Whether you’re in the process of moving your systems and applications to the cloud or simply planning to do so in the future, security is one of the most important considerations that you need to make before doing so. Whether you’re considering moving existing systems or developing new ones from scratch, it’s important to take some steps that will ensure that your data will be secure throughout this process. Here are 10 tips on how to help with secure cloud migration.
1) Define Your Cloud Strategy
The first step in migrating to the cloud is to identify what your strategies are. Once you know that, you can decide which type of cloud will work best for you and then choose the provider. A key consideration is choosing between IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) and PaaS (Platform as a Service). If your goal is to simply offload storage or processing power, IaaS might be right for you. However, if your goal includes developing software or offering services to customers, PaaS might be right.
Another consideration is whether you want to host the system yourself or lease it from a service provider.
2) Move Towards Self-Service IT
Many organizations are moving towards self-service IT by using public cloud services. The primary benefit of this is that you get to choose the level of service and security you want without having to rely on IT staff. However, there are some things that you need to take into account when migrating your data.
Also, Make sure that the cloud provider has been audited by an independent third party. Get a clear understanding of the level of security offered by the provider so that you can compare it with what your current system offers. Compare costs between different providers and choose one that fits within your budget.
3) Audit Your Existing Data Before Migrating
Start by performing an audit of your existing data before migrating. Is there any sensitive information on the drive? Is it encrypted? If not, you should encrypt it. After that, determine what data to migrate—is it just files or are you looking to move all of your business systems, like email and other applications? If so, will the new provider be able to accommodate all of these needs? You may need to go with multiple providers if they cannot. You’ll also want to look into how long this process would take. Do you have time constraints? Make sure to consider backup time as well. Lastly, make sure everything is accounted for; in case anything goes wrong during the migration, you’ll want a way to access your old system again until the problem is fixed.
4) Pick an Experienced Provider
Choosing an experienced provider can make all the difference when it comes to migrating your company’s data to the cloud. Your decision will be one of the most important decisions you will ever make as CEO, and not only is hiring a team that you trust paramount but so is selecting an experienced service provider to help you with your migration. A trusted partner can help ensure that you have the best chance possible at having a successful project and achieving your goals in this area.
5) Assess Customer Satisfaction Rates
Assessing customer satisfaction is the first step to creating an effective plan. It’s important to ask clients what their expectations were and what they think about the service now. With this information, you can gauge your success in meeting these expectations. The information gleaned from this exercise will help you determine whether or not your current strategy is working and where you need to make adjustments. Customers are more likely to stay with a company if it provides reliable services that meet their needs.
6) Know Who Owns Your Data
There are many factors that go into deciding whether or not to migrate from on-premises to the cloud. The main factor is data ownership, which is determined by how the organization’s data is accessed and processed.
If an organization has all its data stored locally and does not process any of it in the cloud, then they are considered an On-Premise organization. If some of the data is stored locally but other parts of it are accessed or processed in the cloud, then they would be considered a Hybrid organization.
7) Keep an Eye on Costs, Not Just Savings
Migrating to the cloud can be expensive. It is important to consider not just savings, but also the cost of migrating all your data and applications. If you don’t have enough money to start with, then you may not be able to afford it in the long term either. If this happens, then you’ll end up back where you started. Remember that the cloud is not perfect: it’s just as likely that your data will become corrupted as it would on a physical server. So before making a decision about migrating over to the cloud, make sure that you fully understand what risks are involved with doing so and how much they’re going to cost both now and in the future.
8) Choose a Single Vendor Approach
It’s important to find the right vendor with the right experience and security capabilities. For example, your email service provider might not be the best choice to store your data. You should also consider how you’ll migrate all of your data, as well as how much money you’re willing to spend on this endeavor. You’ll want a solution that will give you enough flexibility while still making the migration process easier than it would be if you were doing it all on your own. Software-as-a-service is ideal because it eliminates most of the infrastructure worries so you can focus on migrating everything else.
9) The Right Tools Are Important
You will want to make sure you have the right tools in place before moving your business to the cloud. Tools that are important include password managers, antivirus software, and encryption programs. You will also want to make sure that you follow best practices when installing and using your new tools. For example, you should never forget your password or leave yourself logged into a site on an open computer. It is also important to back up any data and store it offline so that it is not accessible from your personal device.
10) Have Regular Compliance Reviews
Companies have to have regular compliance reviews of their network security, servers, and data. This can often be done by hiring an outside company to do the checkups. However, when it comes time to migrate there’s only one way to be sure that you’re complying with regulations: by doing the migration yourself. This way you know exactly what’s happening with your data, who has access, and what every step entails. If you don’t feel like you’re capable of making all these decisions on your own, then outsourcing is probably the better option.
Conclusion
Migrating to the cloud is not a difficult process, but it does take time and preparation. To ensure your migration goes as smoothly as possible, these are 10 tips that will help you prepare, migrate, and protect your data. Make sure to find out what type of information you’re transferring and how sensitive the data is.