How to Make the Move to the Cloud Less Daunting

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

For small business owners, this is a mantra born out of necessity as much as wisdom; there are so many tasks to complete, who has the time to change systems that already work?

This logic does not apply when it comes to the cloud, however. Yes, moving software and services to the cloud might be equivalent to fixing a system that never actually broke, and it does take time to implement. But the benefits of the cloud are tremendous, and in the long run the cloud also saves a business time.

Some of the benefits of the cloud include a virtual end to maintenance, and the ability to buy products and services on an as-needed basis. The cloud also makes these business functions available from anywhere there is an Internet connection, and web apps often are much easier to use than what they replace because simplicity is baked into the cloud model.

But making the jump can be hard, and something many business owners delay.

A recent blog post by Nextiva, a firm that delivers cloud-based phone service, suggests ways to make the jump to the cloud.

The first step is setting a deadline, according to Nextiva.

“There actually is a very best day for major business transitions – January 1,” noted the blog post.  “While everyone else in the world is sleeping off a hangover, you have a full day to make you changes and start working out the bugs before the world returns to work.”

The next step is making a list of all software and business functions that need to be moved over to the cloud.

Once this list is in place, the third step to cloud adoption is finding a cloud service for each of these business functions and porting over the data.

The Nextiva blog suggests that this move to the cloud be done cautiously; the company suggests that for the first few weeks, both the old and the new system should work in tandem just in case there is a problem with the rollout of the new system.

“My advice to entrepreneurs considering making the switch to a cloud-based office is to take a deep breath, get a few things in place ahead of time, and dive right in,” noted the Nextiva blog post. “If you follow these steps, your transition will be smooth and will put you on the road to flexibility you’ve only dreamed of.”

Edited by Alisen Downey