While other countries have dramatically reduced the spread of COVID-19 in their respective territories, the United States has yet to do the same. And as disagreements about reopening schools for in-person classes have flared up between federal and state governments, some businesses continue to implement remote work policies to help their staff avoid the contagion.

Remote work on a massive scale is made possible thanks to cloud-based storage and tools. Software-as-a-Service project management apps such as Trello help distributed teams keep projects on track, while communication apps like Slack and Zoom keep separated coworkers in touch and on the same page with one another. Even Microsoft has shifted its Office productivity suite from lifetime software licensing to a cloud-based app delivery system. This means that instead of being confined to their office PCs, staff can work anywhere there is an internet connection, use apps on multiple devices, and collaborate on files in real time.

Hesitation to completely adopt cloud computing

Yet despite this and many of the cloud’s proven benefits, there are companies that go for a combination of on-premises (on-prem) and cloud solutions instead of adopting the cloud completely. There are at least three reasons for doing this:

1. Firms that go for these hybrid clouds fear that their investments in on-prem infrastructure would become sunk costs and therefore want to squeeze as much value from their in-house equipment. 
2. Legacy protocols involving such infrastructure may still be sufficient and fall under the “don’t fix what isn’t broken” and/or “this is how we’ve always done things” maxims.
3. Businesses are wary of relinquishing internal controls and adopting the upgrade and maintenance schedule of their cloud vendor.

Downsides of hybrid clouds

Hybrid clouds are a great way to get the best aspects of on-prem and the cloud, but they also have their cons:

1. The level of security in on-prem systems may be different from that of cloud systems.
2. Teams must keep in mind two ways of doing things — one for on-prem and another for the cloud — making operations, IT support, and security less streamlined and inefficient. 
3. Being on two systems often leads to unnecessary redundancies, be it redundant apps or confusing versions of files kept in different storage locations.

And with COVID-19 keeping workers away from the office indefinitely, on-prem IT assets are used much less. Now’s the time for full cloud adoption. For a smooth transition, follow these steps:

1. Strategize. Have a cloud services provider such as SImplyClouds assess your IT systems so that you’ll have a full grasp of what you’ll need out of your cloud. 


2. Prepare your apps. You’ll want to do one of three things to the custom apps you use for your business:
   a. Keep them as they are if they’re ready to be moved to the cloud.
   b. Update them with more modern frameworks or application programming interfaces.
   c. Replace them with better “cloud-native” apps.


3. Prime your end users for cloud adoption. Initiate change management steps such as training your staff on how to use your cloud resources. And if your custom app development team has not yet embraced the agile methodology, have them do so immediately. 


Cloud updates tend to arrive at a fast pace, and your team will most likely have to adjust your business apps every time. Therefore, your team would do well to adopt that quick cadence by making their app enhancements smaller but releasing these more frequently.

Before fully moving to the cloud, download our free eBook: 7 Essential Facts About Moving to the Cloud

Empower your remote staff by completely adopting the cloud. To help you in this endeavor, turn to SimplyClouds. Contact us today.