Catch up on our latest webinar: Five factors for a successful cloud migration

Last week, LIMA was delighted to host another cloud services webinar, focused on cloud migration and the most important factors to consider for successful adoption.

Using our blend of expertise and vast experience, we delved into the most important factors to consider for achieving a successful cloud migration, from having the right cloud-first mindset to phasing the approach to achieve optimal results.

The webinar was opened by Ryan Ratcliffe, LIMA’s Chief Sales Officer, who briefly described the journey that LIMA has been on over the past 10 years and how we’ve adapted our services to meet the changing landscape of the IT industry and the needs of our customers.

Ryan was delighted to be joined by:

• Martin Ingham – Technical Director at LIMA
• Claire Davidson – IT Consultant at Transform Housing & Support

Five factors for a successful cloud migration

LIMA’s Technical Director, Martin Ingham, shared an insight into the critical factors that should be considered and planned into any cloud journey, whether you’re at the beginning, the middle, or even if you’ve completed the initial transition to the cloud.

We share a snippet of his recommendations below. Click here to watch the full webinar.

1. Align your cloud migration ​to your business goals.

Martin said: ‘This is about making sure you’re clear about why you are wanting to adopt cloud. We often see that customers don’t really plan what they want to achieve by having cloud and it’s really important to identify these reasons upfront so that you have something to measure the success by.’

Attendees were asked ‘do you have a cloud strategy that is aligned to your business goal?’, 38% said ‘yes, but it needs reviewing’ with an equal amount answering ‘not as such, but I talk to the SMT about our IT roadmap.’

2. Develop a cloud-first culture​.

Commenting on developing a cloud-first culture, Martin added: ‘Culture is probably one of the most important factors that is often forgotten about or not taken seriously. Cloud is a completely different change of mindset and ultimately, if you approach it in the same way that you have always approached the delivery of IT services in the on-premise world, you will more than likely fail or not deliver all of the outcomes that you were wanting to achieve. It’s really important that you empower the entire business to be effective cloud consumers.’

3. Security needs for your cloud services.

Martin shared: ‘From a technology and a governance point of view, security is one factor that you need to get right upfront, but you have to have time to plan. Most people tend to jump into a service, and we’re seeing an increase in this due to Covid, with security as an afterthought. However, cloud, more than any other technology, requires a multi-layered approach to security.’

100% of attendees agreed that their remote workers are not as secure as those in the office.

4. Use a phased approach​.

Talking about adopting a phased approach to cloud migration, Martin added: ‘This is the part where it’s key that you work with a mature partner that understands how to adopt, consume, and onboard these technologies. This method is focused on taking an application-led approach. Not only does that break it down into manageable workstreams but it makes it easy to identify the dependencies of likeminded systems into batches of work. Ultimately, it’s about planning. The more you plan, the more successful the outcome will be.’

5. Future-proof​ your strategy​.

Sharing an insight into the fifth factor, Martin said: ‘Most cloud consumers stop at the end of the cloud transition phase and think that it’s ‘job done’ because that’s how it’s always been done. However, that is not the right way to approach cloud adoption and you now need to take advantage of all of the benefits of being in that cloud environment. That’s why we created our cloud optimisation service as we bring the skills, controls, and insights to you so that you can lean on us to support you on continuous improvement of your cloud environment.’

Click below to watch the full video, learn more about the five factors for a successful cloud migration and hear from LIMA customer, Claire Davidson, as she shares more about Transform Housing’s journey to the cloud.

Missed the cloud migration webinar? Click here to watch the recording.

How to get involved in LIMA’s cloud webinars

Over the next few months, we’ll continue to explore the cloud through our interactive webinar sessions.

Stay tuned on our social channels in the coming weeks to find out more about how you can secure your virtual seat.

LIMA are experts in cloud services and our technical specialists will deliver the right solution for your business, making sure you get the flexibility you need from your cloud services whilst maintaining effective financial control. Click here to speak to one of our Account Managers to find out more.