Get your head out the clouds and into where your startup will truly flourish!
Today, cloud computing is more popular than ever. With the evolution of hardware and software delivery in areas such as storage, email, spreadsheets, and documents, cloud computing has provided a wide range of fresh opportunities for startups.
Overall, startup productivity has increased because cloud computing has given entrepreneurs time and money saving resources. With newly freed time and money, startups have been able to concentrate on other meaningful projects.
While these are the positives of using a cloud service solution, there are several tips we can talk about to ensure your startup begins on the right path to cloud integration. Let’s take a look at five:
1. The Basic Research
Take your time in order to look for the service that’ll best suit your business’s needs. Tap your network and see what trusted resources they are already using. Ask your contacts what they’ve found specifically most beneficial about their cloud service provider.
Also remember, to ask them the cons. Going in, you’re going to need to know the good, the bad, and the ugly.
2. Learning Curve
As you’ve done the research based on your network contacts, then begin to find out what each service will entail when it comes to incorporating it with your startup.
Some cloud services require users to learn new tools specific to their platform or they assume that your team already is familiar with cloud service software protocols. In addition, some require that users be connected online in order for it to work while others allow offline edits that are updated once the user reconnects.
Think long and hard about what your needs will be in this area before committing to a software provider.
3. Security
You’ll undoubtedly have sensitive material in the cloud whether it’s your own intellectual property or private customer information so look closely at your options’ security policies.
This means making sure that their actual servers are physically protected from intruders, extreme weather, and other peripheral physical damage. In addition, the grounds holding your data should have round the clock security and surveillance 365 days of the year in addition to software controls (anti-virus, anti-spam etc).
Also make sure you know how they go about data recovery in case of data breach or physical damage.
4. Actual Cost
What’s the bottom line in terms of cost to your startup? Make sure you know the final price before signing any paperwork. Hidden fees or features at additional costs should be researched by you before any agreement is made so remember to do your homework here as your startup budget is precious business.
5. Migration and Procedures
How is your startup going to migrate your data to the cloud? Know this beforehand as you may or may not have the resources immediately available to do this properly.
Also, who in your startup will have access to your data once it’s in the cloud? You’ll want to think about which personnel will have access to what company information as well as what machines and devices the cloud will be accessed from.
Cloud services can provide new and financially rewarding solutions for startups so remember to get in there and do the proper research when it comes to choosing the solution that’s best for your startup.
Choosing the right cloud service solution may very well be the best decision you’re going to make this year.
