Barriers to adopting cloud computing: Can your business overcome them with confidence?

Some organizations are still skeptical about migrating all of their data and implementing cloud services. In some ways, the term “cloud computing” is unfortunate, as the word “cloud” doesn’t conjure up images of security, or an impenetrable vault.

But it may help to remember that “cloud computing” is more of a rebranding than it is a new concept. Network computing – which is cloud computing – has been around for decades. Using the internet is taking advantage of cloud computing – and “the Cloud” really exists in a variety of highly secure data centers across the United States and the world, mostly in locations which have access to reliable and affordable power and networking.  The terminology shift began as more applications were being transferred to the cloud.

Understanding that is the first step to overcoming barriers to cloud adoption. Here are some other barriers we find in our discussions with organizations of all sizes:

Migrating all of your data is a big task, and a big change

Migrating a high volume of data is a big job. It’s even more difficult if you have an older legacy system to move into the cloud environment, depending on how it’s written. There’s a lot to think through, but it’s not much different than any technology or application modernization project.  Plus, staying with legacy systems is becoming less and less tenable with the evolution of technologies and employee skill sets.

Critical to success is a credible assessment of what resources you expend now versus after cloud migration. Leaving your data in a physical data center requires constant patches, upgrades and other tasks that consume in-house resources (or outside expenses). In a cloud-based environment, many of these tasks are taken care of by your cloud vendor as part of their core service.

Also, you may need fewer applications – particularly “add on” applications – with your data residing in the cloud, which can help offset the costs of transitioning it there.

And, it may make sense to migrate just some of your data rather than all. Making the best decision for your organization requires you to reconcile these factors through a thorough organizational IT assessment.

Control of your data

The fear of having less control of your data once it’s in a cloud is an impediment to adoption for many organizations.

Again, this may stem, in part, from that word “cloud.” How can your data possibly be safer in the vastness of the cyber universe, rather than in tangible, metal, humming machines in your data center that you can touch and feel? 

This piece from the Crowd Credit Council actually put this barrier into a helpful perspective by likening it to air travel.

Statistically, traveling by air is safer than driving in a motor vehicle. Yet, in the driver’s seat is where the majority of us feel the safest when we travel. Notice we said “feel the safest” – we only feel safer because we have control of the vehicle.

This is what we call a cultural barrier. You are now relying on other people to secure your data; it’s not sitting in your data center anymore. Your IT department may feel like it is giving up a source of their dominion, not just by “losing” the data, but also as parts of their job that have become routine comforts associated with managing the physical infrastructure disappear.