There is a lot to take into consideration when using cloud infrastructure for your business and moving the data is only a small part. In addition to choosing your service provider and planning migration, you also need to identify best practices and metrics to maximize cloud resources, while establishing a monitoring process that helps ensure your business is using the best resources for its needs. There are several ways to ensure you’re getting access to the data you need, when you need it, in a meaningful format.
Take Advantage of Cloud Visibility
Put the power of the cloud to work. Using the cloud and cloud-native programs should increase visibility to help you oversee the efficiency of your procedures and the health of your company while identifying potential issues before they become problems. This is where cloud monitoring comes in. Monitoring is part operations, part security and the ability to do it well is one of the many advantages to cloud infrastructure.
Know What’s in Your Contract
Just like there’s more to moving your infrastructure to the cloud than data migration, there’s more to your contract that meets the eye. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the service provider’s security measures, what services are and are not included in your present package, the process of scaling, and how to cancel or change services that aren’t working. Make sure you’re not locking yourself into paying for services you don’t need and that you are getting appropriate access to the services you do. The more you know about the services you have, the better you will understand the power of the data you have access to.
Get Cross-Function Input
To monitor effectively, you need to know what you can monitor, what you want to monitor, and what outcomes you’re looking for. To ensure you don’t overlook anything important, best practices suggest you take advantage of a team approach. A cross-functional team including representatives from all impacted departments can seem overwhelming at first but getting input from each will provide valuable insight that may otherwise have been missed.
Clearly Define Important Information
Do you want to know when employees are accessing specific platforms? Do you need to know which programs are being underutilized? How will you identify potential threats to your data flow or processes? Are you going to keep an eye on service provider fees? Are there specific customer service applications you want to check for speed and unexpected downtime? If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you can’t monitor it. Be specific. You may find that at certain times of the year there is information that needs to be more closely monitored than others. Build that flexibility into your monitoring plan.
Create a Plan of Action
Once you have your metrics established, you need to know your threshold for reporting and what to do with the information provided. You can monitor all day long, but without a plan, the information is useless. What action needs to be taken for each metric if an established threshold is exceeded? What is the priority level of the action? Who will take the action and how will they be notified? The plan needs to be as clear and concise as possible, and those who will be notified of actionable items need to understand their role and the implications.
Continually Revise Your Metrics
The cloud is dynamic and new programs and platforms are being introduced at breakneck speed. It can be easy to get caught up in the options available with each new service released and lose sight of what’s important. There is a time to scale, a time to invest in new services, and a time to make sure what you already have is being maximally utilized. Those who truly excel in cloud monitoring do so by diligently keeping their finger on the pulse of their business data needs while keeping their eye out for the opportunities and risks inherent in the cloud.
