50 Resources to help you grow your small business during the COVID-19 pandemic
On average, there are 32.5 million active businesses in the US, from which 83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by the end of 2020. Added to this, analysts project the public cloud market to reach $623.3 billion by 2023 worldwide.
With those impressive numbers, it is easy to understand why SMBs and entrepreneurs are asking the same question: should I migrate my business to the cloud?
We think that in most scenarios the answer is YES. However, there’s still a small chance that your businesses wouldn’t benefit from moving to the cloud.
To find that out, we built this complete guide to understanding what cloud migration is, how it works and what are the best practices to ensure a frictionless transition.
What does migrating my business to the cloud mean?
When you migrate your business to the cloud, you are moving your business’s data, applications and/or other business elements to a cloud computing environment, making it possible to access all your information and tools from wherever and whenever your teams need it.
According to Margaret Rouse from TechTarget, there are 3 most common types of cloud migration:
- The transference of data and application from a local (on-premise) data center to the public cloud.
- The transference of data and applications from one cloud platform or provider to another (Cloud-to-Cloud migration).
- The transference of data and applications from the cloud to an on-premise data center (reverse cloud migration or de-clouding).
Cloud versus On-Premise
There are several components of your business that can be migrated to the cloud but there are two main components that are worth considering before making any decision: data centers and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
Not every company needs an on-premise data center, nor a cloud ERP system.
So before jumping on the cloud migration joyride, let’s analyze the benefits of both.
What is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system?
According to Oracle, an enterprise resource planning system “refers to a type of software that organizations use to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management, and compliance, and supply chain operations”.
Features to Look for in an ERP System by hashmicro.com
In addition, an ERP suite should have an enterprise performance management software, to help your company:
- Plan
- Budget
- Predict
- And report
On your organization’s financial results.
Do I need a Cloud ERP or an On-Premise ERP?
Most companies are choosing to deploy their ERP system to the cloud, instead of having it on-premise as it was the norm in the industry.
To better understand the difference between the two, we talked to Fernando Campos, COO at DigisoftCloud, about the value that each brings to the table:
“A cloud-based ERP system is hosted remotely. What this means is that a company that specializes in hosting data and software is responsible for all servers to be up-to-date, all connections are always up and running, and the anti-virus software is up to date and secure”.
Fernando considers that scalability, security, and cost-effectiveness are the core benefits of using a cloud-based ERP system.
“Due to the economies of scale, it is much more cost-effective to hire a hosting company than to buy top of the line servers, anti-virus software, multiple backup locations, and everything else needed to maintain your company’s infrastructure.
This way is actually more secure than an on-premise ERP software because a hosting company will have constant monitoring in the event of a hiccup. Ongoing IT costs is a primary benefit”.
On the other hand, an on-premise ERP system is hosted on a server in-house. In order to host the software, businesses are required to have an up-to-date server, server licensing, and a reputable user-friendly antivirus program.
“On-site can potentially be a great option to have, however, this means that the IT infrastructure within the business has to be up to date, reliable, and must have an IT staff on board to help manage and monitor the environment.
If one computer is vulnerable, it could potentially disrupt access to the business ERP software.
So, while on-premise might be the right move for some businesses that need to keep all of their data in-house, it can be limiting to those who don’t need that level of data isolation”.
Cloud ERP vs On-premise ERP comparison table
In the end, only you can decide whether cloud or on-premise ERP is the right for your business, but to make the process as easy as possible, here’s a side by side comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each:
| Cloud ERP | On-premise ERP |
| 1 – Predictable costs over time | 1 – Reduce the initial price of the system |
| 2 – Cheaper upfront investment | 2 – Data security in the hands of your organization |
| 3 – No additional hardware investment | 3 – Greater ability to customize |
| 4 – Data security in the hands of the vendor | 4 – The organization has more control over the implementation process |
| 5 – Offer greater stability and continuous updates from the vendor as a result of less customization | |
| 6 – Organizations can work with vendors to see what changes can be made | |
| 7 – Takes less time to implement (in most cases) | |
| 1 – While vendors have strict data security standards, some organizations might not have total peace of mind with this arrangement | 1 – Upfront investment can be seen as riskier |
| 2 – Less customizable in general | 2 – Have to pay associated hardware and IT costs |
| 3 – Shorter implementation time largely a result of less customization | 3 – Data security is in the hands of the organization, relying on their own expertise |
| 4 – Customizations can delay implementation time | |
| 5 – Customizations can result in headaches when the vendor updates the software |
If you need a more in-depth analysis, our friends at SoftwareAdvice.com made this comprehensive article about the topic, and we loved it.
