Overcoming Your Fear of "the Cloud"

You may or may not be aware of this, but cloud technology is all around us.

Whether you are posting a comment on social media, logging in to your online banking or backing up some photographs of your latest holiday, you are using the cloud. Such exposure to new technology in our consumer world has led to a crossover into our professional lives. According to a recent study, 84% of UK businesses have now formally adopted at least one cloud-b... But why, in this digital age, is there still a sense of worry when it comes to moving entirely to the cloud?

From a study conducted by RightScale, two areas stood out as posing the biggest challenges when it comes to businesses considering the adoption of cloud-based software; lack of expertise/support, and security.

As the market for cloud-based software becomes more and more saturated across all industries, the harder the choice seems to be. But one of the biggest considerations for decision makers is “how will I be supported using this product?”. The more “traditional” method of having your own in-house, bespoke IT solutions meant that you could rely on the support of an internal support function, or at least a dedicated off-site team. But with the emergence of cloud-based software, the experts on the product can often be hundreds, if not thousands of miles away. There can be a hesitation when it comes to committing to a product when there is no physical link to the people who can help you when required.

Security is one of the most vital aspects of almost everything we do in the digital age. The combination of usernames and passwords, internet banking card readers and even fingerprint scanning to unlock your mobile phone – security is on the mind of everyone. But when it comes to the working environment, we are most conscientious about the data we store and ensuring that we protect the people we do business with. Over the years, there have been widely publicised security breaches, and each of these have had data as the focal point of it. The apprehension to make that move to cloud technology based on security is perfectly understandable. You wouldn’t want people to be able to access the data on your personal mobile phone or laptop, so the same will naturally apply to your software setup at the office.

The simple solution to both of these challenges, and more, is to make sure that you choose your cloud technology very carefully. It can be incredibly easy to be drawn to a provider who offers the lowest price or markets itself as being very easy to use.

If the cost of something is comparatively (or unusually) low, you need to ask “why?”. Will this be an inferior product? Or perhaps more importantly, will they be cutting corners with regards to the security of your data? When it comes to making a decision about the technology you use throughout your business, there can be no substitute for quality, or security. As that old adage says, “price is only an issue in the absence of value”.

Similarly, a product that markets itself as being “the most easy to use” may sound appealing and give you hope that you will be able to hit the ground running with a new system with little to no help. But what if, when it comes to it, you find that the support you desperately need isn’t there? The most important consideration here when making the switch to cloud technology is to ensure that you have the undivided support of the true experts in the product. The people who have poured all of their time and craftsmanship into building it, studied it, know it inside-out. The people who are available to you to answer questions and resolve any issues you may have.

The decision to make the move to cloud-based software does pose its challenges, and as seen with the issues experienced by Apple and TalkTalk in recent years, you may never feel truly at ease with embracing new technology. What you can do, however, is make sure that you find a solution that puts security and support at the very forefront of their minds. Find a software provider who prides themselves on their expertise, not their ease-of-use, and make sure that the security measures that are in place don’t cut any corners. You will quickly find that your decision to move to the cloud is vindicated, but be diligent in your research.

Head to the Evolve Recruitment Software website to see how the experts in cloud recruitment software can help.

You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter by clicking the icons below!