Cloud Migration or Pizza, the Devil’s Always in the Details

Four years ago SMBs really started becoming enamored with the breakthroughs that cloud migration promised. First mover SMBs had accepted the marketing message (and hype)—and began transferring over email, data, and entire office server functions to realize the obvious advantages.

Fast-forward 24 months and you could hear rumblings of a different sort, about some cloud providers—primarily because the service itself, its delivery, and what defines a comprehensive IT environment were misunderstood by both vendor and client alike. Cloud migration, as it turns out, does not always end well when combined with a remote vendor agreement.

Cloud Migration, Like Pizza Delivery?

For fun we’ve simplified the full gestalt of cloud migration, likening it to pizza.

If a primary computing function is being cloud hosted for you, it has been removed from your internal network, situated in a provider’s network (the cloud), and then delivered to your business.

Instead of purchasing your own pizza oven and the ingredients to make the pizza, you simply order it—as you like it, when you like it. This is the essence of cloud migration to hosted solutions.

Cloud Migration, The Vendor’s Side

The pizza is prepared, delivered on time, transaction completed. Many cloud providers believe that if your cloud migration is completed as promised, and you get your email Exchange hosting or hosted QuickBooks provided seamlessly, their work is done.  In fact, comprehensive service level agreements are crafted to warrant that their obligation ends with their network.  But, what if your bandwidth isn’t sufficient to handle what’s being delivered? What if your workstation gets infected with malware and you can’t receive your email? As long as your cloud provider’s network is still up and running, these issues are typically not their problem.

Cloud Migration, The Client’s Side

Upon ordering a pizza, you still must clear your sidewalk so that the delivery path is unobstructed. You must make sure your entryway is working and is wide enough to accomodate the pizza, and you should ideally have a cold beverage ready to augment the pizza consumption. These are details that no pizza delivery service typically provides. Same holds true with cloud migration—you remain responsible for your local internal network. Even if you migrate all of your data and software applications to the cloud, you must ensure that your local infrastructure is equipped to support this new computing paradigm.

There are a myriad of issues to plan through when you are preparing for your cloud migration —including prepping your local network resources – and then get ready to enjoy the best pizza ever.

Are you ready to begin your cloud migration with one of North America’s most respected managed cloud providers? Remember us: Schedule a demo or a 7-day trial and discover first hand why Cloud9 Real Time is the #1 choice of cloud computing providers among more accountants, CFOs, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and CPAs. Or come to Cloud Summit 2014 in San Diego September 17-19 and find out what all the hubbub is about!