Should I use the cloud or an on-premise data center?
In recent years, a lot of companies moved their data to the cloud but in recent years, most organizations are seeing the benefits of adopting a hybrid approach.
When it comes to data storage, your organization needs to focus on capacity, scalability, security, accessibility, and costs.
The main difference between the two is that an on-premise data center is quite a huge up-front investment for your company, as you need the proper hardware, software, and team to maintain it.
Alternatively, a cloud storage service uses the data center built by the vendor. Therefore, all overhead costs and the different services needed to maintain the premises are taken care of by the vendor. Making it a much easier solution and, in most cases, cheaper.
So you should always go cloud then, right?
Not exactly.
As our friends at Riverside Technologies puts it:
“Organizations who have their own data center are in control of their environment’s security, capacity, and performance. For these reasons, organizations that need high availability, require higher levels of performance, run mission-critical applications, or have strict compliance requirements may be better off with their own data center”.
Just like before, it all depends on your business’s needs, budget, and planning.
Companies around the world are also taking a hybrid approach, where their most confidential data is stored in their on-premise data center, while the less confidential information is cloud-based stored.
This approach combines the data isolation needed to keep critical information at full control of your company, while also keeping the accessibility and scalability of a cloud service.
To help you understand this approach, here are 5 reasons to adopt hybrid cloud storage (PDF).
Benefits of moving your business to the cloud
In their press release from November 2019, Gartner estimated that the public cloud market is going to reach a total of $266.4 billion (17% growth) by the end of 2020.
Likewise, a LogicMonitor’s survey is predicting that 83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by the end of the same year.
The trend seems to be for businesses of all sizes to move to the cloud but, like with any other trend, you need to understand why this is happening and whether it is or not the right move for your company.
Here are 12 benefits of moving your business to the cloud in 2020:
- Your data can be recovered in case of disasters.
- Your service can scale up and down depending on real-time demand.
- Your team can access their data and tools from anywhere and whenever.
- All your IT infrastructure is protected by experts in the field.
- It lowers your maintenance and managing costs.
- Most cloud services have built-in monitoring for automatic tracking.
- Keep all your applications and files in a centralized location, improving team collaboration and execution on deliverables.
- All changes are saved and sync in real-time.
- Increase your budget cash flow.
- It’s easier to set-up than an on-premise server or hardware.
- You can grow your business without being physically present on the market.
- All software updates, settings and changes are taken care of for you.
1 – Your data can be recovered in case of disasters
Unlike on-premise data centers, most vendors – and that’s the case of Digisoft Cloud as well – have a disaster recovery plan. Using a Cloud Disaster Recovery system, all your data is backed-up on a provision cloud server, making it easy to designate, update and scale the service as you go.
Meaning that you don’t need to pay for unused storage or keep an eye on infrastructure maintenance.
2 – Your service can scale up and down depending on real-time demand
A perk that can not be ignored is the capacity to upscale or downscale your service as you need. When you have an on-premise server, your capacity depends on the hardware you got in place.
But when using the cloud, you enjoy the flexibility of increasing the space and server power as you go. Avoiding downtimes and being prepared for traffic peaks.
At the same time, you save money as you don’t need to pay more for storage and services that you are not using.
3 – Your team can access their data and tools from anywhere and whenever
In the times we live in, accessibility and portability are key elements for any business looking to scale quickly and smoothly.
When all your core business elements are on the cloud, you are giving your employees the flexibility they need to keep at the top of their game.
According to a survey ran by TalentLMS, “the number of companies (as for 2019) with a remote workforce is getting bigger – 66% of companies allow remote work and 16% are fully remote”.
One of the biggest issues when trying to build fully remote teams – or collaborate with remote workers in general – is the fact that each person, outside of the office, has different operating systems and different access levels to tooling.
To end this problem we built H3O Cloud.
In essence, we created a cloud-based version of your desktop, creating a fully functional environment that anyone in your team can access from any device and anywhere.
4 – All your IT infrastructure is protected by experts in the field
Your IT team has many things in mind when it comes to your business. Not only your data and infrastructure but in most cases your IT team will also run your product (in the case of tech companies for example) and keep pushing innovations while monitoring the state of your network.
