Cloud solutions offer businesses reduction in time, money and effort, as
well as increased cyber security. In 2019 companies plan to spend 24 percent
more money on public cloud over 2018. Thirteen percent of those enterprises
spend more than $12 million a year on public cloud, while 50 percent spend more
than $1.2 million annually. But are companies prepared for the challenges
encountered with migration of unified communications (UC) environments and data
processes to cloud solutions? Sky Cassidy, CEO of MountainTop Data, a leader in data intelligence and data
services says, "Cloud providers will tell businesses how easy integration
will be in moving to their system, but after the sale those businesses are
often besieged with problems they didn't see coming when trying to migrate
their data."
Integration capability is one of the biggest areas for potential problems
regarding cloud computing. An IT professional could do a great deal of upfront
investigation into integration between a cloud and an in-house CRM system, for
example. They could get assurance from both providers that the systems will
integrate. However, when the providers and clients dig in after the sale, they
can discover unanticipated snags, making integration difficult.
Cloud provider representatives will often promise implementation support to
guide a company through the integration process. However, in day-to-day
operation, set against deadlines and workloads, emails and scheduled calls from the cloud provider trying
to connect with the client can become burdensome for the client. IT teams are
often left to untangle details on their own. The lost money and time trying
to integrate cloud solutions may be difficult to measure, but according to one
survey users estimate 27 percent waste with their cloud solutions in 2019,
while Flexera (computer company) has measured actual waste at 35 percent.
Email, still the number one source for online sales, is an example of the
importance that cloud email migrations go smoothly and efficiently. It is
estimated that 87% of online marketers use email, this is more than any other
form of lead generation. Security of the cloud system is a key component in
email migration. For business teams that need deep analytics regarding email
behaviors, key indicators of malicious activity or compromised email headers,
and attachments as part of malware reverse-engineering, the important step they
must recognize is the need to compare security software with dedicated service
providers with expertise in mitigation of email threats.
As an expert in the field of data intelligence for almost two decades, Sky
Cassidy of Mountain Top Data offers these tips to be followed by both
on-premises and cloud providers to offset problems and create a smooth
integration of data into the cloud.
- Know exactly what each system will be able to see
within the other. You don't want to unwittingly connect your data to a company
that will use it in nefarious ways. This concern doesn't only apply to small
vendors, the big players may be a bigger risk to your data security than anyone
else.
- If you're integrating raw data make sure you know
exactly what fields are required/available, and the necessary formatting to
seamlessly integrate. One frequently overlooked issue is how each system
handles blank data fields and fields with fixed formatting. You don't want to
lose phone numbers when switching to a VoIP system because they weren't
properly formatted ahead of time.
- Once data has been integrated spot check it for
issues. There's always something unexpected. You don't want to discover that a
special character in a contact name caused half of the client records in your
new CRM to not import properly.
Cassidy adds, "As your company prepares to
integrate data into the cloud, insist on reviewing the migration process with
the providers before agreeing to any terms. The details are critical to a
successful migration."