Fulcrum Group LinkedIn “Ask The Expert” Virtual Event Key Takeaways

The Fulcrum Group's Fort Worth IT Professionals LInkedIn group recently hosted a special, virtual "Ask The Experts" Q&A event on Migrating To The Cloud, and we wanted to roundup a few key takeaways for you here.

Key Takeaways From "Ask The Experts" - Migrating To The Cloud

1.  Benefits of Moving to Cloud Services
   - Allows you to work (access your resources) anywhere
   - Freedom from dealing with IT equipment issues.  You don't have to worry about storage and maintenance of equipment that hosts your system.
2. Risks and Possible Catches Associated with Moving to Cloud Services
   - A hybrid model and multiple parties responsible for multiple parts of your system, can mean potential for mistakes.
3. Hidden Costs & Budgetary Gotchya's
   - Your Internet Connection - be sure to have a provisionary internet connection
   - Redundancy - plan for backup so no surprises later
   - One time costs of Cloud vs hidden costs of On-Premises
   - Compare Public Cloud (pay for what you consume) vs Private Cloud (all infrastructure costs paid for up front)
   - Budgeting concerns for industries such as local government and non-profits (allocating spending within a year's time, grants, etc).
4. Understanding Total Costs of Ownership
   - Infrastructure, planning, testing, and redundancy costs
   - Labor to maintain equipment
   - Physical security for equipment (locked environment/cameras/key code system)
   - How data is controlled
   - Compliance issues
5. Private vs Public Cloud Differentiations
   Private - 100% control of your data, how it is controlled and how it used, availability can be interrupted (maintenance or patching, for example) unless planned around.
   Public - limited customization capabilities, typical availability
6. Compliance & HIPAA - partnering with a vendor with ongoing knowledge and certifications to serve industries dealing with compliance and privacy safeguards and concerns.
7. Business Verticals that might benefit more than other markets from a move to the Cloud (under non- or post-Pandemic circumstances):
   - businesses with Cloud-based phone systems, heavy file share usage in the Cloud, businesses that have a lot of remote workers
   - local government organizations - lots of field workers and groups of users
   - healthcare organizations - multiple locations, potentially easier compliance issues, mobile medicine/virtual visits.
8. Proactive Partnership
   Sitting down on a regular basis with your technology provider, proactively planning your technology path will yield you the most harmonious business/IT results.
9. Project Costs for Moving To The Cloud and Training Basics
   - Licensing for Cloud resources (moving from on-premises to Cloud licensing)
   - Labor for migrating your data
   - Coordination and training planning
10. "Train the Trainer"
    - Train "superusers" among departments and groups of users to help your end-users.
    - Great preparation can help hedge off problems before they start.
    - Office 365 Training Resources - check our YouTube channel for great videos.  Be on the lookout for mini-topics coming soon!

Watch the entire Ask The Experts Event here. If you haven't already, join our Fort Worth IT Professionals Group on LinkedIn here.  If you have a colleague that is considering a move to the Cloud, feel free to share this article.