Though cloud can benefit companies through cost savings and easier implementation, we caution anyone to prepare prior to cloud implementation, and triple check that your data is ready for such a major change. Though we have sufficient stories to back up the value of the cloud transition, we also want you to know some common pitfalls that could happen to even the best IT teams.

1. Suboptimal cloud data security — If you don’t have your best defenses up, hackers can sabotage your data during a pivotal time. Circumvent this issue by encrypting data, tracking best practices and trends and documenting your progress. Not assigning roles, breaking down tasks and taking the move one step at a time will overcomplicate the process, leaving you without safety or sufficient documentation.

On the other hand, you can’t jump to blaming security right away. Even though security was a concern in the past few years, those worries are beginning to dissipate: RightScale’s State of Cloud Report states, “Even among enterprise central IT teams, who typically have the most responsibility for security, there has been a significant decline in security concerns among this group over the last few years, declining further to 35 percent in 2017.”

2. Not understanding that clouds are different — If you’re working with multiple clouds during implementation, understand that they don’t all function the same, but it’s important that the cloud softwares you’re using can function together. According to an article by Security Boulevard, “In deciding on hybrid cloud strategies, IT leaders should make strong business decisions based on cloud fit and financial modeling to decide what applications should go to the cloud.”

3. Neglecting to learn about computing workloads and asking questions before adopting cloud — You should spend as much time as you need to research, learn about computing workloads and ask all the necessary questions about how much work a switch might entail for each team member. If you look closely, you will find that some workloads are a natural fit for Cloud, and others don’t fit. According to an article by Wired, you must look before you leap: “Simply throwing applications wholesale ‘over the fence’ and into the cloud doesn’t take optimal advantage of the cloud.”

4. Failing to understand the serious time commitment and energy surrounding the move to cloud — We suggest taking a reasonable look at your workload before tackling a project of this magnitude. For instance, if there’s a skills gap in your workplace, you’ll also need to find developers capable of cloud computing. As a new system, developers are still learning what it has to offer. It does take time and skilled labor to leap successfully to cloud, but the time investment is still less of a commitment than on on-premises deployment.
How much time? According to the Garter Planning Time for Cloud Computing, you need to invest at least as much time as it takes to follow several steps – “forming a team responsible for cloud, selecting cloud applications and services, architecting cloud services while mitigating risks, estimating the cost and establishing governance, and provisioning and automating cloud services.”

5. Giving up on cloud solutions too quickly when you’ve hit a snag –– Understand that many IT programs run much deeper than cloud, so there’s a good chance you’re jumping to conclusions if you blame cloud too quickly for post-implementation issues. InfoWorld says it perfectly here: “A company that let its on-premise technology run out of control is very likely to let the same happen with cloud technology.”

To get even more insight on navigating the Oracle Cloud journey, you won’t want to miss COLLABORATE 18, April 22 -26. Register before March 8 to save up to 40 percent! Stay up to date with the latest conference news by following @QuestUserGroup on Twitter and look for the official COLLABORATE 18 hashtag, #C18LV!

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