F E A T U R E
Simon Yeoman , CEO , Fasthosts
from losing critical data and allows them to revert to an earlier version of their system if something goes wrong .
• Decide business operations during migration : The plan must factor in maintenance breaks to check the security and performance at convenient times . Scheduling these breaks means minimising overall disruption to their operations and customers . For example , an e-commerce business may plan employee training for its new cloud system in line with off-peak customer shopping hours .
• Testing and monitoring : A successful migration plan needs both , with testing
taking place before and after , and underlying monitoring throughout .
How to know when migration is right
Making the switch is not an easy decision . Again , there are four boxes a business should look for its IT infrastructure provider to tick before contemplating a move .
• Is the provider there when needed ? Reliable round-the-clock customer support is crucial for addressing any issues that arise before , during and after a switch . For businesses with small IT departments or limited resources , this external support offers reliable infrastructure management without needing an extensive in-house team .
• Uptime guarantees and Service Level Agreements ( SLAs ): Prioritise service providers outlining compensation for downtime , such as Uptime Institute ’ s Tier 4 classification . Businesses should opt for partners certified as fully fault-tolerant , highly resilient and guaranteeing an uptime of 99.9 %. This protects the business ’ crucial IT systems , keeping them operational despite disruptive activity such as a cyberattack , failing components or unexpected outages .
• Robust security measures : Check if the provider has measures in place to protect the business ’ s IT environment and customer data , such as patch management . This can help to resolve software bugs and boost system stability and performance .
• Can the provider accommodate growth ? Any business set on scaling needs to ensure its IT service provider can expand with it . This means supporting growth in traffic and data storage needs . Partnering with a provider that understands the business ’ s growth plans helps the IT infrastructure scale efficiently and reliably , matching the company ’ s objectives . And as a business grows , so too does its vulnerability to security risks and regulatory requirements . Therefore a diligent IT provider can guide a business in adapting to these changes , keeping their infrastructure secure and compliant .
Feeling the fear and doing it anyway
Trustworthy IT services are nonnegotiable yet fear of downtime holds businesses back . So , instead , they sit in limbo , afraid of losing revenue or aggravating customers – even though they see the potential benefits of exploring new IT options .
However , businesses can ’ t be ruled by this fear . They need to establish a balance between minimising the potential risks with exploring new possibilities .
By creating a thorough migration plan and vetting providers extensively , businesses can make the switch safely and unlock their performance potential . �
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