Common problems involving cloud migration and how to solve them

Are you moving your files to the cloud? Shifting from an in-house solution to an external cloud environment might feel daunting, but it’s an important move for most businesses as they grow and as their technological needs change and expand.

Let’s take a look at some common problems involving cloud migration – and how you can solve them.

Problem #1: Rushing the migration without taking enough time to plan

Moving to a cloud based file server isn’t something you want to rush. Unfortunately, many organizations make the mistake of hurrying their migration without taking the time to plan and create a proper strategy.

The last thing you want is to end up with unexpected downtime, or worse, the loss of important files or data.

Solution: Analyze your current infrastructure … and plan accordingly

As Daniel Hein points out in an article for SolutionsReview, migrating to the cloud can potentially take several months, depending on the size of your organization and the amount of data you need to move.

You’ll need to pay particular attention to assets that may need adjusting or even rebuilding completely once you migrate to the cloud.

Be realistic about the costs and timescales that your organization will face, too. It’s much better to be clear about these upfront than to find them spiraling out of control partway through the process.

Suggested Reading: Database Migration Comparison: AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, IBM, Alibaba Cloud

Problem #2: Not training your employees adequately

When you deal with IT a lot, it’s all too easy to assume that others will be just as quick as you at picking up new technologies.

Some employees, though, may not find your new cloud-based systems at all intuitive to use. If you don’t provide enough training, you’re likely to face a drop in productivity (and even in job satisfaction). Plus, your IT team may be overwhelmed by support requests.

Solution: Allow time and resources for employee training

Make sure that your cloud migration strategic plan also includes the time and resources to train employees on the new systems. That could involve a mix of:

• Hands-on live training where employees are shown what to do and have a chance to try it out in real-time, so they can easily ask questions if they’re confused.
• Pre-recorded video demos or written documentation on how to use the new cloud-based system.
• One-to-one training in a small company where specific employees will be using the new system a lot.

Problem #3: Not accounting for ongoing costs

When moving to a cloud-based solution, it’s not just about the upfront cost of servers or even the ongoing costs of bandwidth and your IT team’s time. You also want to take into account the other ongoing costs that you’re likely to face. As Sulakshana Iyer explains:

“Cloud server management includes ongoing operations such as industry compliance, security certificates, monitoring application performance, up-scaling servers, and more.”

Solution: Be clear about ongoing, not just upfront, costs of cloud migration

While your cloud-based systems may well be cheaper than your previous ones, you still need to be clear about the ongoing costs that will be faced – both in terms of direct money paid out and in employee time.

Make sure the company you’re using for your cloud-based server clearly lays out the costs for you and be sure to factor in the indirect costs as well. You may want to err on the side of overestimating how much staff time the migration will take: that way, you’re covered even if something doesn’t go as smoothly as you hoped.

Cloud-based servers are a great option for both big and small businesses. By ensuring that you consider and face up to potential problems upfront, you’ll pave the way for a smooth and easy migration.

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