Creating a Cloud Strategy is Easy as 1-2-3

So, you want to utilize cloud computing for your business. Making that decision is a good start, but now you need to figure out how the cloud will help accomplish the goals you’ve set for your business. You need to develop a cloud strategy.

Fortunately, we can help.

How to Create a Cloud Strategy

What follows are the three fundamental steps that any successful cloud implementation should start with:

Identify How You Plan to Use the Cloud

The cloud can do a lot of different things…which do you want to take advantage of?
It’s one thing to want to benefit from the cloud. It’s another thing entirely to identify the assorted ways that your business would benefit from doing so. Are you looking to add additional functionality to your infrastructure? Are there certain operations that your business will soon require that you can’t practically support in-house? Do you need additional data storage space, or do you intend to use it as part of your business continuity preparedness? Regardless of your use case, you’ll want to document everything about it, identifying various KPIs (key performance indicators) to gauge your success.

Predict and Plan for Potential Risks

There are various hurdles you might need to clear when using the cloud.
Once you’ve determined how the cloud would best fit your business’ operational strategy, you need to acknowledge the risks that come with it. While the cloud providers we’d recommend will all be ones who maintain sufficient protections around their data storage infrastructures, we always advise that you check their compliance reports—we certainly would.

There are, of course, other means and methods available to help you protect the data you have stored in the cloud. Encrypting it is a major safeguard, and requiring multi-factor authentication before it can be accessed is another.

Review and Revise Your Cloud Implementation

What has worked well with your cloud adoption, and what do you want to adjust?
It pays to, every so often, take a look at your business’ strategy and evaluate if its efficacy has made it worthwhile. Were your operations positively influenced by the incorporation of the cloud? Have your team members experienced any difficulties, have they all fully bought into the use of the cloud? Do you have sufficient cloud resources for your needs? Taking the time to audit your cloud implementation and make revisions is a good practice, and (even better) is something that the cloud’s inherent scalability makes much simpler.

How Could the Cloud Benefit You? Find Out!

We’re here to help businesses around Chicagoland make the most of their business technology—including their cloud strategies. Reach out to us to learn more about the cloud, our services, and what you can accomplish with the cloud by calling 708-781-7110.