Cloud-enablement services comprise of anything and everything that you might need in order to get your cloud solutions up and running. It is the process of evaluating the existing IT environment in the business, and architecting and building an effective cloud environment to allow businesses to implement IT resources. Cloud enablement typically involves implementation of new solutions, along with migration of existing servers, data, applications, desktops, and operating systems to the cloud. Instead of having to guess at what organizations need, organizations can use cloud enablement services to assist in making decisions about the best way to migrate all of their needs to the cloud.
Often, cloud enablement consulting follows a hybrid approach, requiring thorough evaluation and planning in order to minimize interruptions in the operations of businesses and to provide an ROI. Adopting a cloud-first approach to your infrastructure modules and legacy applications leads to streamlined, modern solutions and services, while also effectively breaking down silos present in legacy systems.
Cloud-enablement can be achieved by following a cloud strategy aligned with the organization’s goals and vision, by identifying appropriate cloud offerings, which defines cloud features, development processes, architecture, and governance models. For organizations looking to move their on-premises software, data, or infrastructure into the cloud, identifying – and emphasizing – the cloud enablement strategy is a critical challenge. Once an objective has been identified, it is essential to conduct a review of current state of the on-premise configuration, and also to understand challenges and obstacles that might arise in enabling applications, data, and infrastructure in cloud.
After the comprehensive evaluation, a cloud professional needs to develop the application, server, services, and data migration architecture. Generally, the assessment of cloud readiness will include an in-depth evaluation of the operations of the company, IT infrastructure, applications, and how cloud could optimize processes. It may be worth considering a cloud readiness assessment, either done on your own or by working with a managed cloud provider.
Important business benefits of cloud enablement
Cost-effectiveness
Cloud enablement brings down an organization’s capital expenditure to a considerable extent as the business is exempted from the trouble of making heavy upfront expenditure in IT facilities, utilities, buying expensive hardware and licensing. Pay-as-you-go model means the organization is only required to pay for the computing resources it requires and uses.
Scalability
Seamless scalability is another major benefit offered by cloud enablement. Additional resources are quickly provided, or for that matter scaled down as per the business demands and requirements.
Speed of Innovation
The agility to respond quickly to ever-changing market needs by continuously and quickly rolling out new products or services.
Accessibility
Easy and quick access to cloud-based applications and data anytime and from anywhere with an internet-enabled device.
High Availability
Top of the line cloud enablement services providers are known for offering highly reliable services with uptime close to nearly 100%.
What businesses are prime candidates for cloud enablement
Businesses that tend to benefit a lot from cloud enablement are:
- Businesses that quickly need to scale to meet sudden increase in network traffic
- Businesses that have aging IT-infrastructure and lack the resources or the desire to invest in expensive cutting-edge hardware.
- Businesses that do not have adequate infrastructure to store their backup data
- Businesses that desire a flexible infrastructure to quickly meet changing business demands.
For example, A global mass media publishing and entertainment company wanted to have its data center locations centered around North America and UK. It carried out a feasibility study and ultimately decided to migrate over 200 applications and 2,000 virtual machines to a cloud-based platform. It helped the company cut its total IT expenditure by over 15%.
Why it is important to have a good migration strategy
Once you have thoroughly assessed your requirements and come to a definite conclusion that a move to the cloud would be of benefit to your business, it is time to start strategizing, as it can help you find answers to questions such as:
- What exactly do you intend to achieve by migrating to the cloud.
- Any issues that might hinder your advancement
- Do you need public, private or hybrid cloud?
- What impact the transition is going to have on your architecture
- Which cloud enablement services you’ll require, and how it would be implemented.
Conclusion
Disruptions caused by the pandemic forced modern organizations to rethink about the steps they need to take to ensure business continuity. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the limitations of on-premise infrastructure. Cloud adoption has been rapidly growing as it helps organizations meet the expectations of a dispersed workforce and diverse customer base. A good cloud enablement services provider can simplify the entire process of cloud enablement for companies who wish to have a flexible and scalable operating model to remain competitive in an increasingly competitive business environment.
