Cloud Data Management Pitfalls to Avoid

As per 2015 research by Verizon and Harvard Business Review Analytics Service, 84% of over 450 businesses and IT executives interviewed throughout the world agree that their use of cloud has increased in the past year. Of these, 39% agree that their cloud use has increased significantly, and 40% of the respondents claimed that cloud had improved their revenue.

This research, along with several others done in the past few years, clearly signifies the importance of cloud computing for businesses all over the world. However, while the cloud is known to offer very compelling benefits, data management with the cloud environment is not very easy. Many businesses end up making expensive mistakes mostly in a rush to compete with others.

To help you protect from such costly mistakes, here is a list of six of the most common cloud data management pitfalls you should be careful about.

1. Not Having a Strategy for Data Protection
It would help if you made sure that all your data, irrespective of whether it is stored or in transit, remains protected at all times. There are a host of problems like ransomware, hardware failure, corruption, unrecoverable failures and so on that can pose a threat. Ensure that you work on a data protection strategy before migrating to the cloud, and ascertain that it is tried and tested.

2. Not Exercising Role-Based Access Control
With employees from different departments and at different levels having access to your cloud data, it is vital that you use role-based access control. This discretion will ensure that only people who should have access to a particular cloud data can access it. While role-based access control was optional with traditional systems and technologies, it is one of the most critical security measures with cloud computing.

3. Not Monitoring Cloud Performance
Migrating to the cloud is only one half of the battle. You also need to monitor the performance of your cloud environment regularly to ensure that everything is working as it should. This is especially true if you have applications used by your consumers. Irrespective of whether it is SaaS, IaaS or PaaS, without regular monitoring it can be challenging to know how the applications are performing.

4. Not Working on the Possibility of Engaging Other Vendors in the Future
With businesses now looking to control costs and optimise their efficiency with the cloud, you also need to prepare yourself for the possibility of working with other vendors in the future. Focus on how easy it would be to switch between vendors, and whether or not you would be required to rewrite any codes to be compatible with the offerings of other vendors in the future.

5. Not Considering the Risk of Cloud Sprawling
Cloud sprawling is similar to virtual sprawling where there is an uncontrolled proliferation of your cloud instances, providers and services. Cloud sprawling is more severe as many applications are required to move between cloud, virtual and physical environments. Moreover, you may also have to invest individual point tools for managing all of it. So, at the time of migrating, avoid moving too fast or too much.

6. Not Focusing on the Quality of Your Internet Connection
Businesses moving to the cloud generally have so many things to look after that they often overlook the basic necessity of cloud computing – a reliable Internet connection. While many opportunities may surface to save money when migrating to the cloud, selection of an Internet connection is not an aspect where performance should be sacrificed for the price.

Avoiding the Common Cloud Data Management Pitfalls with Professional Cloud Services
A majority of the common cloud pitfalls can be prevented by working with a reputed cloud service provider. For instance, Tata Tele Business Services offers cloud and SaaS infrastructure solutions for delivering high-quality and reliable data to businesses. With services like Colocation, Document Management System, Mobile Device Management and Managed Hosting, the company is a one-stop solution for the most complex of your cloud needs.