Moving to the Cloud: A Practical Guide

Why businesses move

Most businesses move to the cloud for three reasons: fewer servers to maintain, easier remote work, and better resilience. The cloud is not automatically cheaper or more secure. Results depend on planning and how it is configured.

Step 1: Inventory what you have

• Servers, applications and who uses them
• File shares and data volumes
• Line-of-business software and vendor support for cloud hosting
• Internet bandwidth at each office
• Compliance obligations that restrict where data can live

Step 2: Decide what to move

Sort each workload into one of four choices: keep as is, move as is, replace with a SaaS product, or retire. Email and file sharing are usually the easiest wins. Software tied to specific hardware or very old operating systems often needs more thought.

Step 3: Plan identity and security first

• Single sign-on and multi-factor authentication for every cloud service
• Device management for laptops and phones
• Role-based access, so people see only what they need
• Logging and alerting turned on from day one

Step 4: Migrate in phases

Start with a pilot group. Migrate in stages, keep the old system available until the new one is verified, and schedule cutovers outside business hours. Communicate dates and changes to users in advance.

Step 5: Manage cost and performance after the move

Review licenses and storage quarterly. Remove unused accounts and resources. Confirm backups cover cloud data, because most SaaS providers do not back up your data the way you expect.

Common mistakes

• Skipping the inventory
• Moving without a bandwidth check
• Treating the cloud provider as responsible for all security
• No backup of cloud data
• No training for users

Quad-B Systems provides this guidance for general information. Your needs depend on your environment, contracts and regulations.