Focus Experts Briefing: 5 Things SMBs Should Consider Before Moving to the Cloud

February 7, 2011 topics: best practices small business expert content SMBs information technology cloud computing

Focus Research 2011

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Focus Experts Briefing: 5 Things SMBs Should Consider Before Moving to the Cloud
What are the 5 things every SMB owner should consider before moving to the cloud? February 7, 2011 by Andrew Baker, Fred Blauer, Nathan Fultz, Ken Krogue, Dennis Morgan topics: best practices small business expert content SMBs information technology cloud computing

Executive Summary This brief was inspired by a question posed on Focus.com: What are the 5 things that every SMB should ask itself when deciding whether or not to move into the cloud? As an Internet-based delivery model for IT services, cloud computing offers a location-independent way to share software, data and resources. Its an attractive option for many enterprises thats been gaining slow but steady momentum over the past few years. However, enterprises have not rushed to embrace cloud computing en masse as The Next Big Thing, so its no surprise that many SMBs are unsure about adoption as well. The question resonated with a number of other Focus Experts, who offered their laundry lists of precautions and practical advice for launching a cloud initiative. After reading this guide, be sure to check out the entire discussion and join the conversation: http://www.focus.com/questions/information-technology/what-are-5-things-every-smb-owner-should-ask-going-cloud/.

Expert Advice 1. Question the impact on your organization. 2. Question the capabilities of your existing technology. 3. Question the security of your data. 4. Question the level of control youll have over your environments. 5. Question the learning curve and overall TCO.

Focus Experts Briefing: 5 Questions for SMBs Considering Cloud Computing

Focus Research 2011

Focus Experts Briefing: 5 Things SMBs Should Consider Before Moving to the Cloud
What are the 5 things every SMB owner should consider before moving to the cloud?

1. Question the impact on your organization.

How will this move help me reach my business goals? (Fultz) What part of our business/operations makes sense for us to put into the cloud? (Baker) Who do I have on staff that can manage this process? (Fultz) Will this move free-up personnel resources to work on more business critical project? (Fultz) What impact will this have on my industry or regulatory compliance obligations? (Baker)

2. Question the capabilities of your existing technology.

Does my technology-before-the-cloud (on-premise workstation hardware, Internet provider, telecom/phone/PBX solution, Web/database servers/hosting company) meet the demands an SaaS solution will require? (Krogue) Will the Applications migrate smoothly? What is required to re-architect my app(s)? (Morgan) What part of my infrastructure makes the most sense to move? (Fultz) Are there cloud-based resources I can leverage right now that dont require going to an additional vendor? (Krogue)

3. Question the security of your data.

What is involved with switching vendors or retrieving my full data set if I want? (Baker) How long will the vendor retain my data, even if I am done with them? (Baker) Who is responsible for the backups? (Blauer) What happens if the cloud provider goes out of business or disappears? (Blauer)

4. Question the level of control youll have over your environments.

What control do I have over the environment? (Blauer) How much control will I have over the vendors upgrade schedules, and what will it mean for the integration with the other portions of my business? (Baker) What if I need to do customizations? (Blauer)

5. Question the learning curve and overall TCO.

What is the TCO (total cost of ownership)? (Morgan) How long are the current prices locked in for? (Blauer) What are the learning curve and education costs? Are they built into the TCO? (Morgan) Have I really taken a hard look at the long-term impact and costs over the life of usage? (Training, implementation, data backup and retrieval, management, and of course licensing.) (Krogue) Am I prepared to accept that theres going to be a learning curve? I.e., just because its in the cloud, doesnt mean I can flip the switch and everythings exactly what I want/need. (Krogue) What are the hidden costs? Migration cost, data transfer rates, snapshots, back-up, etc. (Fultz)

Focus Experts Briefing: 5 Questions for SMBs Considering Cloud Computing

Focus Research 2011

Contributing Experts

Andrew Baker

Director, Service Operations, SWN Communications Inc. www.focus.com/profiles/andrew-baker/public/

Fred Blauer

CEO, CFO, VP, Director, Fred Blauer and Associates www.focus.com/profiles/fred-blauer/public/

Nathan Fultz

Director of Sales, Profitability.net www.focus.com/profiles/nathan-fultz/public/

Ken Krogue

President, InsideSales.com www.focus.com/profiles/ken-krogue-1/public/

Dennis Morgan

Chief Information Architect, dkmorgan19xx www.focus.com/profiles/dennis-morgan-2/public/

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Focus Experts Briefing: 5 Questions for SMBs Considering Cloud Computing

Focus Research 2011