When you migrate to the cloud, you can ease workloads from your team as cloud service vendors have specialized experts on the field, whose only work is to keep your systems up and running.
In addition, you’ll have top-notch customer support and the flexibility to do changes faster.
Note: your on-premise server can be as safer or even more than a cloud service. This benefit could apply especially for companies with small IT teams, non-tech savvy organizations, and teams that want to outsource the security-side of their workload.
On that note, here’s a Myth-Busting article about it =)
5 – It lowers your maintenance and managing costs
I think this is one of the most recurrent benefits that come up when talking about cloud migration. Still, it’s true.
Here are seven ways cloud computing can save you money but let us focus on the two major factors:
- Hardware and maintenance. When using a cloud vendor, you’re outsourcing hardware, professionals and even software. Meaning that overhead costs will be covered by the vendor instead of your budget.
- Capital investment. One of the problems – if you consider a problem – from on-premise servers, is the upfront investment that is needed to start. Of course, in the long-run, you should be getting a return on the investment but you’ll still need to invest in a team that keeps software updated, backup plan services, maintenance of the hardware and so on.
6 – Most cloud services have built-in monitoring for automatic tracking
This is a key element that any vendor you make a deal with needs to place in the process.
At Digisoft Cloud is a priority to give you the tools to easily access the information you need and when you need it.
With built-in monitoring, you’ll get notified in real-time when an issue comes up or when something needs attention urgently.
By automatizing this process, you don’t need to be on top of your systems 24/7. Instead, the system itself we’ll make sure to inform of needs, results and other KPIs.
7 – Keep all your applications and files in a centralized location, improving team collaboration and execution on deliverables
Team collaboration is quite tricky. As a business owner, you need to create a system that allows your team to communicate, share files and work on projects together, without slowing down processes or losing information along the way.
This is when the Cloud comes in hand.
With a centralized system to which everyone can access and work together in real-time, your team can be at the top of their game without wasting time in email back and forwards, waiting for files to be updated or moving to one side of the company to another.
Speeding processes, easing collaboration and, overall, boosting productivity.
8 – All changes are saved and sync in real-time
In the same order of ideas, when you modify a file within your cloud, it syncs automatically through all the systems. Meaning that you are always working on the last version in existence.
9 – Increase your budget cash flow
As a business owner, one of your top concerns is how to invest your capital in the right places so your business can scale. This means that investing efficiently is a skill that you need to develop as the CEO of your team.
The good news is that when you migrate your business to the cloud – if done correctly – will be a reduction in cost and, therefore, an increase in the cash flow of your company, giving you more room to breathe and invest in other areas as needed.
10 – It’s easier to set-up than an on-premise server or hardware
Set-up times are an important aspect to take into account when deciding whether or not to go to the cloud.
In Digisoft Cloud, we count with 7 pre-designed cloud packages that make super easy and fast to deploy your systems into the cloud, and that you can combine at any given moment.
Add image
This is the flexibility a cloud-based system can bring to your company.
11 – You can grow your business without being physically present on the market.
In simple words, having a cloud-based infrastructure lets you be wherever the internet goes and turn down every wall in the way.
An example of this is the hundreds of eCommerce businesses that operate in remote places but now have the ability to reach the US market or vice versa.
12 – All software updates, settings and changes are taken care of for you
And we mean it.
These are tasks that can easily stack up to one another, slowing down your system or even creating critical issues within it.
All it takes is for someone to forget to update software or renew a license, and boom! Chaos!
But when you work with a cloud provider, you can concentrate on what’s important while we take care of all those details that are important but shouldn’t be at the top of your mind, all the time.
How to successfully move your business to the cloud
By now, you should understand what is a cloud migration and the main reason you should be moving your business to the cloud.
But before we jump into the process, we want to make a little disclaimer here.
You do not need to migrate to the cloud to have a successful business, neither all businesses should move to the cloud.
The ultimate choice needs to come from the market you want to reach, your product or service, budget and business needs.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
How to successfully move your business to the cloud by yourself
On this topic, Digisoft Cloud’s CEO, Emmanuel Hendricks, said:
“The Client has to set a good IT consultation with a trusted cloud vendor and together build a scope of work and plan for everything that needs to be migrated to the cloud. Searching for an expert opinion is key for a frictionless migration. It’s a daunting task for sure, but once it’s planned accordingly, it can easily be executed.
