Over three-quarters of enterprises have a portion of their computing infrastructure or data in the cloud. Further, cloud computing is a trillion-dollar industry and is projected to grow another 10% in the next three years. The more that exists in the cloud, the more any person, company, or business needs to take data transfers seriously.
Losing data during a transfer is a real risk. As is ending up with compatibility issues, corruption, or unwanted duplicates using up space that you’re paying for.
To ensure that all future data transfers go as smoothly as they can, no matter if you’re migrating an entire grant management system to the cloud or just backing up a few hundred photos, it would be a good idea to keep the following steps in mind.
Clean Up Before the Move
One of the worst things you can do during an initial migration is shove everything off to the cloud, no matter what type of cloud, without looking at what you’re moving. Just moving everything and thinking you’ll clean it up later is a disaster waiting to happen.
If you’re planning to move your data, now is the time to take a hard look at the data you have, what’s being used, where your backups are, what you really need, and anything else you’ve been meaning to take a look at for a while.
Is Your Cloud Public or Private?
If the data you’re dealing with is sensitive, make sure you have set up a private cloud service. If you’re using a hybrid cloud strategy, combining the cost-effective option of public cloud with the security and isolation of a private cloud, make sure there are strict rules and transfer procedures in place, so the right things end up in the right cloud sections.
Have a Backup Strategy
While some cloud providers offer backup options, it’s best to rely on your own ingenuity when it comes to accurate backups. Make sure you have a remote place where you can store data that will not be changed. Yes, it can be in the cloud, but it should be in a distinct place and separated from the rest of the data. Permissions may need to be changed here as well.
Assign Proper Permissions and Administrative Roles
Setting up these as well as essential safeguards against tampering, both accidental and intentional, can save you a lot of grief down the road. No one is immune to all unfortunate circumstances. With the right safeguards in place, it should be easy to minimize the damage, or at least to know who to contact is something does go awry.
Follow Encryption Best Practices During Data Transit
It’s entirely possible to have your data encrypted in the cloud and on whatever platform it originates from. However, this data may be wholly vulnerable and un-encrypted during transfers. In today’s world, this is unacceptable. Even if the information you’re transferring is only sensitive to you or you don’t feel like it’s worth tampering with, having a vulnerability like this can lead to loss of data or worse.
