Moving your business to the cloud can be a great benefit to your operation. So can creating a mobile workforce. However, to get the most benefits out of these business strategies, you need to have a long-term plan that aligns cloud computing and mobility management to your overall business operation.
When you don’t have that, any perceived benefits will be short-lived.
To create a successful long-term plan, you need to look at the best practices for each of these initiatives. They’ll help guide you in your decision-making process.
Best Practices for Cloud Computing
#1 Create a strategy with a set of realistic goals
Jumping right in without a long-term plan can be disastrous in the long run. With any project, you need to set goals, priorities, budgets, and deadlines; cloud computing isn’t any different. Cloud computing promises significant ROI—productivity gains of 50% and more—but keeping your costs down and complexity low requires multiple planning sessions.
#2 Learn from other’s mistakes
For early companies who decided to move to the cloud, many of them took a standalone approach to it. Challenges were few then, and the services were readily available. If your business has traditional IT infrastructure that serves core business operations, a detached cloud solution may only deliver short-term gains. A standalone approach to the cloud risks creating silo-ed applications, whereas an integrated strategy will bring long-term results.
#3 Think about online security
When it comes to cloud computing, almost 75% of CIO and IT executives count security as their number one concern. Integrated cloud computing involves moving sensitive data, so a security guarantee is critical. When considering an integration solution, determine which standards are supported for securing your data while in transit.
Best Practices for Enterprise Mobility Management
#1 Keep your IT secure and under control
When you bring personal devices into the workplace, controlling access becomes imperative; you need to keep access to your systems secure. Before leaping into an enterprise mobility solution, you need to understand the security objectives of your company and the needs of your team.
Read More: What’s Hindering a Mobile Government Workforce?
#2 Ensure your connectivity needs are met
Mobile devices are designed for wireless connectivity, so public Wi-Fi and company-sponsored mobile data networks will likely be part of your enterprise mobility solution. To ensure your connectivity remains reliable, secure, and manageable, you’ll need to create policies determining which users can access those networks and at what times.
#3 Invest in tools
Take any hiccups you have with mobile device management in stride. Helping you with these hiccups will be tools for monitoring and troubleshooting device issues. Invest in what you need to manage problems over the variety of networks you’ll be using. When you have these tools at your fingertips, you won’t be at the mercy of your carrier.
When you invest a lot of time into a business plan, you’ll increase your chances of success because you’ll have a direction in which to follow. Best practices will help guide you in a successful direction. To make your cloud computing and enterprise mobility initiatives successful, follow the best practices we outlined.
