Cloud adoption and migration continues to be a top trend in the enterprise space, with global revenue expected to reach $411 billion by the end of 2020. Companies across all vertical markets are abandoning legacy technologies in favor cloud-based infrastructure, platforms, software, and functions. This is particularly true during the COVID-19 pandemic, as businesses are seeking remote work-friendly solutions.
Now that moving to the cloud is more necessary than ever, companies often want to know if cloud adoption is easy. The short answer is that it can be completely seamless—if the right provider is selected and proper planning and care is taken throughout the deployment and management process.
That said, here are three tips that enterprises should consider to ensure a smooth cloud communications migration:
Conduct An Application Assessment
Before you start migrating the company to an official cloud-based unified communication as a service (UCaaS) solution, your first step should be to figure out what systems you already have in place. It’s entirely possible that your branch locations are using different communications services for voice, video, chat, and fax. Make a master list, and chart all these services so that you can have a sense of what you’re replacing before you make any changes. You might find that some services are working in certain locations, and would be better left alone for now.
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This is also a good time to consider the features and capabilities you really need to work effectively from home, and seek out a provider who can offer you those tools quickly and seamlessly. Even if you aren’t ready for a full-scale migration right now, you should still be able to get the solutions you need.
Form A Cloud Adoption Plan
When implementing a long-term plan, pacing is an important consideration when migrating your communications system to the cloud. It can be hard to understand whether you’re moving too fast or slow.
The truth is that every company has its own timeline for moving to the cloud. In some cases, moving services to the cloud can happen very quickly. In other cases, it can take months or even years to complete the process.
Your best bet is to form a long-term cloud migration plan to help you determine all the steps towards the perfect system rollout. Round up your team, and try and get a sense of where everyone wants the company to be a year or two down the road. You may find that some departments are comfortable with the communications solutions that they’re using, and don’t have a burning need to migrate. Other parts of the enterprise may be ready to move forward immediately.
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Once you have a well thought out plan for the “perfect world” scenario, you will also be able to see places where you can accelerate your goals or make adjustments. While planning for the long term, you can also create a short term plan to get your business up and running now with remote work tools. Your provider will be able to facilitate this for the quickest rollout possible.
Be Methodical About Migration
After consulting with your team, implement small deployments in strategic areas like remote working. For example, the most common remote needs include mobile and desktop softphones, cloud-based voicemail, and business texting. These tools can be easily implemented to get your business up to speed while working from home.
You may also identify problems areas such as unplanned downtime, high monthly telecom costs, and unhappy end users. Consider rolling out a UCaaS platform for the most affected location, and then using it as an example to get all users on board. It’s easier to persuade managers and administrators to make a change when they can see an example of something that’s already working.
Posted in: Cloud Communications VOIP UCaaS Unified Communication VOIP
