Cloud Technology

3 Top Cloud Migration Fears and How Working with a CSP Can Help

By Darryl Mitchell / Jan 02, 2019

There’s no getting around it: the “cloud” can be controversial. I hear the doubts and concerns all the time when speaking with potential customers. Questions like “is my data secure?” and “what will my staff do if we’re not manually managing systems?” come up daily. These sorts of concerns are psychological barriers to the cloud, and I believe they can be summed up in three categories: fear of change, fear of becoming irrelevant, and a fundamental mistrust in cloud migration.

Fear #1: Change

It’s no secret that people don’t like change. Whether it’s a someone who has been using the same Outlook version and profile since 2007, or an IT admin who has carefully built and configured a homegrown line-of-business application, people generally operate by the rule “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

This mentality gets in the way of realizing the benefits the cloud has to offer. Working with a cloud services partner like AppSmart allows you to see what the cloud can bring to your business and also ensures a smooth transition. As a cloud-focused engineer, I have significant experience with the problems that organizations face when trying to migrate to the cloud on their own. This experience allows me and my team to bypass common do-it-yourself issues, ensuring a fast, problem-free deployment and saving you time and frustration.

Fear #2: Becoming irrelevant

On the opposite end of that spectrum, some see the benefits of moving to the cloud as being a potential path to irrelevancy. This could be the case with members of your IT staff who are concerned the cloud and/or working with a cloud services partner will negate the need for their role in the organization. It’s important to remember that we’re simply a strategic extension of your IT team, not a replacement.

All of AppSmart’s Solution Engineers have spent time in both administrative and support roles with various other organizations. That experience, combined with experience from hundreds of successful migrations, allows us to forge relationships with our customers where we help them make decisions that may not even be directly related to the products we’re selling.

Fear #3: Mistrust

Finally, one of the biggest and most obvious objections that users and IT staff raise about moving to the cloud is that of trustworthiness. If your data doesn’t live on servers you’ve purchased and owned, then do you still own that data? Is it safe from prying eyes? The answer to both questions is “yes”. Both Google and Microsoft have very comprehensive documentation focused on answering these two questions and many more that arise from the concern that they are not trustworthy.

Psychological barriers are part of any company’s transition to the cloud. As a partner, my team and I are here to answer your questions and alleviate your fears so that you can focus on transforming and growing a successful business. At AppSmart, we believe in continuous improvement, also known as “kaizen”. Organizations around the world are using the cloud to operate more efficiently and, therefore, improve continuously. If you haven’t already, it’s time to join them.