During the process, build in milestones, where it would be possible to stop the migration process in the event phasing is needed”.
Then added:
“Of course hiring experienced engineers is a must. Migration problems arise all the time and the right engineers will help expedite the migration and keep it moving efficiently. An engineer will always make a backup in the event something goes wrong during the migration process, helping eliminate all points of failure”.
Key elements of a cloud migration plan
If you’re still thinking about taking the do it yourself road, here are the key elements your team needs to have in place before starting.
- Have your cloud migration team come up with a strategy
- Determine and identify the right applications
- Partner with the right cloud provider
- Maintain continuity and data integrity at all times
- Make sure the cloud provider has a robust and proven methodology to address every aspect of the migration process
All check? Then you are ready to move forward.
However, if you are still not sure what do you want to do, it’s time to ask ourselves:
Why should I hire a cloud migration company?
Unless you are a tech-savvy CEO or you get the right team in place for the task, you’ll soon realize the number of man-hours, tools and overhead costs taking the process into your hands represent.
“Cloud migration is a huge data risk scenario. If planned poorly, you put your company at risk by losing data, files, apps or client proprietary information that can be a huge detriment to your business and clients.
An experienced cloud migration company is held accountable from day one, to make this migration and transition to the cloud seamless, secure and operational”.
Emmanuel Hendricks, CEO at Digisoft Cloud
That’s why we make sure that all of our engineers guide you through every step of the way during the migrating process, with the mindset of giving you an open, faster and, of course, more secure and reliable way in the cloud.
Here’s the exact road map we follow to give you the best cloud migration experience as possible.
How to prepare a cloud migration process for success (Infographic)
Are you ready to migrate?
Phone numbers: (702) 781 8283
How much cloud migration cost?
To calculate cloud migration costs you need to consider the following aspects:
- Storage size
- Hours invested in the process
- Number of users
- Amount of data and applications
- Do you need to personalize services or want to develop something new?
Nevertheless, we try to make it simpler and keep costs down.
Thanks to our cloud packages, we are able to charge $0 to set you up with our cloud services.
So yes, you can get free cloud migration services with us.
“The cloud is meant to empower businesses and we stand by this belief. We created a suite of services that in combination create a fully functional cloud-based environment for any business or that can use individually to use what your team actually needs.
By creating these out-of-the-box solutions, we’re able to save our clients hundreds of dollars in migration, and speed-up deployment time”.
Fernando Campos – COO at Digisoft Cloud
By creating these out-of-the-box solutions, we’re able to save our clients hundreds of dollars in migration, and speed-up deployment time”.
So, should you move to the cloud?
We think it is safe to say: yes, you should move your business to the cloud – but only if it makes sense with your goals, core business values, and budget.
However… is our vision biased?
Here are the words of two great professionals that have seen great success using cloud-based services and their thoughts about it.
“When it comes to digital tools, I’m trying to reduce their number as much as possible. Less is better. Using too many tools can be distracting and you’ll end up wasting time on planning or managing projects instead of doing the actual work.
However, I’m using a few tools that are quite helpful: (…) Google docs, Coda.io, Timely, Click-Up, Slack and last but not least, Shield App.
That being said, I’d like to highlight again that it’s super important to find a few yet good digital tools and avoid scattering your projects around by using too many apps or platforms.
You must understand very well the value of every single tool you’re using plus the solutions it provides. And if it doesn’t serve your needs, you should definitely cancel your subscription or just close your account”.
This is the exact road we took when designing our cloud services.
Making it easy for you and your team to work seamlessly in one environment with all the tooling and functionalities you’ll ever need to manage, collaborate and grow your business internationally.
Book & Social Media Ghostwriter
“The cloud is both a way of getting things done, and a way to make money. It’s entertainment, and socialization. A way to change others, and a tool you can use to change yourself.
I can create more, faster with more people than ever before. But I’m less likely to be involved in a single organization and feel camaraderie with a committed team. Regarding making money: I can make more, faster, in the most surprising ways”.
And now the ball is on your side, will you be migrating your business to the cloud or is on-premise a better solution for you?
Leave your answer in the comments with your reasoning.
We really want to understand your needs and goals. So if you have any questions leave in there as well, we’ll make sure to answer it the best we can.
Ready to migrate?
Phone numbers: (702) 781 8283
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