The Cloud has quickly become a prominent fixture in our lives—whether it’s the business world or in everyday life. While every business approaches Cloud integration differently, there is no denying that the Cloud has become an important presence and it will continue to grow more important in the future.
Even so, it doesn’t come without its challenges. The rapid improvement to Cloud technologies will usher in further challenges that businesses will have to handle in stride because the Cloud is here to stay.
As we close 2019 and enter 2020, there are several challenges that businesses will continue to face.
Cloud management
As the number of Cloud solutions a company leverages increases, the number of portals IT has to manage increases as well. Even though increases don’t always equal increased complexity—due to the nature of the Cloud itself—IT professionals could still face challenges with management.
Luckily, mitigation of this challenge is possible through the vetting process to source new solutions that are capable of integration when possible. Doing so can minimize the portals that your IT team has to deal with.
Additionally, you can also utilize leverage managed solutions when applicable. Having your Cloud work as a managed service means that you can use service providers to care for the management rather than your IT team.
Cloud migration
During any transition period, it’s important to begin with a thorough plan. When you decide to migrate your business from an on-premise solution to the Cloud, make sure you take the time to develop a migration plan. While it may make the process longer, it’ll save you headaches in the end!
Make sure you not only build a plan but that you also test the plan and DON’T decommission your current solution until all testing is done on your Cloud solution.
If you have any concerns about migrating to the Cloud, consider employing vendors who have experience with your desired migration. In this way, your business has a greater chance of having a smooth migration. Unless you have a team experienced in similar migrations, make sure your vendor comes with similar case studies and references.
Cloud spending
In recent years, the amount of money businesses spend on Cloud solutions has increased. In fact, some businesses now spend more money on organizations to manage Cloud solutions than they do for security.
Additionally, nearly 42 percent of the money spent on Cloud solutions is wasted. Expect more businesses to look into tech solutions to help with Cloud cost management.
Multi-cloud management
Given that Cloud management has already appeared on our list, it’s no surprise that if a business manages more than one Cloud, there would be challenges with managing multiple. It’s suggested that approximately 70-80 percent of businesses leverage multi-cloud environments.
Moreover, since this trend is likely to continue, it will increase the need for solutions to successfully and securely manage multiple Clouds.
Here are few best practices to successfully manage multiple Clouds:
- Using thoroughly vetted Cloud vendors
- Practicing active vendor management
- Training employees extensively
Luckily, there are considerable returns on investment when businesses manage their multi-cloud environments correctly.
Security
Security is always one of the top concerns for the Cloud. The most common Cloud security concerns include:
- Breaches
- Data loss
- Data leakage
- Data privacy of confidentiality
Even though security is always among the top Cloud concerns, the longer companies utilize the Cloud, the less of a concern it becomes. This is likely due to companies not only becoming more Cloud-experienced but also having successful security measures in place.
Regardless of the challenges that utilizing the Cloud brings, companies should not avoid embracing the Cloud. Rather than running from these identified challenges, companies should use them as a tool to know what does and does not work as well as visualize a clear path for their own Cloud integration. Just because there are challenges to using a tool doesn’t mean that the tool won’t be worth it in the end.