At the assessment stage, we look at each piece of software and functionality that currently exists within your business, as well as those gaps in functionality that are currently causing productivity to suffer.
Experienced in the Cloud
Leveraging our extensive experience across a plethora of software packages (both cloud and non-cloud), we’ll take the time to evaluate your specific pain-points and recommend custom solutions at a granular level to alleviate each bottleneck in your business productivity.
Among other factors, our assessment for cloud suitability covers risk, cost and latency; so that we can be 100% confident that the solution we propose to you is the best way forward for your business.
Remember, we are ethical – we won’t recommend any solution to your business that isn’t the best way forward for your needs, regardless of commission or our margins. We want to build relationships built on trust, not make a quick buck and move on to the next client.
COST & SUITABILITY
Cloud computing is hugely beneficial for a number of reasons, but it’s not always the best solution for every circumstance.
The type of situation where cloud computing is possibly not the best choice would be where heavy database lookups are performed. Microsoft Access, MSSQL and Oracle databases tend not to perform optimally when migrated to the cloud due to the volume of continual lookups performed by the front-end applications using the database.
An example of this might be a legacy CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system.
Many older CRMs attempt to load all of the backend information for a client or contact with every click, rather than selectively provide the relevant data, relative to the application’s needs.
Dependent upon the exact circumstances, one solution may be to move the client to a cloud based CRM solution, as part of modernising their workplace. In many instances, this is the most economical and efficient solution for the business.
However, if a business has spent heavily on a MYSQL database solution and associated hardware, this investment may include several years of hardware warranty and software support. In this scenario (dependent upon all the variables), it’s usually more pertinent to find a solution that allows the customer to get the most value from their pre-existing investment, with a view to possibly moving to a cloud-based alternative further down the line, detailed in the roadmap we collaboratively agree upon with our clients.
Accordingly, in this scenario we’d give more focus to backup solutions and disaster recovery, in order to minimise the inherent risk that comes with on-site solutions. In all likelihood, we’d also ensure that the backup solution used was cloud-based, even if the CRM isn’t.
Finally, it may be a viable option to look at something called ‘edge computing’, which is where the data continues to reside locally, facilitating quicker lookups, whilst the computing power or ‘grunt’ is achieved in the cloud (saving on hardware, support costs, etcetera).
AN EXHAUSTIVE ASSESSMENT
Once we’ve established what type of cloud architecture is best suited to your business and done some initial investigation into what applications or business functions could be migrated to the cloud, we will spend some time assessing both your current IT infrastructure and software suite.
We’ll then look into alternative cloud software packages currently available to the market that may perform the same function as your incumbent software more efficiently or cost-effectively.
Next Steps
The next step to get you in the cloud is the design stage.
Once a thorough assessment has been undertaken and we've agreed upon the architecture of your cloud solution - identifying in the process the potential software and functionality that we'll look to move to the cloud for your business - it's time for us to plan exactly what that migration will look like.