Questions to ask before moving to the cloud

Adopting a cloud-based productivity solution can be extremely beneficial for your business, but transitioning to the cloud is also a significant challenge. As such, it’s essential for you to ask several questions of both yourself and your vendor to ensure you fully understand the service and the implementation process.

Here are some of the things to consider before making the move to the cloud.

Ask yourself:

• What are my business objectives?

In order choose the right solution, you need to establish the specific goals of your company. CIO advises to think about the reasons why you want to adopt cloud software, how important they are to the overall success of your business, and what resources you are willing to dedicate to this investment.

• What are my current requirements?

Businesses can have a wide range of different needs from their software. Assess the requirements that your company has at present, and whether your proposed solution will be able to meet them.

• What are my long-term needs?

Similarly, think about the needs that your business may have in the long term. As an organisation grows, it will demand new capabilities from its cloud solution. Will your software be able to accommodate your requirements in the future?

Check that the vendor will adequately protect your data.

Ask the vendor:

• How will my information be protected?

Your information is one of your most important assets, and thus you should ensure it will be kept secure. A good cloud provider will have a security system and extensive encryption, so that the data it hosts will always be safe from cyberthreats.

• How is my data stored?

The way your information is stored is vital. Make sure that the vendor will be compliant to the laws of your country, most likely by storing the data locally. Likewise, the vendor can maintain continuity by backing up the data in multiple remote locations for redundancy.

• Are there disaster recovery measures in place?

No matter how secure the system, there is always the potential for disaster to occur. Consequently, you need to find out if the provider has a plan in place to protect your information if there is a service outage or similar issue.

Once you know the answers to these questions, you will have a much better understanding of the needs of your business and what the vendor can offer you. Being well informed is the key to unlocking the value from your recruitment software, and ensuring that you will continue to benefit from your cloud investment in the future.