Find Out If the Cloud is Right for Your Business

You want to run your business better, make better decisions, meet goals, help your team, please your customers, and be something bigger than just you.

Your needs have changed as you deal with security and compliance.
You are more reliant on complex technology and have greater risks. Business owners have become more tech aware and educated as IT is increasingly at the center of their ability to meet their goals.

At iMedia we see the cloud as a game changer to move your business forward.

How to Choose the Right Cloud Provider

Evaluate the cloud provider reputation and experience.

When selecting a cloud provider, it is important to evaluate their reputation and experience. Have they worked with other clients in your industry or with similar needs?

Understand the cloud pricing model.

It is also crucial to understand the cloud provider's pricing model. Will they charge a flat fee or is it variable based on server consumption? If your business is relatively stable in size, a flat fee service will provide a more predictable IT spend.

However, if your monthly compute needs vary, a consumption-based pricing model may be more appropriate. It is important to note that most companies fit into the fixed fee pricing model.

Pricing is established by cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure. However, if your cloud provider is not proficient at determining your unique technical needs and matching them to the appropriate Azure services, they may provide an inaccurate quote.

If your cloud provider only offers consumption-based pricing, they may not be confident in their pricing abilities. If you are paying for variable consumption, it is important to ensure that your cloud environment is not over-specified, resulting in paying for resources you do not need.

iMedia Technology typically provides fixed fee pricing for a three-year term based on your specific needs. Our approach eliminates the possibility of surprise bills and allows you to budget with confidence.

Discuss data security and compliance needs.

It is also important to discuss data security and compliance needs. Does your company need to conform to standards such as HIPAA, FINRA, DFAR, or PCI? If so, you should expect a higher fee to implement and maintain these standards. Additionally, discuss uptime requirements, as this will determine redundancy and backup criteria, which also impact costs.

Consider what happens when your IT needs change.

Over the course of a few years, your cloud needs may change due to new applications, mergers, company relocation, or increased data storage needs. It is important to plan for these changes and understand how they may impact your cloud costs.

Obtain budgetary pricing for additional storage space, increased CPU, and memory. Knowing this information ahead of time will help avoid any pricing surprises as your needs evolve.

Review cloud maintenance and customer support agreements.

Despite marketing claims that the cloud is “free”, “never breaks”, or is “maintenance-free”, business cloud technology requires ongoing maintenance and a specialized skill set.

How will you know for sure your cloud migration will work?

To ensure a successful cloud migration, your cloud provider should conduct a thorough discovery of your software needs. They should know the minimum hardware requirements for each application, actual storage used, operating system requirements, databases in place, user attributes, printers, scanners, and other peripherals used. They should also be able to identify any potential issues and provide a demo environment for testing key business applications

Before the actual cutover to the cloud environment, you should be given the opportunity to test all business applications and sign off that everything is working as expected. If you are not given this opportunity, you can expect problems, as there are always unexpected issues.

Confidently move to the cloud

If you’ve followed these steps you’re highly likely to have a successful cloud migration. At iMedia we’ve created a mature process for cloud migration that’s continually refined and improved. Reach out if you think our approach could work for you.