Nowadays, a lot of businesses are starting to rely on the cloud. But, as per a recent study, 63 percent of US companies which moved to the cloud said the process needed a lot of effort.

Transitioning to the cloud has its own challenges, but with the help of the below mentioned tips, you should be able to make this process a whole lot safer and simpler:

Hire a corporate risk board

Even though there are tons of benefits of using cloud technology, there are no organizational changes which come without risk. The best way of controlling this risk is with the help of a corporate risk board

This board needs to include IT and finance professionals who know the benefits and risks associated with moving to the cloud. They can accordingly suggest strategies to help reduce risks and can communicate plans to the leaders of the company for garnering support for changes.

A hybrid approach

Businesses do not have to take all-or-nothing approaches when it comes to cloud tech. In fact, not many businesses do this anyway. Research shows 82 percent companies rely on hybrid cloud strategies which use a combination of on-site storage and cloud services.

Hybrid approaches also take advantage of cloud computing benefits while controlling data which shouldn’t be moved to remote servers. For businesses scared of using cloud technology, using a hybrid approach is the best way of testing the waters before deciding what works best for them.

Cloud-based applications and services

They make it easier to transition to the cloud. You do not have to worry about selecting remote servers or managing them since the programs will do it for you. They have great customer support too, usually to answer any questions you may have.

There are cloud applications for almost every business application. You may consider managing sales or customer relationships using Salesforce or for online accounting. For cloud programs which integrate multiple functions like business insights and accounting, there are usually free trial periods which can be used for testing products.

Security

They can be more secure as compared to on-site storage, but not every server is equal. This is why security is an important concern for businesses which want to move to the cloud. Instead of letting security concerns dissuade them from making a move, security should be your priority. Potential threats need to be considered, and cloud-based providers should be able to keep you safe. Most companies highlight their security measures.

If the information doesn’t please you, ask questions about how they plan on keeping your information safe. Don’t use the word password as your password like one political party likes to do!

Maintenance times

When all IT is at a single site, maintenance will occur at times which don’t affect the business dramatically. But, in the cloud, maintenance isn’t so convenient always. Most providers notify you of scheduled maintenance in advance.

These times should be communicated to employees so they can retrieve files from their server and then focus on tasks which do not rely on information from the cloud. If maintenance impairs productivity regularly, you may just think of keeping common files on site with the hybrid model.