Cloud adoption strategies are being taken up by enterprises all over the world. The cloud computing market was valued at $371.4 billion USD in 2020 and is projected to ready a staggering $832.1 billion USD by 2025. Currently, while 94% of all enterprises use cloud services, it is thought that companies waste up to 30% of their cloud spend, which shows that there is still optimisation in this sector to be achieved.

Have a look at the six key factors to consider when developing a cloud adoption strategy below:

1. Define your cloud strategy

The business strategy should be defined in terms of its measurable business objectives, the strategies that will be used to achieve those objectives, and the principles and priorities that will be used to guide decision-making. It is also important to research cloud providers and explore all options possible, evaluating their development roadmaps and contingency plans to make sure they can meet your business goals.

2. Information security is paramount

Information security is the primary concern of many businesses. It is important that key members of the business understand their responsibilities in terms of maintaining data protection and encryption to protect their company’s information. This is especially important when it comes to authenticating users as the lines between corporate boundaries get blurred (especially in the remote working boom that has come about as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions).

3. Plan to leverage Cloud benefits

Cloud migration is a process that will take a long time – potentially even months or years, depending on how much data you have, so it is important to approach this transition strategically. Three basic categories of cloud computing are:

• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) – public cloud providers offer storage and computing services on a pay-per-use basis
• Platform as a service (PaaS) – provides services and workflows that are specifically targeted to developers.
• Software as a service (SaaS) – delivers applications over the Internet through the web browser

Using a software as a service strategy can help firms incrementally take on the cloud while not having to update or change any existing infrastructure, as opposed to a platform as a service (PaaS) which might have a higher cost per solution. An SaaS strategy lowers the cost of implementation and also allows the company to initiate transformations more progressively.

4. Data storage considerations

Roughly 30%-40% of the time spent during an implementation is dedicated to the data conversion process. Companies must be well prepared ahead of time to allow for efficient implementation as it’s such a significant aspect of the overall time. Once implemented, data must be backed up regularly and have the ability to be easily restored in case of emergency.

5. Continuously re-evaluate your goals

Don’t get locked into one single environment or vendor, as this may drastically limit the efficiency of your business. Instead, work in a multi-cloud environment and implement a system of continuous evaluation of your current services and research into new and emerging technical solutions in order to continue optimising your business with the best tools and services.

6. Prepare your company for cloud usage

There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to developing a cloud adoption strategy. Accelerating digital transformation through the cloud is a complex process that requires a combination of expertise, resources, and commitment.

A key element in cloud success involves finding people with the right skills and expertise. A dedicated Cloud team usually comes with an experienced team leader, or a manager responsible for the smooth running of your project.

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Conclusion

Taking on a cloud adoption strategy is not without its risks, however, as there are plenty of possible pitfalls and areas to watch out for.

Security is always the main concern for companies adopting this strategy and providers must continuously develop their systems to withstand data theft, data leakage, service hacking and DDOS attacks. To use a cloud based service, a constant and reliable internet connection is a must because without this, you simply won’t get connectivity. Technical issues do occur and these could harm your business, and it is sometimes difficult to get the right level of support in a timely fashion.

On the other hand, the business outcomes that cloud adoption strategy can bring are probably countless – Cloud solutions are the fastest-growing sector of the IT market. Annual growth of 30% results makes the expected value of the cloud market $500bn by 2023.

So, if you think that developing a cloud adoption strategy could be a great option for you, why not have a go?