Guest post by Mamush Heayie
A cloud backup project is not just a matter of deciding to migrate data to the cloud. It involves planning, organizing and monitoring.
Cloud backup projects demand the convening of cross functional teams. It is a proven instrument for gaining the confidence of business managers who otherwise regard IT with suspicion and wariness. They consider it a roadblock. Cross functional teams that include business managers will smooth the process of integrating IT decision making with business decision making and create the environment for rapid and effective execution of cloud backup and recovery projects. The cross functional team must include key stakeholders form every kind of business group within the organization—such a sales, marketing, engineering, security, IT development and senior leaders.
The cloud backup project must be headed by a Cloud expert. This is because businesses lack expertise in cloud backup and recovery systems and may not even be aware of the variety of cloud backup configurations that are available in the market and how these configurations can be used to gain a business advantage for the organization. Moreover, the resources available with the organization are often stretched so thin that the focus on integration and consolidation in the cloud receives very little attention. The outside expert can remain fully focused on the task on hand and also draw upon the experience and wisdom of the members of the cross functional team. They can assist the organization with the evaluation of IT risks, develop cloud backup strategies, create the project execution plan, and manage the migration process.
Since cloud backup is a relatively new discipline, it is important to select the right service provider or partner. The provider’s experience in the field will smooth the organization’s implementation of the cloud backup system. If the cloud backup service provider has the necessary capability of assessing risk, and enforcing security in the cloud, the organization will have a double advantage.
Organizations venturing into cloud projects should evaluate the support systems that are provided by the cloud backup service. The task of maintaining and delivering data from the cloud backup will have to be offloaded to the cloud backup service provider. Therefore, in the long run, a strong support system will facilitate data management and distribution and will ensure that cloud delivered data remains highly available to the organization for remote access, disaster recovery and business continuity.
It follows that the journey to the cloud must be well planned and executed. All stakeholders must be involved in the process in one way or another in the planning, development and execution of the project.
About the Author: Mamush Heayie is Managing Editor at www.BackupReview.info – a leading informational website for the cloud backup and data storage industry.
