange for you to have what you need, with the cost reflected in a single bill, which looks like a lot more money. To make sense of the total cost you must reconcile all the costs which currently arrive as separate bills from various vendors for storage, networking, servers, and core infrastructure software services.
This is similar to evaluating the costs when switching from supposedly ‘cheap’ Time & Materials IT (what the industry calls ‘Break/Fix’) to a Managed IT Services provider. A Managed Services Provider issues one monthly bill that includes everything, but purveyors of Break/Fix can send a handful of separate bills every month: a new bill for every service call and any materials needed. It’s not unusual to see shocked looks on the faces of CEOs when they discover how much their ‘cheap’ IT is really costing them.
The most elusive factor is productivity. Moving all operations to the cloud greatly enhances the speed with which employees work and collaborate, which gives a tremendous boost to productivity. Time is money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the cloud completely secure?
NO. Nothing is 100% secure, but the cloud is much more secure. The data you store in the cloud can be better protected than the data you store on your local network or workstation hard drive. The best Cloud services providers use the strongest security measures available, such as:
- Security Updates
- AI and Auto-patching
- Firewalls
- Data Backup Redundancies
- Third-party security testing
Fighting hackers and malware is like a game of ‘Whack-a-Mole’ – crooks always find new ways to get around yesterday’s best security defenses. Stop one threat and another one pops up immediately. The crooks learn from their failures, and they don’t sleep on the job – neither should you.
Which is the most important challenge in migrating to cloud?
The number one challenge impacts all others:
Failing to have a clear plan for migration. It’s like the foundation for a house. If the foundation is weak, the house can easily fail. If the planning step is faulty, new challenges will spring forth – such as:
Exceeding your budget for migration.
Cloud Sprawl, which means that your cloud plan is haphazard, resulting in too many variables - such as different software applications in conflict with each other and services you paid for but do not use.
Security weak spots; users who lack the skill to navigate a complicated cloud infrastructure.
Which cloud service type is best?
Microsoft Azure is a pioneer and remains the fastest growing clouds, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google close behind ,but it depends on your company’s needs. In general, AWS and Google produce a good-enough product, but both companies’ trustworthiness in the marketplace remains a question mark. Google fails to guarantee not to sell your data (a major source of their profits), and both have been known to shut down or censor enterprises for nebulous or political reasons.
With the introduction of cloud computer Windows 365, coupled with the improvements and rebranding of Office 365 to Microsoft 365, Microsoft has sealed the gaps that other cloud providers are still just patching together. Theirs is a platform that is truly fully integrated and negotiates full cloud operations with ease and the best security.
On C-Sharp Corner, Mahesh Chand provides an intriguing breakdown in his article Top 10 Cloud Services Providers (2023).
How do I choose the best cloud service provider?
There are as many levels of quality within the cloud hosting community as there are in the IT Support community. If you have an IT vendor whose knowledge and experience you trust, they will already have done the homework – rely on their expertise. ITFirm.com is both a Microsoft and Google partner, and we make recommendations based on the unique procedures and needs of the client.
It is important to examine factors such as a potential cloud service’s level of Certifications & Standards – and to a look at the prospect’s bottom line – how healthy is the cloud host’s company? Over the decades, many once-healthy technology providers have gone under – leaving their customers in the lurch.
Cloud Industry Forum provides a roadmap of the top ‘8 criteria to ensure you select the right cloud service provider’.
How secure is your network?
As a longstanding, reputable member of the Charlotte IT Support community, ITFirm.com offers a FREE, no-risk network and Cybersecurity assessment. We perform a non-intrusive scan that allows us to deliver a comprehensive report of the state of your system and its vulnerabilities that is yours to keep. There are no strings attached, and you are under no obligation ever to use our IT services.
The two best defenses are next-generation Cybersecurity to protect your data from theft, and a top-notch Managed Services Provider to ensure continued reliability and defenses against newly emerging threats.
We put our 100% Money Back Guarantee in writing, so there is no risk in trying us out. Because we do not require a ‘hard’ contract, our clients can fire us at any time with 30 days’ notice. We have to be good.
Among the Managed IT services we provide:
IT HelpDesk Service
Onsite IT Support
Cybersecurity
Cloud migration and management
Email migration services
Backup and disaster recovery
VoIP phone systems
IT disposition and recycling
Office moves
White label services (IT to IT)
Planning an Office Move?
We have the experience to ensure a seamless transition. Your employees will arrive at the new location to find their IT infrastructure ready and open for business! For more information, or to receive your FREE no-risk network and Cybersecurity assessment, just fill out the form on this page or call us at:
704-565-9705
